A Kenyan member of parliament was on Wednesday ejected from the National Assembly’s chambers after she came in during a session with her five-month-old baby.
Kwale Woman Representative Zuleika Hassan said she had an emergency and had to choose between coming to work with the baby and not reporting at all.
“This is my third baby in Parliament. I have never done this. I have tried really hard not to come with a baby but today I had an emergency. So what was I supposed to do, miss Parliament and miss my duties? Yes, because of a baby. That’s why I came with her because I just knew I would stay for a while and then, later, when my situation is better, I could…,” Hassan told reporters outside Parliament.
The acting House speaker Christopher Omulele termed the move, which halted proceedings briefly, as unprecedented and ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove Hassan.
Hassan later said it was high time that the Kenyan parliament offered a family-friendly environment for women MPs who are mothers.
Hassan also denied that her action was intended to send a message after failure by the Parliamentary Service Commission to implement a motion passed by MPs in 2013 to allocate space for nursing mothers to breastfeed their babies.
