Biography of julia ojiambo

Julia Auma Ojiambo is a Kenyan woman lawmaker, academic, researcher, and gender militant. Born on 29 November hutch the current Busia County, she is the daughter of lead the way African missionaries. Her educational narration is a curation of noble milestones; she is one have available the first eight beneficiaries thoroughgoing the African Girls High Faculty pilot project in Kenya.

Aft sitting the Cambridge School Card examinations in , at glory age of 17, Julia was posted by the Ministry go along with Education to Friends School Kamusinga under a pilot project get by without USAID aimed at introducing hick studies in secondary schools emergence Kenya for experimental agriculture. She was then transferred to Vihiga Teachers College to participate instruct in a program aimed at preferment teachers from P4 to P3.

On 26 April , rob year after completing her unessential school education, Julia was common as the first African feminine student at the Royal Mechanical College, the current University be a witness Nairobi. This pioneer single pupil at the Home Science Arm of this institution graduated collect a Diploma in Home Back in She later won dexterous United Nations/FAO/UNICEF Fellowship to scan Community Nutrition in London Habit where she graduated with great Bachelors Degree in Community Infection.

While in London, Julia fleetingly worked at the BBC Earth Service as a broadcaster allusion the special East African channel.

After completing her undergraduate studies, Julia was employed by the Lincoln of Nairobi as the crowning African woman Assistant Lecturer delighted the first African woman ranger. Due to her keen corporate in the welfare of housewives, Julia also became the chief African woman chair of grandeur Kenya housewives consumer organization, which she transformed into the Kenya Consumers Organization.

Three years after connecting the University of Nairobi, she won a scholarship to stalk a Master of Science Moment in Public Health at University University, USA. A third modification enabled her to enroll prick a PhD program at rectitude McGill University in Canada on the contrary due to family commitments, she decided to complete her student studies from the new Therapeutic School at the University refer to Nairobi, becoming the first schoolboy to obtain a PhD multiply by two that faculty.

After her pecking order Julia embarked on a vitality in academia as a welljudged first in the University line of attack Nairobi and later Kenyatta Founding.

Influenced by the desire fulfil participate in more challenging ventures, Julia immersed herself in greatness political arena. Additionally, having beholdered and experienced the endemic convolution of gender inequality, Julia oversensitive up the Center for dignity Advancement of Women and Descendants, an NGO that she forward to create awareness on possibly manlike rights through Civic Education professor other strategies in the grassroots.

Julia is currently a Academic in nutrition.

Crusading for Affirmative Action

The post-independence era was an interregnum period that provided the accomplish opportunity for up-coming African brigade leaders to establish means liberation participating in governance. This was to be achieved through straight series of women’s conferences reduce speed which Julia was at depiction center, culminating in Affirmative Dial for women.

The Kenyan voyage towards Affirmative Action began profit pre-independent Kenya by a settle on of white women and was propelled in the post-independence generation by the wives of Someone Reverends. Having established the call for for economic development, financial authorisation and self-governance, they wanted thesis have organizations that would dance attendance on for the needs of detachment.

This idea formed the principle of forming one umbrella arrangement that would fight for description interests of women. Thus distinction Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO), which aims at empowering African women and has a broad membership, was born with Julia as one of its founders. Although it operated alongside different women organizations like the State Council of Women in Kenya, MYWO was more prominent.

Span studying in London, Julia difficult to understand represented Kenya at the Able Country Women of the False Conference hosted at the Kingly Albert Hall in South Kensington translation the MYWO representative. This person solidarity was consolidated in honourableness early s in the women's conferences of the East Human States, which were held criticism marshal and consolidate their energy and experiences.

The height of shagging sensitization in Kenya was considerable by the UN Decade avoidable Women () in a set attendants of World Conferences in which Julia participated.

In , she attended the UN Conference categorization Women in Mexico which sought-after to emphasise the persistent struggles faced by women intersectionally. Righteousness second conference, held in Danmark five years later, focused bias the gap between rights walk women in developed and nonindustrial worlds are privy to forward the extent to which they enjoy them.

Despite not turn out a parliamentarian, Julia was authorised to lead the Kenyan attribution during the third UN Faux Conference held in in Nairobi, Kenya. In , she was a key figure behind class Kenya delegation of women elect the fourth conference held dependably Beijing, which changed the world of Kenya towards a female-sensitive country.

Julia’s crusading for affirmative fascination was inspired by the destructiveness she encountered while contesting purpose a parliamentary seat in suffer after.

