Abstract
The participation of women in politics is central to building and sustaining effective democracies. This is largely due to the fact that women comprise slightly over half of the world’s population, making their input paramount in democratic debate and conversations. Again, there is scholarly evidence that points to the fact that women bring different values, priorities, and styles to political discourse. Unfortunately, women are faced by significant constraints in political engagement. In Kenya, the voice of the female politician is muzzled and drowned by cultural dispositions, political environments, institutional designs, and the systems in place. However, with the increased use of social media as conduits of political representation and communication, there is need to assess whether female politicians in Kenya can (or have) tapped into and drawn from the strengths of social media (user generated content and low barriers to entry) to navigate political obstacles and regain their voice in political engagement. This paper presents a theoretical examination into the potentiality of social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) in increasing the representative capacity of female politicians in Kenyan politics. The paper digs into the ability of social media platforms in enabling women politicians to sidestep and navigate the societal challenges that have prevented them from participating and contributing equally on the political representative platform. It is the argument, in this paper, that social media are endowed with unlimited power that can empower women to liberate themselves from undemocratic politics and processes.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Politics, Social Media, Political Representation, Women, Kenya
