Former Nyeri Woman Rep Priscilla Nyokabi says when she joined parliament in 2013, she was shocked to experience the rawest form of gender discrimination in the national assembly and was taken aback when she found herself on the receiving end of sexual advances from her male colleagues.
On Wednesday in a local publication, Nyokabi, who was a member of the National Gender and Equality Commission before resigning to vie for the Nyeri Senatorial seat explained not even her strong networks and work with women’s rights groups could deter the predators.
”When I got to Parliament in 2013, I was still young and a greenhorn in politics and therefore thought gender discrimination was alien within the precincts of the hallowed House. I was therefore taken aback when I found myself on the receiving end of indecent sexual overtures from some members of the House. Not even my strong links with Fida (Federation of Women Lawyers) and my no-nonsense approach to protection of women rights deterred these mafisi (sex predators),” she said during the Inooro TV Itugi talk show.
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The Constitutional and Human Rights lawyer who has also served at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Kituo Cha Sheria revealed gender-based harassment is alive in the national assembly, something that prompted her alongside other female colleagues to propose enactment of policies to protect women legislators from unwarranted sexual harassment in Parliament.
