Many voters may be no better. They scramble for money, yell and shout down rival candidates and beat up opponents.

At best, they will make disparaging remarks about a candidate in broad daylight.

Generally, the political scene is vicious and only the strong at heart will have the temerity to go all the way.

This year, the constitution has seen to it that more opportunities are available to women.

County positions include the governor, senator, women's and youth representative. Then there are parliamentary and county representative seats.

Many women have already heard the call and stepped forward to do so. But can they navigate the dirty, murky waters that have felled male politicians more experienced than them?

Just how many women out there have already rolled up their sleeves, ready for battle? And just what are some of the things they have to contend with?

Battling critics

Kingwa Kamencu is one of them. At 28, she is the youngest presidential candidate and second female after Martha Karua to declare her candidacy for this position.

When she declared her candidature, she did so amidst tears at a press conference that was widely panned, with her critics baptising her the Crying President, a perception she is will fight at every turn.

"Crying is good. Jesus also wept. It just showed how dear Kenya is to me," she rebuffs her critics.

Kingwa is yet to hit the campaign trail at the grassroots. "I am networking before I hit the ground running," says the Master's degree holder in Africa Studies from Oxford University.

But her first hurdles are to fight the perception that she isn't ripe for State House, coupled by the fact she is still single.

"I believe, there are no dreams for certain ages. What is important are the ideas I have," she says.

Financially, she is hoping to raise Sh1 billion for her campaign kitty - which is spare change for a presidential campaign.

She says this is because she won't be dishing out money "like other candidates do. It has taken a lot of bravery to be a presidential aspirant. People tend to concentrate more on what you do not have and not what you are offering," she observes.

She cuts the figure of a diva, represents a young woman with great ideas, which is likely to endear her to the youth vote.

"There are people out there tired of the way things have been done. They will identify with me," she says.

Down the electoral level, women are quietly campaigning and discussion with some of them reveals similar tales of chances and challenges, only that the theatre they are playing in are different.

Some are keen to hang on to be identified as 'female candidates', but not Pollyne Owoko.

She lost the Makadara parliamentary seat in 2007 but is back to the ring. "I never package myself as a woman candidate. I am a political candidate," she says emphatically.

Weaving a plan

On several occasions, she has been "advised to try modelling as she would do better than plunging into rough Nairobi politics. Her interaction with an urban electorate has taught her a few realities.

"Many believe women can never have money worth talking about. So they ignore you," she says

In 2007, Owoko had to contend with references to her marital status, a reality every woman candidate will come face to face with.

"I was even asked how many children I had and who their father is. Some of these need not stress you. Just let them know the truth and it will cease to be an issue within no time," says the mother of one.

An outgoing personality with an appetite for designer outfits, Owoko, whose party of choice is the recently launched POA, admits she has learnt of several threads with which she intends to weave her parliamentary run.

"Talk to the people, network and strategise with the right people," she says.

To cultivate these skills, she runs the Forum for Young Women in Politics, an initiative that mentors youthful women candidates.

Overcoming challenges

Rural areas also present their unique cultural challenges, most of which cause women to chicken away from doing battle with men.

In several cases, women candidates have to ask for permission to run from their husbands; only after the husband's approval and blessing can they seek the endorsement of their clans or community leaders.

"It can never be your sole decision to run. Some people will have to sit down, discuss the chances you have and give you a go ahead," says Jane Putunoi, a women representative candidate in Laikipia County.

"Woe unto you if your husband says no," she adds.

Putunoi, who is from Doldol, was given this nod by Maasai elders in December and now she is ready to go.

So determined was she to venture into politics that in 2010, she resigned from her job at The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation where she was a measles surveillance officer.

A crafty, composed woman with a sharp eye for detail, Putunoi, 35, will be using the UDF party ticket and has already developed a stealth strategy to penetrate areas inhabited by both pastoralists and farmers in Laikipia.

The County is vast, and logistical problems and personal security are overwhelming," says the mother of three.

To counter all of this, she is raising funds via constituents. "I have a one-dollar (Sh83) campaign where my supporters are contributing my funds for logistics. My family has already contributed," she reveals.

