Women leadership remain the exception in Northern Kenya politics but activists say things are looking up. Politics can be said to be the act of making public choice and making decisions on behalf of the people through the medium of the State and its apparatus. It is accepted that for development of society, women, who make up a larger proportion of the population, should not be left out because there is no doubt that both men and woman can equally contribute to the development and growth of our society. There is abundant historical evidence that African women have for long been playing crucial roles in the political life of their countries.
Many great women have helped in shaping African society and political evolution. Of late, one such great woman from the restive NEP - North Eastern Province - has cought my attention. Simply for her tireless effort to change the lives of the forgotten, downtrodden and marginalized women of Wajir County. Meet Madam Honourable Fatuma Ibrahim, the Women Representative for Wajir County - the women there call her the MOTHER of Wajir.
Honourable Fatuma Ibrahim is perhaps the only female 'visible' MP from the restive North. Not me saying but everyone in the streets of Wajir and to a larger extent, the region. How else could this blog get to know of her? Let her actions speak for themselves. In the short stint she was in Parliament, what has she done? Action speak louder than words, they say.
Lets start with the basics before the 'complications'. She has educated and still educating girls more than any leader from the region. At times she sacrifices her personal meagre resources to put happiness and joy in the lives of Wajir girls. She has enrolled more youths in the National Youth Service than any sitting MP. Again, the statistics are out there.
So what are the 'complications'? Of course they are many. For me three of these 'complications' major my list because they are landmark achievements. Never heard before. First, in the history of North Eastern Kenya, the first ever free Medical camp fully sponsored by a politician happened recently in Wajir County. All were treated. Only Allah heals. Major surgeries were done. Cleft lip deformities were corrected. Women were treated for women 'issues'. All courtesy of Honourable Fatuma.
Honourable Fatuma didn't stop there. She decided to uplift the lives of Wajir Women. She hosted H.E Rachael Ruto - wife of the Deputy President - to launch the first ever table banking in the region. When you empower a woman, you empower a society. Madam Hon knows that too well.
Weeks ago she hosted the first lady, Her Excellency Margaret Kenyatta in Wajir town to launch her Beyond Zero Campaign in the county. Again, the first in the restive region. Lets appreciate the doers. Hon Fatuma Ibrahim is a doer!
Before she joined politics, she was in the civil society where she sharpened her skills of serving the society ably. Mind you, she was a commissioner with the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights. While still a Commissioner, Hon. Fatuma Ibrahim Ali visited the United Nations in New York and Minnesota at the invitation of the International Leadership Institute (ILI) to share ideas with the African Diaspora on the human rights situation in Kenya. She has always championed for a free and fair society. In her, our beautiful daughters are not short of a role model. Women like madam Hon Fatuma can only succeed because of the men in their lives. Statistics suggest that successful women have great men in their lives.
So far, her parliamentary work is beyond reproach. I will not hesitate to endorse her for bigger political positions in the future. She deserves it. Today we decide to speak through the lens. Nowadays a picture is worth a billion dollar.
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