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-- ngos have come to the assistance of female candidates contesting Kenya's general elections by helping them deal better with the media. Only18 of the 222 legislators in the country's last parliament were women, and only nine of these won their seats: the others were nominated to parliament. The initiative is spearheaded by the ngo Association of Media Women in Kenya.

"We showed them how the media operates and informed them of its role in reaching voters. Initially the women feared publicity, but when they understood that the media is a critical tool, they overcame their reticence," the organization's head Jane Thuo said.

"Before the training, most of the women did not want their photos to appear in the papers and others did not even want to talk to journalists. I believe the training will contribute to more women being elected," she said.