Women in ODPP : #ChooseToChallenge

Subject: Women in ODPP : #ChooseToChallenge

The women’s conference in Beijing in 1995 emphasized that what was needed in law making bodies was enough women to have an impact (not just two or three or six), to show that women could really make an effective contribution to public affairs. It popularized the idea that one-third women should be enough. Kenyan women picked up the Beijing ball, and ran with it.. In 1997 there was an effort to get the law changed to require parties to have at least one-third women candidates. No law was passed until the 2010 constitution.

Article 27(8) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 provides that the State shall take steps to ensure that not more than two-thirds of members of all elective and appointive positions are not of the same gender. The office of the DPP Kenya is one of the very few, if not the only public institution that has almost 3/4 of its staff being female..

As the world marked the International Women’s Day, we were tasked to do a short documentary that would showcase the diversity in the ODPP as we celebrated the courage and hard work shown by the ladies in this office. The ODPP is present in all the 47 counties with more than 1200 staff, handling more than 300,000 cases annually.

We traveled across the country, telling this story from the most diverse group of women yet committed to serve the nation.