President William Ruto has revealed that he has come to an agreement with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) will accommodate a female presidential candidate or running mate.
Speaking during the launch Women Governors Caucus G7 Strategy on Thursday, March 7, the head of state explained that the party will only allow for a female deputy presidential candidate in case a man vies.
At the same time, if a woman vies for the presidential seat, UDA party will only allow for a male deputy presidential candidate.
However, Ruto did not indicate when the law will be implemented.
“We must be intentional and deliberate about the place of women in leadership. We have agreed with Deputy President that moving forward when we are done, in the party, if a presidential candidate is male, then a woman must be the deputy or vice versa. The same will apply to counties,” he said.
Ruto on Female Leadership
The head of state also said that his administration will make sure women in leadership positions succeed adding that the two-thirds gender rule will be attained.
According to the head of state, for Kenya to make steps into the future it could not be done with men only.
“I made a commitment to the women in Kenya Kwanza that we would finally do something about the two-thirds gender rule. It’s been a back and forth for over 10 years. I want to commit that this time round we’ll make sure that it’s attained.
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“This time round we must get the 2/3rds gender rule right. In the bill that will be submitted to parliament, we will ensure more women get elected to parliament. For the 290 seats, at the very minimum we must have at least one third being women,” added Ruto.
On the other hand, he appreciated female leaders for their resilient and for standing beside him through his difficult political times.
“When I ran into political turbulence as deputy president, more women on my side stood by me than men. In the last election, for some reason, more women voted for me than men.
“It is not just politically correct to say we should have women leaders; it’s the constitutional and moral thing to do. No man, however prejudiced, did not come from the womb of a woman,” added Ruto.
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President on FGM
President William Ruto also spoke passionately about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) especially the role of men in protecting women from the cut.
Ruto said men should do it even if it is for selfish reasons, because FGM destroys women’s confidence and in turn men’s enjoyment. He also said that Kenya is ranked globally as the second country with the highest number of early pregnancies.
“I want to tell men to stand, come forward and protect our women from FGM. Even if it is for selfish reasons. FGM destroys women and makes them less confident, less effective and creates many challenges.
“Men should know, in fact men should be champions against FGM, because it destroys everything that would be good in a woman. Because even if it is for selfish reasons because we are the ones who enjoy when eeeeh..” he said before the crowd broke into a chuckle.
