HISTORIC: North Eastern Kenya Finally Elects first Woman MP

No woman in North Eastern has ever held an elective position in Kenya since independence.  That is until now.

Sophia Abdi Noor of PDR (Party of Reforms and Development) made history after becoming not only the first elected Member of Parliament for Ijara (Garissa) but in the wider North Eastern Kenyan region.

Sophia Abdi Noor has defied the odds becoming successful after a loss in 2013 elections for the same position but was nominated by ODM into the August house. Noor won the Ijara constituency seat with a total of 6,001 votes edging out the incumbent Ahmed Ibrahim Abass who had 5,705 votes.

Many communities in North Eastern hold conservative views based on their religion and culture on women leadership, no woman has ever held an elective position since Kenya’s independence.

Noor is a founder member of ‘Womankind Kenya’ a group that advocates for girls education and women issues. She was first nominated to parliament by the ODM in 2007.