Asiyo and the brave women who championed change

By Newsflash Writer

The passing of Phoebe Muga Asiyo on July 17, 2025, at the age of 93, marks the end of yet another chapter in Kenya’s post-independence history. Asiyo was a pioneering figure whose legacy adds to the rich tapestry of women who fought to shape a new Kenya.

Her death follows the recent demise of other iconic female leaders, including Catherine Nyamato, the first Gusii woman nominated to Parliament. Before them were Grace Onyango and Orie Rogo Manduli. Earlier generations had already bid farewell to women like Margaret Kenyatta, Philomena Chelagat Mutai, Priscilla Abwao, Wangari Maathai, Wambui Otieno, Pamela Mboya, Ruth Habwe, and Grace Ogot. Thankfully, the country still counts among the living several of these trailblazers — such as Jael Mbogo, Nyiva Mwendwa, Zipporah Kittony, Charity Ngilu, Ruth Oniango, Julia Ojiambo, and Annritta Karimi — women who continue to inspire by their presence.

These women shattered the limits imposed by society — pushing past entrenched social, political, cultural, economic, and even religious barriers. They dared to be the first in spaces women had never occupied.

Rooted in mission and service

Asiyo exemplified this spirit of courage and persistence. Though her roots were in Nyakach, Kisumu County, her political home became Karachuonyo in South Nyanza, where her parents had migrated. Born at the Gendia Seventh-Day Adventist Mission in Homa Bay, she was raised among missionaries and began her early schooling locally before proceeding to Kamagambo Girls’ School in Migori.

She would later train as a teacher at Kangaru Teachers’ College in Embu in 1950, and by 1952, she was teaching at Pumwani School in Nairobi. A year later, she became a social worker and rose to chair Maendeleo ya Wanawake in 1958.

Her public service journey included a stint in the Prison Services, after which she moved to head the Child Welfare Society of Kenya as a director. Her foray into national politics arguably began in 1960, when she, alongside Priscilla Abwao and others, traveled to Lodwar to meet Jomo Kenyatta — then in detention — to deliberate on the role of women in Kenya’s future. That bold initiative hinted at her growing political ambition and concern for inclusive governance.

Breaking barriers in a man’s world

But even with such credentials, societal expectations of the time demanded that she conform to the ideal of the ‘respectable woman’ — nurturing, domestic, and submissive. Entering the political fray meant navigating a space that remained fiercely male-dominated.

In 1979, she achieved a rare feat for a woman of that era by winning the Karachuonyo parliamentary seat. Although her victory was nullified, she reclaimed the seat in the by-election and served effectively. In 1983, she defied expectations yet again by being reelected — no small achievement, especially in the male-centric political culture of the time.

Kanu — the ruling party then — wielded enormous influence. It was more than a political party; it was a gatekeeper of power. Those not in its inner circle rarely succeeded. It absorbed Maendeleo ya Wanawake, turning it into a tool for marginalizing women politically, even as it claimed to empower them. Despite this, Asiyo leveraged her community networks and her ties to grassroots women to win and retain her seat.

In 1992, amid a changing political landscape, Asiyo won her seat once again, this time under the opposition banner of Ford-Kenya — a testament to her personal political appeal and resilience.

A lasting legacy of leadership

Her resilience could be traced to her lineage. Asiyo’s grandmother, Odede Magunga Nyar Olonde, was known in family lore as a formidable force — a “family engine and fighter.” These same attributes defined Asiyo’s life. Together with her peers, she resisted the sidelining of women in public life by the post-independence government. They balanced domestic duties with public service and political activism — without clinging to power for its own sake.

Unlike today’s self-serving politicians, Asiyo and her generation saw politics as a platform for building, not personal enrichment. Their leadership was calm, measured, intentional, and geared toward long-term national interest.

Every encounter with Asiyo, as those who knew her will attest, was met with warmth and wisdom. She lived by her father’s guiding philosophy: the tongue is a tool that can either destroy or build. It’s a lesson that today’s political class would do well to heed — for in remembering Asiyo, we remember the kind of Kenya these women envisioned and quietly fought for.