These are the women breaking new ground in Kenya’s politics.
They are the first women to run for parliament
They are the first female chairmen of parliamentary committees
Yet they are also the subject of the first political assassination in Kenya’s history
They are changing the very landscape of Kenya’s democracy
As Kenya moves towards a new political order, the country has been led by the most powerful female leader in the world, and there are few whose stories inspire more respect or wonder.
For more than 20 years, I have written, as an independent journalist, about the most difficult of issues.
I have been a woman of colour, I have been Muslim, I have been lesbian and I have been gay. I have written about my life in Kenya and my life as a woman living in Australia at the same time.
This has led to many experiences I will never forget.
I have witnessed, and been a part of, some of the most dramatic changes in my lifetime.
And I know that the story of Kenya has never been more important than it is right now.
For the world’s first Muslim women to run for parliament on a ticket that is more than a token protest against President Kenyatta.
For the first female chairmen of parliamentary committees.
For the first female prime minister of a country.
And for the first woman to hold the office of prime minister of Kenya.
It is the first time in Kenya’s history that two women have ever held the same office.
But, in fact, the first woman to run for the presidency on equal terms with men was also the first woman to be the president of Kenya: Uhuru Kenyatta.
And she was the first woman to ever become prime minister of Kenya.
For more than five years, in fact, Kenyatta has been the woman who has led Kenya as it has found itself on the verge of change.
I am here on a mission to show how extraordinary it is, as a country and also from a human rights perspective, that we are led by Kenyatta.
She is my hero, she is my role model and she is a leader that we should all look up to, no matter our gender, race or sexuality.
And she is my friend.
I first met her when I was a young journalist working for
