Kenya Women Senators Association (KEWOSA) has called for restraint on handling the brawl witnessed at the National Assembly on Tuesday between Nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Umi Harun and Falhada Iman of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
Led by nominated Senator Veronica Maina, KEWOSA said that the matter should not be aggrandized, but the duo should seek alternative means of solving their disputes and not engaging in physical confrontations.
She, however faulted those hell bent on tainting the reputation of female leaders, urging Kenyans to be mindful of how they address similar situations and not be quick to post any injurious videos online.
“You can call the people who were involved in it to explain or even maybe apologise, but don’t pressure women. In fact you have more men fighting than women. But because we are dealing with gender bias, it is skewed in how it’s reported,” she said.
“Let leaders be more careful on how they express themselves in public and be more responsible.”
Other female leaders echoed Veronica’s sentiments, noting that the incident should not be isolated and should be left between the two leaders to iron out the matter.
MP Harun cleared the air after the scuffle went viral online, intimating that she was ambushed by her colleague and that she has made an assault complaint on the matter.
“My colleague from the EALA, who has expressed longstanding differences with my work, acted in a manner that I find unacceptable. She came to Parliament to do nothing but attack me, an incident that blindsided me and left me questioning what faulted the ambush,” she wrote on Facebook.
“I sincerely regret this occurrence and want to emphasize that I do not endorse or encourage any form of misconduct. While I am not providing further comments at this time, I remain fully committed to upholding the respectful and dignified standards expected of our institution and of myself, particularly as a Muslim woman.”
On her part, Iman said in a statement released on Wednesday that the incident was “beyond the dignity of the House and the trust of the Kenyan people,” and that she deeply regretted it.
“While I initially exercised restraint in the face of repeated inflammatory remarks, the situation regrettably escalated beyond control. In the heat of the moment, my response crossed the line of decorum expected of a public servant. Let me be unequivocal: no circumstance justifies such a breach of conduct, and I take full accountability for my actions,” she said.
Senator Maina further called for expeditious action to tame abuse against women in the nation, condemning the rising femicide cases being reported.
She added that some cultural practices that have endorsed abuse against women should be nipped in the bud and embrace the progressive legislations passed to protect the girl child.
“Enough is enough. Women are not cultural relics to be punished for their independence, widows are not to be inherited, silenced or humiliated into submissions, girls are not bargaining chips for family honour. They are human beings worthy of safety, respect and justice. Violence of women is not culture, its a violation of the law,” she noted.
