It Is Possible

Phoebe Muga Asiyo was present when Kenya became an independent nation in 1963, and that experience convinced her that women must take part in the decisions that shape the country. Her hope is for a Kenya whose elected leaders govern with honesty, so that every Kenyan has a fair chance at opportunity. Her story moves from Karachuonyo, the rural home of her childhood, to Nairobi. She looks back on her early years as a twenty-year-old social worker in the African reserves during the 1952 State of Emergency.

She later became the first African president of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO). In that role she learned that women acting together can alter the story told about them and steer a nation toward greater inclusion. MYWO has stood beside her for more than seven decades, offering encouragement and backing, and that steady presence helped her widen her sense of what was possible. She describes the difficulties she encountered and the reforms she pushed for to supply basic necessities to women in prison.

The biography covers her years as a woman sitting in Parliament, a body dominated by men, within a deeply patriarchal society. It also follows her work with international bodies, chiefly the United Nations, and her campaign to bring more women into elected office. It examines the issues that shape women's roles in development and argues that any policy meant to improve conditions must involve women at every level. She urges women to seek political office so that the gains made for women are secured for everyone else. She also calls on young people to confront both imagined and real obstacles as they work toward becoming reliable leaders.

As a record of the country's long struggles over gender equality, political reform and activism, the book preserves her institutional memory. It tells of the hope and resolve of a woman whose deliberate steps helped open freedoms for all, particularly young people, girls and women. The book is intended as a historical reference for policymakers, universities and scholars of gender and development studies.