Author: Jason Sizya Sipulwa (Nairobi, Kenya)
“Some people ask: “Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights or something like that?” Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general—but to choose to use the vague expression of human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists1
What is feminism? Why is feminism imperative? The answers to these questions elicit controversies in the contemporary world.
Various researchers use the term feminism, and they try to define and explain the term differently. Some use the term to define political movements while others define the term as an activist group championing for the rights of women. According to Mary Wollstonecraft (1972), feminism is the belief in social, economic and political equality of the sexes. Historically, feminism came into account through a series of activism and movements better referred to as the three waves (Bailey 1997).
The first wave started in the 19th and early 20th century which was more fixated on women’s right to vote. The second wave began in the 1960s and 1970s concerning women’s liberation movement for equal legal and social rights. The third wave commenced in the 1990s in the continuance of and as a rejoinder to the second-wave feminism (Betty Friedan 2018-the three waves of feminism).2 According to Friedan, the first wave feminism promoted equal agreement and property rights for women, opposing ownership of married women by their husbands. Besides, American first-wave feminism ended with the passage of the 19th amendment to the United States constitution 1919 granting women voting rights. The second wave feminism focused on issues of equality and discrimination. Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, responding to perceived failures of the second wave and the backlash against second-wave initiatives (Friedan 2018).
Feminism in Africa can be perceived to originate from an array of sources. For instance, in Africa’s colonial and post-colonial past, brave women such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Albertina Luthuli fought against apartheid in South Africa. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, another brave woman competed for and won the presidency in Liberia (Atanga 2013-African feminism?). Africa is very diverse and to talk of an ‘African feminism’ or feminism across the globe can be seen as ‘feminism for Africa’, essentializing Africa and suggesting that all women existing there face the same difficulties (Dosekun 2007). However, Africa cannot be treated as a solitary entity. Perhaps most obviously, women from the Maghreb countries of Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Morocco tend to face different problems from women coming from the south of the Sahara. Thus, this leads to this article focusing on feminism in Kenya.
The experiences of Kenyan women are in no way intractable, static, or simplistic. As colonialism gained ground so did women movements. One of the most notable women who contributed immensely to the feminist movement in Kenya is the late Professor Wangari Muta Maathai who was an environmental and political activist. In 1977 she formed the Green Belt Movement, a non‐profit organization that aimed to promote conservation of the environment and at the same time women’s rights (Awando et al 2011-History of feminism in Kenya).
The struggle for affirmative action in Kenya continued in 1996 when the Honorable Charity Ngilu moved a motion in Parliament on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, however, it did not pass. In 1997, Hon. Phoebe Asiyo tabled the first affirmative action bill in Parliament but it flopped. Although the bill was not passed, this created an opportunity for other female members of parliament to push for an increase in the number of women in Parliament. The struggle for affirmative action finally bore fruit as the Kenya Constitution, which was promulgated in 2010, providing a legal framework for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Notably, affirmative action is guaranteed in the Constitution in a couple of provisions including Article 27 (8) that states that; the State shall take legislative and other measures to implement the principle that not more than two‐thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. Article 81 (b) states that not more than two‐thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender.3 The struggle continues as up to date; the Kenyan parliament has not fully implemented this directive.
Who will save me from traditions? Who will shed some light in my life? Who will give me hope in my life? I need a shoulder to lean on. I cannot go to school Just because I am a girl Daddy preferred marriage But, why and I need education In marriage, I have no voice Just because I am a woman Mine is to cook and give birth Until when will it be so? Rise and fight for your rights Untie the ropes of traditions Say yes to education!
By Elizabeth Awuor4
Kamau (2008) who examined the experiences of female political leaders in Kenya, concluded that the majority of the participant’s leadership skills were developed during adolescence and their experiences of hardship shaped their areas of expertise once they gained leadership positions. Similarly, Madsen (2006) found that successful female college presidents were avid readers, enjoyed school and had influential female mentors.
Women empowerment can somewhat be attained through women education. This is because more education reduces the rate of violence against women, enables them to leave abusive relationships and encourages them to reject adverse cultural practices like Female Genital Mutilation (Tembon & Forst, 2008). In approval of this, Sen (1999) postulates that educated women are likely to participate more in household decisions and to stand for themselves thus reducing their vulnerability to domestic violence. El-Gabaly (2006) reports a study that revealed that in Egypt, women with secondary education are four times more likely to oppose the practice of Female Genital Mutilation.
