GENDER MAINSTREAMING POLICIES INFLUENCING WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN ATTAINMENT OF PEACE IN NAKURU AND NAROK COUNTIES, KENYA

Abstract

From a global perspective, gender mainstreaming has been embraced as a strategy to magnify and propagate women’s rights to achieve gender parity. The United States has been hailed to be making significant progress in advancing gender equality. However, it continues to grapple with endless gender inequalities despite the enormous progress. From Africa’s perspective, gender mainstreaming has received a significant attention as exemplified by the implementation of gender-related policies. However, the implementation has been weak as women continue to be constrained by socioeconomic, political and cultural hurdles and Kenyan women are not an exception. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, women’s political participation in the Rift Valley area is notably low compared to other regions. Despite having similar gender mainstreaming policies, Nakuru County has more women in political representation than Narok County. This study aimed to uncover the reasons behind these disparities. The study’s objectives were to examine the nature of gender mainstreaming policies, evaluate the extent of women’s political participation towards the attainment of peace in Nakuru and Narok counties, explore opportunities for women’s political participation towards the attainment of peace in Nakuru and Narok counties, and investigate the challenges to women’s political participation towards the attainment of peace in Nakuru and Narok counties. The research was grounded in radical feminism theory, structural violence theory, and political development theory. Philosophically, the study was grounded in pragmatism philosophical approach. The study deployed descriptive survey research design which was aided by both qualitative and quantitative methods. The target population comprised of 384 household heads, derived through Fisher’s formula and sampled using simple random technique, key informants including the security personnel, county officials dealing with gender issues, CSO officials, elected and non-elected political leaders and conflict management experts who were purposively sampled. Data was collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Qualitative data collected was analysed thematically and presented in verbatim quotations while quantitative data was analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics with an aid of SPSS version 28 and presented in frequencies, percentages, graphs, tables and pie charts. The results found that socially constructed ways of life negatively affected gender mainstreaming to promote peaceful coexistence and did not accord women equal opportunities, as a gendered approach to peace building was lacking in Narok. Women in the study areas still face several hurdles including underrepresentation, strong cultural and social norms, and weak legal structures pertaining to gender mainstreaming. These factors not only hinder their participation in politics but also in peace building. The study also found that women’s political participation presented untapped opportunities including the need for women’s empowerment, strengthening of the existing genders mainstreaming policies and the potential for collaboration of both genders to attain peace and enhance effective political participation of both genders. The study concluded that there are progress and on-going challenges in achieving gender parity in political representation. A stronger political will and better support systems have seen more women participate in politics, while Narok requires more effective implementation of gender mainstreaming policies.