Ida Odinga
| Ida Odinga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Spouse of the Prime Minister of Kenya | |
|
In office 17 April 2008 – 9 April 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Ngina Kenyatta |
| Succeeded by | Post abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1950 |
| Spouse(s) | Raila Odinga |
| Children | Four |
Ida Betty Odinga[1] (born 1950) is a Kenya businesswoman, activist and educator. She is the wife of Raila Odinga, the former Prime Minister of Kenya.[2][3][4]
Odinga was born Ida Anyango Oyoo in 1950.[2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nairobi in 1974 when she was 24 years old.[2][4] She worked as a teacher for more than twenty years after graduation.[4] She married Raila Odinga, with whom she has four children.[1]
Raila Odinga was imprisoned in 1982 as a political prisoner by the government of President Daniel arap Moi.[1] Ida Odinga largely raised her children herself during those years while working as a teacher.[3][5]
Odinga founded the League of Kenya Women Voters in 1991,[3] which promotes opportunities for women in the political arena.[2][5] She served as the chairperson of the League.[4] She has also championed a host of other causes, many focused on women, children and health in Kenya.[3] Odinga has advocated for the prevention of breast cancer, fistulas, and chigoe fleas.[2] She has also mentored Kenyan schoolgirls and sat on the board of directors for an organization which aids paraplegics.[2]
She became the managing director of the East African Spectre, a liquified gas cylinder manufacturing company, in 2003, becoming one of the first women to head a major Kenyan corporation.[2][3]
In 2010, Standard Digital News named her the second most powerful woman in Kenya.[2]
In a 2012 interview with CNN International, Odinga elaborated on her life as a politician's wife. She told CNN's Felicia Taylor, "It's good to be a wife, but it's good to be an educated wife. Being a wife, it's just not a position of subordination -- it's a position of strength."[3]
References
- 1 2 3 Vogt, Heidi (2008-02-28). "Kibaki, Odinga have a long history". Associated Press (USA Today). Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Top most powerful Kenyan women". The Standard Digital. 2010-10-23. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Taylor, Felicia (2012-06-22). "Why Ida Odinga is not your average politician's wife". CNN - African Voices. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- 1 2 3 4 Vogt, Heidi. "Lady Ida Odinga". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- 1 2 "Ida Odinga on Her Life, Marriage and Children – Wife to Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga (Drum February 2011)". Drum (Kenyan magazine). 2011-02-28. Retrieved 2012-08-09.