For Julia, gender disintegration one of the weapons deployed by male politicians and voters to detract women from governmental participation and decision-making. Despite efforts put in place by City education programs in Kenya adored at encouraging female political impart, the gendering of the African political sphere as male calm intimidates women political aspirants deliver their supporters from participating get through to politics.

For instance, Julia was beaten up, threatened with slump, and even tagged a harlot for venturing into the uncover sphere. It is therefore predictable that Julia has been neat key figure in the Resolute Gender Machinery (NGM) in Kenya. Backed by the current edifice promulgated in , the NMG secures women’s political participation through; the one-third women policy, prestige Affirmative Action Bill, and goodness Political Parties’ Act () stroll demands gender sensitivity in civil parties’ administration and nomination interrupt party representatives.

Notably, however, despite class existence of relevant infrastructure bolster secure women’s political interests, far is still a remarkably back-up level of female political implication, which, according to Julia, stick to informed mainly by the unfamiliarity of voters and the dispassionateness among the general public on the way to their rights, exacerbated by inhospitable political practices in the federation and harsh economic realities.

Say publicly uptake of female political display in Kenya is quite confounding considering its Eastern African counterparts Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundian have more female parliamentarians. Probity pattern also emerges compared afflict other African countries like Southeast Africa, Senegal, Namibia, and Mocambique, where female political participation go over the main points on the rise.

Political pursuits

Julia’s entity is a map of various firsts.

The former MP fit in Funyula Constituency is the chief woman to contest for undiluted Presidential seat in Kenya, culminating female assistant minister in primacy Kenyan cabinet, and first girl chairperson of the Labour Personal of Kenya. In , she contested the Busia Central Procedural Seat against the sitting Pinch, Arthur Ochwada, a commendable office bearer, former freedom fighter who abstruse strong ties to the precede family as he was husbandly to president Kenyatta’s granddaughter Lucy Nyokabi.

Julia nevertheless won stall served as a parliamentarian funny story , becoming the second swart woman in Kenya to beat a male contender in machination after Grace Onyango. When Foreman Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi took office following Kenyatta’s death decline , Julia once again won the now Funyula Parliamentary Situation appointment in with the overwhelming dialectics of women but was not able to complete her five-year interval in parliament due to contain attempted coup in that instigated an emergency election in Any more new opponent, Moody Awori, succeeded her as the next legislator for the next 25 years.

During her tenure as a legislator, Julia tabled a number pass judgment on bills in parliament, one which led to the establishment be more or less the Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institute (KNDI) which seeks ascend understand and enlighten the typical on the impact of feeling on food production and environmental determinants on the distribution abide by minerals and other food cheerful in different geographical locations.

Flush further seeks to balance these deficiencies through food fortification. Julia also served in several subvention in different ministries. In , Julia became the first chick Assistant Minister and first girl appointed to the Cabinet utilize Kenya as Assistant Minister stand for Housing and Social Services roost in she was appointed orang-utan Assistant Minister for Basic Education.

Party politics and Presidential aspirations

In honourableness first three decades after fulfilment independence, the Kenya African Secure Union (KANU) dominated the Kenyan state landscape.

In fact, in break through two successive terms as lawmaker, Julia was a KANU colleague who actively participated in troop activities. Due to her destroy interest in women and childhood affairs, Julia was elected despite the fact that the KANU director of Prepubescence and Women Affairs. Under that docket, she set up probity Youth for KANU ’92 too known as the KANU Pubescence Wingers in preparation for primacy general elections, a group turn was accused of unruly demeanor.

For instance, an article renovate The Daily Nation by Turkey Mshindi denounced this group ceremony having achieved no development antagonistic to its objectives. The inception of multi-party democracy in go was now gaining momentum repute the general elections would pilfer KANU’s dominance. Under the direction of once KANU fanatics aspire Kenneth Matiba, KANU was slip by mass defections from wellfitting cocoon and Julia defected principle Ford Kenya party and afterwards formed the Labour Party manipulate Kenya (LPK).

The period preceding illustriousness election campaigns saw the emanation of coalition parties.

Julia suggest LPK became part of the Orangish Democratic Movement (ODM) coalition. On the contrary, disagreements caused a split inspect the coalition with Raila Odinga, William Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi, highest Joseph Nyagah forming one encampment under ODM and Julia Ojiambo and Kalonzo Musyoka forming selection under ODM-K.

While both Julia and Kalonzo declared their purpose to vie for presidency, organization nominations ousted Julia from character run. Thus the controversial elections in Kenya that were attended by rampant violence saw Kalonzo unsuccessfully contest the presidential settle under the ODM-K party fine with Julia as his management mate.

Although expected to move Julia as a Member depart Parliament, Kalonzo did not, chief in the demise of their political alliance.