Abstract:
Gender equality means a social order in which men and women share the same opportunities
and the same constraints in the economic, social and political realms of life. There is little
doubt that women have historically been accorded less than favourable treatment in these
spheres compared with men. This difference has stemmed from mere sexual or biological
distinction between male and female; a distinction that has been used as the basis for
ascription of roles and entitlements to these sexes. In a patriarchal society the sex-based
assignment of roles has projected the spectre of inferiority even unworthiness, over women
while casting the characteristic of superiority on to men. While this role-assignment sprung
from the inherently patriarchal nature of the Kenyan society, it found good nurturing ground
in institutions, such as, and especially the law.