"Even if they are going to fail, we are going to fail with them": The hopes and realities of women's suffrage under the 2010 Constitution

Abstract

<p><b>Introduction</b></p><p>One of the greatest hopes of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution was that the extensive provisions for the promotion and protection of women's rights would be successful in in breaking the vicious grip of patriarchal politics and promote a new generation of women parliamentarians and local government officials. As well as mentioning women in a list of groups identified as marginalised and in need of institutional and structural support, quotas were entrenched to ensure women's representation in parliament. In spite of these safeguards, the first elections under the new constitution in 2013 returned very few women to elected to positions other than those designated as women only positions.</p>