Making sacrifices

Maison Leshoomo, a Nominated MP gunning for Samburu County Women Representative, was never allowed to address men, leave alone ask them for votes.

In her civic authority campaigns in 2007, she slowly mobilised her community to accept that women can perform. She lost.

But her nomination to Parliament in 2008 has changed the mindset of her people going by what she has been able to achieve so far.

"Through my campaigns, we now have a woman councillor in Samburu North and a woman assistant chief near Mararal town.

"Women must reason with men and it is a process," she advises.

Security for residents in the area is a priority and for her, she has to be accompanied by very close political associates.

"I have a lot of political enemies and I have to soldier on. My safety is key," says the MP.

Standing for an election and losing has its own lessons but when you are a new slate, the odds could be many.

Pascalliah Makonjio, 32, has been forced to relocate her family for security reasons.

Two of their children stay with their father in Kitale while she lives with a third one who is breastfeeding.

Makonjio who eyes the Nambale parliamentary seat says she had to mitigate the impact of the campaigns on her family.

For example, threats and strange calls have been coming through especially when she talks about sugar issues.

"Strangers have also jumped over my fence more than twice," she says.

Although she has informed police, she always ensures they are aware of where she has an event or occasion in case she needs their assistance," she explains.

Her lineage has also attracted some attention, as she was born in Butere, is married in Sabatia and is now running in Nambale.

"People want to know all these things. I have said who I am," she says. So why politics now with a young family?

"For their future. We need to fix several things now," she said curtly.

Wambui Mureithi, who is eyeing the Naivasha parliamentary seat, has been grappling with a political party until she found the recently formed United Democratic Forum (UDF).

"Parties are so biased against women but that is the bridge I have crossed. Now it is networking time," says Wambui, a mother of three.

Unlike Wambui and Putunoi who believe their party, UDF, will give them a fair deal, many women have to grapple with gruelling nomination processes.

Women across the board often find it hard to break cartels that exist in political parties.

And even when they win the nominations with popular parties, some are de-campaigned by some party hawks and end up losing.

One such case was Anne Kirima who won the PNU ticket for Kinangop constituency in 2007 but was beaten at the ballot by a candidate with a small party.

In another case, lawyer Alice Wahome won the PNU ticket to run for Kandara Constituency but was allegedly robbed of the certificate by a rival who went ahead to win. The matter is still in court.

Parties that support regional kingpins are normally up for grabs and often, the ultimate prize goes to the highest bidder.

The women are rarely well oiled for such deals and therefore end up with unpopular parties, further diminishing their chances.

A case in point is Kathiani constituency in Machakos where Assistant Minister Wavinya Ndeti was allegedly robbed the ODM-Kenya ticket in favour of the then sitting MP Kyalo Kaindi.

She chose little known Chama cha Uzalendo (CCU). Luckily for her, she won.

Gaining respect

The current provisions of the Political Parties Act are shedding shivers among candidates for different reasons, although reactions are mixed.

Murang'a Mayor Mercy Kimwe says while politicians will not be coerced to participate in impromptu harambees which are often embarrassing, insisting on high academic credentials will lock many potential leaders out.

"The greatest leaders in the world were not always the most educated. Some of us got married before we could get tertiary education.

"We have performed in politics and I do not think we shall cease to be good leaders,' says the mayor.

Mrs Kimwe, a two-term councillor, wants to represent women at the Murang'a County assembly. She is of humble education qualifications.

Although politics will require tough women, it may do women a lot of good to enhance their femininity to gain respect from men.

It is a tactic that has worked with many successful women, and it does not mean being sexually attractive or enticing.

"It is being a representation of who a woman is. Showing all the qualities of a female gender," notes Running for Public Office, a book by Gerrard Hain, an American author.

Mentors of women politicians have already developed the Kenyan Women National Charter to design and motivate women on how to wade through the murky waters of politics.

The charter, says Grace Mbugua, of the Women Empowerment Link (WEL), an organisation that mentors women politicians, lists social cultural challenges, logistical costs, utilisation of networks, family status and gender based violence as the main bottlenecks facing women candidates in Kenya.