When choosing your career, follow your heart

Atsango Chesoni has worked as the project officer for FIDA’s Women Rights Monitoring and Report Writing Project. She was the deputy chair of the Committee of Experts on the Review of the Constitution, who drafted the Constitution of Kenya (2010) and she is also a former Executive Director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission. Other than that, she has worked on consultancies in the area of governance, human rights, equality, anti-corruption and constitutionalism.

When you were 25 years, where did you envision your career would be at this stage?

I honestly did not think much about it although I knew that I would be done with school and working. At 25, the most important thing is to be the best that you can be. If you do not have any grand plans for your life, the world will not fall apart – live a day at a time.

Then, I had a boyfriend who was an artist, so I went to many artistic events with him. I was living in London at the time and there was a lot happening in the literary scene, so it was a good time for me. I had a lot of fun.

You switched from a biology major to English and law. What would you say to a young person struggling with whether or not to change their course?

It is unfortunate that there is an inherent bias when it comes to allocation of courses, meaning that many young people are locked into courses purely based on how they perform in certain subjects. We need more thinking at the policy level about how to increase access to tertiary education so that people do not just do what they are capable of, but also that which they are really passionate about. If you are in a position to choose, please follow your heart.

I was a Biology major but I really loved English because it allowed me to create and be in a space that I enjoyed. I was 16 when I joined university, and after graduating, I went to law school, a decision that was informed by passion to pursue justice. I think as a society, we blame young people for wanting different things when it is really a failure of the state and policy makers to evolve and accommodate the shifting interests and needs of our society and youth.

Did you ever feel the pressure to step into your chief justice father’s shoes?

Not at all. There was really no conversation about that, though at the beginning, I resisted going into law because I did not want to be compared to my father. I also think that I perceived my father’s job as taking him away from us because there were long periods of time when he would be away on duty and I did not like that.

Later, I gravitated towards law as a way of finding justice for someone who had been raped. I have no desire to be a judge and my interest in law is totally different from what interested my father: while he pursued a career on the bench, I am more interested in human rights law and monitoring.

How can young people in law school prepare for all the dynamic careers that a law degree makes possible?

Acquire good academic credentials. Ground your research interest/skills and practice the strategic thinking skills that you learn in law school. Volunteer as this will expose you to various aspects of the practice of law and help you discover what your specialisation should be. Respect your employer, and most importantly, do not burn bridges. For example, it was through working in a private company that I discovered that corporate law was not really my area. Finally, decent internships with different organisations also provide a firm hold on the career.

You were one of those who pushed hard for the review of the Constitution to wholesomely represent women. How would you quantify the progress in this regard today?

My discovery of constitutional law was a happy accident. When I returned to the country after completing my studies abroad, I was unable to get a job, so I took up a position as a rapporteur for meetings on democracy. This was how I got to dissect the old Constitution and realised just how discriminatory it was.

Women were second class citizens and did not enjoy the same citizenship rights as men! Progress for me, therefore, would be the fact that the legal position of the woman has changed, women are now citizens and discrimination on the basis of sex is expressly prohibited.

But we are still struggling with implementation and enforcement. We have a bit more women in appointive positions now, and a couple more in elective positions but it is still a long walk because we still have to fight with the notion that it is unusual for a woman to take up a leadership position.

What is the most challenging job position that you have held?

Executive Director, Kenya Human Rights Commission. This position meant working with both the staff and the board, and sometimes there are things that I could not say to either party. This is a job without a peer within the organisation and a very lonely form of work too.

How do we know when affirmative action has achieved its purpose?

First of all, when we talk about affirmative action, we must focus on the national statistics. The truth is that overall, we have fewer spaces for girls in this country. Affirmative action plays a role in creating equality of opportunity for parts of the population that have suffered systemic and institutionalised forms of discrimination and exclusion.

Affirmative action is a temporary measure, and women are not the only beneficiaries: we have historic, economic and political perspectives to it. Affirmative action on the basis of race was implemented in the era immediately after independence.

The Constitution provides for affirmative action for those with disabilities, youth, ethnic minorities and the poor. To answer your question, when there is a semblance of equal access to opportunities and resources across the country, that will be a good place.

Is there an aspect about your first job that makes you immensely proud?

Making my own money, finally. It was not a lot of money but it was mine. I was teaching at an institution called the West Indian Saturday School. This was right after Law school. Working with kids and making them believe they can achieve more was satisfying.

Is there a book that you go back to often?

I want to re-read Frederick Douglass’s My Bondage and My Freedom, and Bessie Head’s Maru. I find the story very relevant to the times that we find ourselves in and I want to re-examine what this can teach me about emancipation. Maru tackles discrimination in a very complex way, so I want to revisit it. My thinking is Pan-African in nature, so there is a political ideology perspective to the books I read.

What was the biggest mistake that you think you made in your 20s?

This happened before my 20s. I withdrew from my organic chemistry class without consulting my academic advisor.

I had not experienced failure before, so when I thought I had failed, I just withdrew without thinking about it. At the time, I had not fully understood the education system in the US or the critical role that academic advisors play.

What is your greatest fear?

This country. A lot is being done with so much recklessness, that it will be difficult to undo and the repercussions will be very grave. I fear that we are gradually becoming a society that is okay with the possibility of wiping itself away. I had hoped that with the new Constitution, we would be able to hold people to account, but now I fear that I will die and leave behind a country that is in a far much worse position than it was 20 years ago.