Women Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) in Siaya have called for more women to be elected to political positions, saying greater representation is crucial to advancing issues affecting women at grassroots level.
The leaders spoke in Kisumu on Wednesday during a meeting convened by Transparency International (TI) under the Usawa Mashinani project, which is being implemented in Siaya, Kisumu and Kakamega counties.
The meeting brought together women MCAs from Siaya to review progress made under the project and discuss challenges facing women in elective politics ahead of the next elections.
Siaya County Assembly Women Caucus chairperson and South East Alego Ward MCA Masidis Skolastika Madowo said the caucus’ 14 members had benefited from training aimed at improving their legislative knowledge and capacity.
“The training was to strengthen our legislative knowledge and capacity so that we are more effective in the assembly as women,” she said.
Madowo said legislative processes could be complex and technical, making capacity building important for women leaders to effectively carry out their roles.
She said the training had enabled women MCAs to participate more actively in debates, introduce motions and sponsor legislation addressing issues affecting their constituents.
“When we started the first year, we made a commitment as the women caucus that by the end of the term we should have as women sponsored at least three bills in the assembly,” she said.
The caucus has so far sponsored two bills, including the Siaya Widows Protection Bill 2025, which has since become an Act of the assembly.
Madowo said the law seeks to protect widows from retrogressive cultural practices and establish a fund to support their economic empowerment.
Another woman MCA sponsored legislation on access to information, which has also been assented to, she said.
Madowo expressed confidence that the caucus would achieve its target of sponsoring a third bill before the end of the current term.
She, however, identified the retention of women in elective positions as one of the biggest challenges facing women in politics.
“We realise that our society holds us in high regard, but based on the realities on the ground, it is much more difficult for women to be re-elected,” she said.
Siaya currently has four elected women MCAs. The caucus wants to retain all four and increase the number of elected women in the next county assembly.
Madowo said the county needed at least 10 elected women MCAs to move closer to meeting the two-thirds gender principle in the assembly.
“We want first of all to retain those four but also then add more numbers. We need at least 10 elected women MCAs in Siaya for us to attain the two-thirds gender rule,” she said.
The meeting also focused on preparations for the next elections, with the women leaders discussing challenges they had encountered in their wards and ways of addressing them collectively.
Madowo said continued capacity building by TI and other partners would help prepare women leaders to compete effectively and remain active in public leadership.
She thanked TI for supporting the women MCAs through the Usawa Mashinani project, saying it had contributed to stronger participation by women in the legislative process.
The women leaders said they hoped to build on the gains made through the project and use their legislative experience to strengthen representation of women and other vulnerable groups at grassroots level.
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