Azimio La Umoja | The Spotlight Post

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s running mate Martha Karua has said she does not like the now popular nickname ‘Iron Lady,’ which she was christened due to her political intrigues.

Karua says the moniker, which many attribute to her no-nonsense attitude during her three-decade tenure in government, is a misrepresentation of her gender.

Speaking during an interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo, the Narc Kenya party boss opined that the nickname is misogynistic to the feminine gender in a perceived male-dominated society.

“I think that nickname in a way speaks to the misogyny within society. Strength is not perceived as female, strength is perceived as male,”
she said.

Odinga picked Karua as his running mate in his quest for the presidency in next week’s elections, a move that was seen as having been meant to woo the female votes and bridge the gender gap as well as capture the Mt. Kenya voting bloc.

Political pundits also opine that Karua could easily ascend to the presidency after the end of Odinga’s tenure.

Asked whether the country is ready for a female Head of State, Karua said:

“That question suggests that women ought not to be on the ballot because I have never heard anyone question whether Kenyans are ready for yet another male, so that question in itself is discriminatory Kenya is ready for women at all levels.”

Despite the government advocating for a two-third gender rule in recent years, many of the political seats in the country are still held by men.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is also pushing for adherence to the law and has directed all political parties to implement the directive in the August polls.

If political outfits meet the required threshold, them out of 290 Member of Parliament positions, not more than 193 candidates can be of the same gender while for the Senate, not more than 31 out of the 47 should be of the same gender.

In the 2017 election, women held only 23 per cent of seats in Parliament, the least in East Africa.

Roots Party presidential running mate, Justina Wamae, has defended her move to expose her party leader, George Luchiri Wajackoyah, as a supporter of Azimio la Umoja’s Raila Odinga.

Speaking on Thursday, August 4, on KTN News, Wamae detailed that she was compelled to make that statement to affirm her position in the party and as Wajackoyah’s running mate.

She maintained that her public statement proved that top principals can differ in ideologies without throwing tantrums at each other.

“What I did yesterday was simply underpinning my boss’s view. My boss had given feedback, there was a party statement and we have been accused of being a project previously.

“So I represent a constituent of women and youth, and they were telling me if you keep quiet, you come out as a flower girl. So I had to put out my voice, and my boss was aware of it,”
she explained.

Wamae ruled out joining either Azimio or Kenya Kwanza, insisting that her candidature together with Wajackoyah will go all the way to the ballot.

“As of now, my boss and I are not in any conflict and I respect the direction Roots Party is taking to ensure that Kenyans see politics as a different thing of not being sycophants, you can raise your voice,”
Wamae remarked.

According to Wamae, her statement raised the party’s stake, which she stated was nosediving in recent opinion polls.

Wamae had accused her boss of going against Roots Party and supporting the former Prime Minister without consulting her.

She maintained that she would not support Azimio if the party takes that stand.

“It is true Wajackoyah is supporting Azimio but we have not discussed that as a party.

“If we need to take a stand on who to support, I will support the contrary. We have been branded a project twice but we have not agreed as a party,”
she stated.