Challenges Facing Women Scaling to Political Leadership in Post-Colonial Kenya: A Case of Gusiiland, South Western Kenya, 1963-2013

Dr. Zacharia O. Mokua & Dr. Evans Omosa Nyamwaka
Kisii University, Kenya
Email: ondieki.zachary@yahoo.com

Received December 14, 2020; Revised December 20; Accepted December 27, 2020

Abstract: In Gusiiland, women constitute a significant proportion of the electorates. However, since independence, no woman in Gusiiland has ever been voted to the National Parliament and the Senate despite their voting strength. A handful have been chosen to the County Assemblies of Kisii and Nyamira Counties which make up Gusiiland. This being the situation, this study sought to find out barriers to women’s ascent to political leadership in Gusiiland in post-colonial Kenya, 1963-2013. The study was anchored on Liberal Feminist Theory and a case study design was employed. Respondents were obtained through stratified, purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. They provided data through an interview guide which was supplemented with secondary sources. The trustworthiness and legitimacy of the interview guide were tested through piloting, expert and peer judgment. Analysis was done through thematic analysis. The study revealed that the main challenges to women’s ascent to political leadership during elections were patriarchy, women’s failure to vote for women contestants, domination of party leadership by men and men’s control of means of production. The study recommended that women be educated on the need to support women contestants during elections given their numerical strength.