Meet the iron ladies of Kericho

They literally stormed Kericho town and took charge, leaving their male colleagues gasping for breath as they blazed the trail for fellow women folk in leadership.

In a historic feat, seven women candidates took over senior positions at the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) in Kericho County, in an election held two weeks ago.

Leading the charge was former branch chairperson Ms Mary Rotich who was resoundingly elected as the branch executive secretary garnering 1,148 votes to beat her closest rival Mr John Korir who got 338 votes and the incumbent Mr Julius Mibei who managed a paltry 294 votes.

Ms Korir was picked alongside six others – Ms Clara Chebet Kenduiywo, vice-chairperson, Ms Mercy Langat the organising secretary, Ms Beatrice Mitei, assistant treasurer, Ms Priscah Cheruiyot – secretary in charge of tertiary, Ms Mercy Cherono secretary for secondary and Ms Florence Koech secretary gender.

They did not get it on a silver platter; they literally had to fight their way up, discarding the name tag flower girls that others before them had been reduced to as a matter of tradition and deep rooted culture.

The iron women of Kericho as they have come to be known, travelled the breadth and width of the county convincing fellow teachers to rally behind them in the competitive poll.

“It was not an easy task with the challenges that were placed on our way as we sought the support of teachers across the county to entrust us with influential leadership positions,” said Ms Rotich.

She added: “The election is behind us and it is time rubber meets the road as we serve our members, who are of both genders, without discrimination.”

The women’s success in the election is a testimony of a case of setting targets, having a clear focus, determination and going flat out to deliver it.

“It is important for women to seek elective positions as opposed to waiting for nomination slots in the name of gender parity. Women have the numbers and men are willing to support the opposite gender for positions as has been demonstrated by our case,” said Ms Rotich.

So engaging is the task she has at hand that an interview slated for midmorning on Friday was pushed 7pm as she was engaged in handing over the office.

Engaging face to face with the elected leaders, gives one a sneak preview of the resolve and determination that drives them to deliver on their mandate with high expectation from the members with myriad of challenges facing them in their workstations.

“Our election to office has brought down the gender barrier in leadership and a clear demonstration that indeed, women have the ability to perform equally as men in the socio-economic and political front,” said Ms Rotich.

It also demonstrates that the Kipsigis community is increasingly becoming a liberal lot in picking their leaders, with more women taking on their male counterparts in polls.

Ms Rotich’s journey to the top started when she took over from Ms Florence Bore, the current Kericho Woman Representative, as the secretary gender, before becoming chairperson in 2016, and eventually being elected as the county secretary on February, 27 this year.

“I am humbled by the fact that teachers did not consider gender and went ahead to elect seven women out of 10 top officials in the county. It is a big statement and clear demonstrations of the trust teachers have on our team,” said Ms Rotich, who was an English and Literature teacher at Keongo Secondary School in Ainamoi Sub-county, before taking up the leadership mantle.

She says women should not wait for nomination to senior positions but come out, battle it out for elective posts and add flavour to the contest.

Top on their agenda in the five-year period is to improve welfare of the teachers in the county and lobby the head office to take welfare of teachers seriously, engage the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) so as to improve their (teachers) working conditions, fast track promotions and increase pay.

“The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that Kuppet signed with TSC is lopsided in favour of administrators and not classroom teachers. This is a matter that must be cured in the next CBA” said Ms Rotich.

Due to cultural barriers, women remain the minority in union leadership in the country despite their numerical strength in the workforce.

“Most of the male teachers encouraged us to gun for the elective positions in the union and backed us all the way. It was a very rigorous exercise traversing all the six sub-counties in a vast county,” said Ms Kenduiywo, a trainer of poems.

It was a delicate balancing act between work, family and campaigns for the female candidates, but in the end, the effort they put in bore fruit.

“The contest was tough, long and hectic especially for me who successfully fought to retain the position. I am lucky to have been the only one who survived the election among the former office bearers,” said Ms Cheruiyot, the secretary in charge of tertiary institutions.

To succeed, however, the iron ladies of Kericho will have to depend a lot on moral and professional support from both female and male teachers as union leadership requires a lot of consultation.

“It is not that it will be an all women affair, we are there to balance the scale as men. But what clearly came out in the poll is that teachers have confidence in women leaders,” said Mr Johna Korir who was elected the branch chairman.

Mr Korir said: “It is our responsibility to give the moral support to branch secretary Ms Rotich and her team in the five years we will be in office,”

“The high number of female teachers elected to positions is not for the simple reason of their gender, but because they have strong leadership qualities,” Mr Hillary Rotich, the assistant executive secretary said.

It remains to be seen how the trendsetting poll outcome will reflect on Kuppet’s national election with the top positions being male-dominated.

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