A Woman Runs for Parliament in Kenya; Western Media Follows Along

Ringera, who has a Ph.D. in human communication from the University of Denver and is founder of a nonprofit called International Peace Initiatives, decided to run after she spent days trying to get in touch with her member of parliament last year. No one knew where he was. "It was my frustration and anger in looking for someone in authority that caused me to run for parliament," Ringera told me.

With a government notorious for corruption and inefficiency, the 2007 parliamentary and presidential elections have given Kenyans a chance to challenge the priorities of the current administration, which has failed to tackle the poverty, unemployment, and disease that most Kenyans face day to day.

In searching for a solution to the nation's problems, some Kenyans have turned their attention to an entire gender. This election, there are more female candidates than have ever run before in Kenya's history. With 269 female candidates, women make up just over 10 percent of all parliamentary aspirants. In a country in which only eight of the 210 elected MPs in the last parliament were women, the boom has elicited excitement and distress, depending on whom you ask.

Today I jumped off the train that is the campaign.  I don’t know how Karambu does it!  I’ve been at it for two weeks and am ready for a mindless desk job, but even though Karambu has been at it for months, her energy seems to only increase.  At night, she’s exhausted—she returned from meetings at 1am the last 2 nights.  But she seems energized by her supporters, who throng at public meetings.