Members of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) have commenced efforts to champion the abolishment of the death sentence for women in the country, with commensurate charges that are deterrent.

This call for gender justice comes ahead of the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV), with the Women MPs advocating for the adoption of the African Union's draft Protocol on the abolition of the death penalty.

During a round table breakfast meeting held on Tuesday, 25^th November, 2025, with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Kenya section, the women MPs expressed their concerns as human rights champions, justice advocates, and as women who understand the complex vulnerabilities that shape the lives of women in the criminal justice system.

Speaking on behalf of the KEWOPA chairperson, Senator Beth Syengo reaffirmed the Women MPs' dedication to advocacy on legal reforms and gender responsive justice systems for women.

“We stand ready to work with ICJ Kenya, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, development partners, and fellow parliamentarians to ensure that no woman is further victimized by a system meant to protect her,” Sen Syengo said.

While highlighting the lived realities of women facing death row charges, Sen. Syengo noted the structural challenges that they encounter in their pursuit for justice.

“When a woman is sentenced to death, she is not only punished for a crime, she is often punished again for her gender, for systemic inequities, and for the failures in structures meant to protect her,” she said.

Calling for the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights, the chairperson for ICJ Kenya, Ms. Christine Alai affirmed that the death penalty is still handed down to the offenders.

“While the application of capital punishment has been restricted by the abolition of the mandatory death sentence for murder in 2017 and by occasional mass commutations of death sentences to reduce numbers on death row, Courts continue to sentence defendants to death for murder, robbery with violence, attempted robbery with violence, and treason.

Ms. Alai urged Women lawmakers to pay attention to the plight for women facing capital punishment, noting that their unique needs and challenges are overlooked by the criminal legal systems historically created by men for men, failing to consider the pathways to female incarceration and their mitigation.

The Women MPs underscored the need for leaders to engage women prisoners to understand their grievances, noting that many women facing death charges are victims of domestic violence. They stressed that Judges should consider such when making judgements to women.

Members of KEWOPA reiterated that the country's conversation on the death penalty must include a gender lens underscoring that, “justice that is blind to gender is not justice at all."