Women under-representation in leadership positions is not only witnessed at the highest levels of government, but also at the local and community level in Kenya.
According to Hon. Maria Losile, a County Assembly Representative in Baring County, men in her community tried their best to undermine her political ambitions, claiming, “A girl cannot stand in front of us” and chanting, “We have never seen a woman leading”. These slogans reinforced the cultural barriers for women like Maria to rise to positions of power in the highly patriarchal Pokot community. Against this backdrop, Maria braved the odds during the 8th August 2017 General Elections in Kenya and she now proudly sits in the Baringo County Assembly as the ward representative for Loiyamorock Ward, being the first woman from the Pokot community to be elected into political leadership.
The mother of six is a woman of rare courage and her self-determination led her to resign from her job as a Primary school Head Teacher at Chesirimion Primary School to venture into politics. Passionate about education, Maria’s desire is to see many more girls in Loiyamorock going to school.
“I saw many problems in my community, especially the girl child being used as a source of income by being married off early.” She says in devastation.
“My life through school was hard” she adds, narrating how at the age of fourteen, her dream of being a teacher was almost hijacked by her relatives, in efforts to marry her off against her will. Her father was however very firm, as he refused to marry her off, enabling her to finish her primary and secondary education. Through this experience and her current exposure, Maria has taken the mandate of being the agent for change for the people of Loiyamorock.
Maria is no stranger to leadership. Way before venturing into politics, she was the chairperson for Loiyamorock Women’s Group that collaborated with ActionAid to champion for women’s rights in the area.
“When ActionAid came to Loiyamorock to sensitize the community on women rights, the need to empower the girl child, and championing the need for gender equality, I did not hesitate to join” She says in reminiscence. She attributes her current success to ActionAid saying, “It is through my interaction with ActionAid that I gained the courage to become an instrument of change to empower women, and to to come together in solidarity to improve the economic and educational opportunities for the community.”
As a leader in the local women’s group, Maria has contributed to the empowerment of working with ActionAid, she has achieved to empower her fellow women through forming support groups that fund small businesses such as rearing poultry, growing vegetables and crafting. Among her achievements while serving the community is writing a proposal that earned Chesirimion Women Group a posho mill that has become a source of income for more than 30 women and their families by extension. She is also proud to have contributed to the implementation of some key projects such as digging of boreholes, the construction of a dam, the construction of Early Childhood Development facilities in the ward and getting scholarships for some high school students. Her hope for a developed Loiyamorock continues to unravel, thanks to partnership with humanitarian actors such as ActionAid who held her hand, trained and equipped her with leadership skills that serve the goodwill of her community today.
Maria continues to be a visionary leader, a trait that has caused men in her community to realize their potential and be open to the idea of women leadership in political spaces. “A woman’s leadership begins at home and if she is empowered, she can lead her community too.” She says with great optimism.
Maria continues to encourage women on the need to support one another considering women are still underrepresented in positions of power. “We need women to come up and take positions because they are strong and not cowards, they are capable. They should not shy off from leadership. Men have to see the potential in women”. She boldly says.
In the spirit of empowering women to participate in spaces of leadership she encourages women that if they can lead at home and provide for the family, they can also play a crucial role in leading the community. She is now an inspiration to the young and old women in her community that anyone is capable of being a leader, their gender notwithstanding.
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