Source:allAfrica.com
Women in the North Rift region have vowed to contest for seats created under the new constitution. The North Rift Women Voices group has initiated campaigns to educate women on provisions in the constitution especially on gender issues. The group launched sensitisation campaigns for women in counties in the region.
"We want women to know their rights and obligations instead of taking a back seat on national issues as has been the case in the past. We want to achieve this through sustained sensitisation ahead of the 2012 polls", said coordinator of the North Rift Women Voices, Rose Chesire.
Chesire who spoke during the group's meeting in Iten town said women must be ready to fight for the positions set aside for them at national level and within the 47 counties.
During the meeting in Iten experts led by Eldoret lawyer Faith Boinet were invited to educate women on gender and devolution. Boinet said the law now gives many advantages to women. "Even the positions reserved for women will be competitive and you will have to compete for them. You should not sit back and expect to be given the positions without showing any interest", said Chesire.
She said women had an important role to play in leading the reform process and one way to do so would be to occupy positions at both the national and county levels. "The constitution has now guaranteed us some of the positions we were yearning for and we need to take them up and use them to further fight for our rights and those of our children," she said.
Chesire said they will spread the sensitisation meetings to other counties in the region so that many women can emerge to contest the different seats in the next general elections.