Parliament on Tuesday (30 July 2024) passed the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Bill 2024.
After spending long hours to make amendments to the bill, the House passed it through a voice vote on the last day of the third sitting.
It is now be expected that the bill will be transmitted to the Office of the President for presidential assent.
The bill, which seeks to promote women’s participation and representation in decision-making, has been on the shelves for over a decade without seeing the light of day.
The Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Bill also seeks to encourage efforts towards addressing gender imbalances in socio-cultural life, politics, economics and education in the private and public sectors, in keeping with Clause 4 of Article 17 of the 1992 constitution.
Its core objective is to promote the progressive increase and the active participation of women in public and active life to reach a female representation rate of at least 30% by 2030, respecting the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
