VOA常速英语2007年-Female Candidates in Kenya Say They Face Discri

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi, Kenya
24 December 2007
 

There are a record number of women seeking office in elections scheduled in Kenya  for December 27th. And they face a number of challenges on the campaign trail, including violence and discrimination. Cathy Majtenyi reports from Nairobi for VOA.

Parliamentary hopeful Ann Njogu has hit the campaign trail in earnest.

"We have 94 million shillings, 94 million shillings -- wait, 94 million shillings in the CDF. And for the bursary fund, 10 million shillings,” she tells a crowd.

This afternoon, she is meeting with a group of women voters in her Nairobi constituency of Kamakunji. At another location, the crowd thickens. Njogu has a security detail to shield her from possible attacks.

In addition to being a parliamentary candidate in Kamakunji, Njogu is executive director of the women's advocacy group, Center for Rights Education and Awareness¹.

Njogu calls Kenyan politics "anti-women." She describes her frustration² when voters insist that her husband must grant her permission to campaign. "I never expected to be asked to produce my husband. In several times, the meetings would not start until my husband arrived. I remember one instance where we had to postpone³ the meeting because my husband was held up, and they would not talk to me."

When Kenyans vote on December 27th, they will choose their next president, members of parliament and civic⁴ representatives.

While both male and female candidates face potential violence on the campaign trail, threats against women are often gender⁵ specific. Njogu describes what her competitor told her friends. "He sat two of my friends [down] and told them that I could get gang sodomized or gang raped⁶. Yes."

Philo Ikonya is campaigning in the Kiambaa constituency near Nairobi. She shows bolts that she says were loosened on her front tires with the intention of causing an accident.

Ikonya says one of her biggest challenges is to change voters' expectations that candidates need to offer bribes⁷ for votes. Many say that has been a common practice in Kenyan politics. "When you ask me for 50 shillings you are not really asking me for 50 shillings. You are asking me for a good connection, you are asking me for a bond. You are asking me for more help once you have elected me. But these other guys have been giving you a little money, then you elect them and they go. But I am promising⁸ you a lasting⁹ relationship."

Shortly after the nomination¹⁰ process ended in mid-November, the Electoral Commission of Kenya reported that 120 women were running for parliamentary seats in these elections as compared to 44 women in the 2002 elections. In the last parliament, there were 18 women in the legislature out of a total of 222 members.

The Electoral Commission of Kenya, along with non-government organizations and political parties themselves, offers various programs to encourage women to run for office. The commission also deals with cases of violence and other challenges.

One organization involved in the elections is the Kenyan office of the Federation¹¹ of Women Lawyers, or FIDA. It is monitoring the media's election coverage¹², conducting voter education programs and it will observe the polls on voting day.

Moses Otsieno is an assistant program officer at FIDA. He describes what he says are the key challenges facing female candidates. "So it is mainly a lack of resources, lack of security, and the patriarchal nature of the society, which always believes that it is men who are supposed to compete for leadership positions and the position of women is in the kitchen, the background," he says.

Despite the many challenges, Ann Njogu and the other women running for office stay on the campaign trail, motivated by what they say is a chance to transform society in Kenya.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

4 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

5 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

6 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

7 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。