Using ethnicity to shield wrongdoing is unethical and counter-productive

It is unfortunate that Ms Sunjeev Birdi, Kenya’s first female Asian MP, is at risk of losing her seat in Parliament for allegedly breaching constitutional provisions on integrity following claims that she and her URP colleague, Alfred Keter, tried to intimidate weighbridge officials.

I am saddened by this turn of events because a very important opportunity, not just for women, but for young Kenyan Asians, may have been lost.

Ms Birdi was in a unique, privileged position to debunk the myth that Asian women are not up to the task of participating in politics in a country that is not only hostile to female politicians, but where Asians have few chances of obtaining political office, and where affirmative action constitutional provisions, such as the one-third gender rule, are at risk of being reversed.

Unfortunately, it seems Ms Birdi, like her male colleagues, was unable to resist the trappings of power.

Being a Kenyan Asian woman myself, I know how difficult it is to make a mark in a society that is not just divided along gender lines but racially as well.

For an Asian woman to gain prominence in public life in this country is almost impossible, though there have been a few notable exceptions, such as the women’s rights activist Kamla Sikand and author Zarina Patel, who has documented the history of Kenyan Asian freedom fighters.

While Asians have excelled in business, few gain a foothold in the civil service or in government institutions. Those who do, like the Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal, have to work twice as hard as their African male colleagues and be extra cautious about not damaging their public image.

In It’s Our Turn to Eat, Michela Wrong writes that while members of Kenya’s elite have little time for Kenyan Asians, they rely on them when it comes to stashing money abroad illegally or forming fraudulent banks or shell companies on behalf of corrupt government officials.

It seems that one of the few roles that Kenyan Asians are still permitted to play in this country is that of the unscrupulous middle man, as epitomised by the lead character in M.G. Vassanji’s novel, The In-Between World Of Vikram Lall.

However, I will not play the ethnic card in Ms Birdi’s defence. I believe that using ethnicity to shield those accused of wrongdoing is not just unethical, but counter-productive.

TINY MINORITY

I am against ethnic-based politics, perhaps because as a member of a tiny minority, I find it pointless to use the ethnic card when “my people” are outnumbered by virtually every ethnic group in Kenya, except perhaps the El Molo.

More importantly, I believe that citizenship should confer on me all rights enjoyed by every Kenyan, regardless of my ethnicity.

That is why when a group called the Kenya Asian Forum asked me to become a member a few years ago, I declined. While I deeply respect some of its founders, such as the constitutional lawyer, Yash Pal Ghai, I hesitated to join a group whose membership is based on racial identity.

I would feel equally uncomfortable if I were white and was asked to join a group named Kenyan Cowboys Association or if I was Kikuyu and was enlisted in a cooperative called Kikuyus Unlimited.

I declined the offer also because I felt that organisations such as the Kenya Asian Forum, whose stated goal is to advance social justice, reform, cohesion, and nationhood, could, in fact, be undermining the ideals of cohesion and nationhood by appearing to exclude non-Asians.

As members of a minority that is constantly made to feel unsure of its status and rights, Kenyan Asians, understandably, tend to be overly defensive and sensitive when attacked. They are, therefore, prone to over-emphasising their achievements and ignoring the rogues among them.

That is why this community remains silent when notorious Kenyan Asian wheeler-dealers, who have been implicated as the chief brokers in major corruption scandals that have cost Kenyan taxpayers billions of shillings, are mentioned adversely.

Now that President Uhuru Kenyatta has indicated that he will take a strong stand against corruption, maybe it is time for the Kenyan Asian community to draw up its own List of Shame.

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