However, the gender difference in education is ostensible at 61% of women had limited or no access to education in 2009. However, access to education has improved and most children enter primary school with no significant gender distinction (KNBS & ICF Macro 2010). Nonetheless, there is a clear holdup effect at the level of secondary schooling as 25% of Kenyan women aged 25 to 29 have completed at least an upper secondary education compared to 36% for their male counterparts. According to the Basic Education Statistical booklet (2014)5 the parity index between girls and boys at Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) level, increased over the period from 0.95 in 2009 to 1.05 in 2014. Thus by 2014, there were more girls enrolled than boys.
To overcome challenges in education, several feminist organizations have been initiated such as the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA ‐ Kenya). It is a non‐profit, non‐partisan membership organization committed to the creation of a society that is free from all forms of discrimination against women. They are doing this through the provision of legal aid to indigent women, engagement in legal, policy and legislative reform, treaty monitoring and research among other programmatic interventions. FIDA has contributed to the advancement of women’s rights by providing services such as quality legal services to several women, creating awareness on legal rights and educating women on self‐ representation, research, monitoring and reporting women’s rights violations. They also lobby and advocate for reforms of laws and policies that discriminate against women. FIDA is also well known for employing women to empower them and involve them in the process of fighting for the rights of women in Kenya.6
Another feminist’s organization that has contributed to the advancement of women rights in the country is the Coalition on Violence against Women‐Kenya (COVAW‐K). This is one of the feminist’s organizations in Kenya that provides women with economic space by not employing men except for the driver positions. COVAW-K believes in giving women chances to work and prove and improve themselves. Besides, COVAW-K is credited with breaking the silence on violence against women, something that has facilitated media coverage on the phenomenon as well as empowers women to take steps to end violence in their lives. COVAW-K has raised a reasonable level of awareness of violence against women.7
Another feminist movement in Kenya is GROOTS Kenya. It is a network of women self‐help groups and community organizations in Kenya. It was formed as a response to inadequate visibility of grassroots women in development and decision‐making forums that directly impact them and their communities. GROOTS Kenya bridges this gap through initiatives that are community-centred and women‐led. The network's objective is to "ensure that grassroots women are masters of their destiny through their direct participation in decision-making processes." Thus GROOTS Kenya's goal is to strengthen the role of grassroots women in community development by serving as a platform for grassroots women's groups and individuals to come together, to share their ideas/experiences, network and to find avenues to directly participate in decision-making planning, and implementation of issues that affect them.8
In conclusion, feminism has a place in modern Kenya. With the new constitution women now have a constitutional right to take up political offices and challenge the status quo where power has been in the male sphere. Feminism allows equal opportunities for both sexes. Gender roles can be harmful to both men and women with the popular belief that women and girls are meant to take care of the home while boys and men are meant to go out and provide for the family. Nobody should be denied access to school because of their gender. Nobody should be forced to perform chores because of their gender. Thus, feminism is about allowing both sexes the liberty to do what they want or capable of as well as making sure that people are not held back by gender roles and expectations whether it be at home, school, workplace, church or anywhere else. Also, feminism is all about protecting everyone’s rights and ensuring that all opportunities available for men, should be available to the women too.
References
Adawo, L., Gikonyo, L. W., Kudu, R. M., and Mutoro, O. M. (2011). History of Feminism in Kenya. Retrieved from http://www.nawey.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/05/History-of-Feminism-in-Kenya.pdf
Betty Friedan, 2018. Extracted from (http://www.ohiohumanities.org/author/switchbox/) The three waves of feminism accessed on 26th August 2020. The Three Waves of Feminism.
Cathryn Bailey, 1997. Making Waves and Drawing Lines: The Politics of Defining the Vicissitudes of Feminism page 28.
El Gabaly, (2006). Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt. Presentation at Global Forum for Health Research Combating Diseases and Promoting Health. Cairo: October 29- November 2.
Institute of Economic Affairs. 2008. Profile of Women’s Socio-Economic Status in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Institute of Economic Affairs.
Kamau, N. 2008. The value proposition to women’s leadership: perspectives of Kenyan women parliamentary and civic leaders (2003 to 2007). Pages 7–35 in N. Kamau, ed., Perspectives on Gender Discourse: Enhancing Women’s Political Participation. Nairobi, Kenya: Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
KNBS and ICF Macro. 2010. Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008-09. Calverton, Maryland: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and ICF Macro.
Lilian Lem Atanga (2013) Retrieved from her paper African feminism? University of Dschang, Cameroon.
Madsen, S.R. 2006. Women university presidents: Career paths and educational backgrounds. in European Academy of Management. Oslo, Norway.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1972). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects.
Sen, P. (1999). Enhancing women’s choices in responding to domestic violence in Calcutta: A comparison of employment and education. European Journal of Development Research 11 (2):65-86.
Tembon, M., & Fort, L. (2008). (Eds). Girls Education in the 21st century: Gender equality, empowerment and economic growth. Washington DC: World Bank.
