Women living in Kenya
Women face many obstacles in Kenya that make their lives very difficult and especially difficult to get an education. The women face specific gender division from men, violence, female genital mutilation, HIV and AIDS, and obstacles while on the campaign trail.
In Kenya, women are expected to become mothers. They are also expected to cook, clean, and be submissive to their husbands. Men there do not carry anything; instead women are commonly seen hauling lumber and such because it is considered a feminine task. It is a man’s job though to own land. Only six percent of titles held in Kenya are by women. It is not likely to even see a woman inherit land; instead when her husband dies she may become homeless. Another example that the Kenyans feel strongly about strict gender division is felt strongly about is the incidence of men stripping several women for wearing pants.
Violent acts toward women are a common occurrence in Kenya. Rape is not taken seriously there. There is no DNA testing therefore rapists are rarely convicted. In the case that a woman becomes pregnant when single, they are (austrosized)That’s the word the lady used. If the woman is a student, she is forced out of the dormitory and sent to live in a nearby slum with little aid in resources. This usually causes the single mother to drop out. Abortion is the answer some women find. Abortion however is strongly (frowned upon)What word can replace that? and also illegal in...
They both performed tasks for their community. For instance, men used to hunt whereas women gathered and gathered wild fruits. They both showed tasks that could help their communities. Women were valued as they played a central role in their communities. The author narrates the Masai community's culture in Tanzania where she experienced involving themselves with the process of construction. That means that they were engaged in more productive and economically viable activities, not compared to other capitalist societies where the house chore women perform degrade the status of women. In my opinion, women play an essential role in society as much as men do. They complement men, and together they work as a system (Angela, 2011). If women are left out in community activities, the whole system collapses and fails to work appropriately hence it is imperative that they are working together for the betterment of the
To help the women in Africa in their struggle with the problems caused by the AIDS pandemic, we must first help the women have a voice and gender equality in the developed countries and the organizations of which these developed countries are a part of.
What would you say if I asked you to tell me what you think is causing the death of so many people in the horn of Africa? AIDS? Starvation? War? Would it surprise you if I told you that it all boils down to the women of Africa? Kofi Annan attempts to do just this in his essay “In Africa, Aids Has a Woman's Face.” Annan uses his work to tell us that women make up the “economic foundation of rural Africa” and the greatest way for Africa to thrive is through the women of Africa's freedom, power, and knowledge.
The saying “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” is a common one here in the United States. There is a stigma here that if one works hard enough, they can be anyone they want to be. A lot of people who believe that stigma, did not actually have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. They were born on third base and think they hit a triple. According to an article in the Huffington Post, the richest one percent holds 46 percent of the world’s wealth. This one percent includes people such as the Walton children, the inheritors of the money made from Wal-Mart, which was created by their father (“Richest 1 Percent Hold”). It is pretty obvious that they did not have to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, that these people barely had to work at all to receive a huge sum of money. But, then there is the opposite side of the spectrum. There are people who work incredibly hard every single day of their lives, but will forever be stuck in a life of poverty. Some may look at this huge problem and think of an easy solution. Just have rich people give their money to poor people. A common idea, also known as charity. Though, when given a deeper look, charity can sometimes be the same concept as putting a bandage on a bullet wound.
For centuries, educated and talented women were restricted to household and motherhood. It was only after a century of dissatisfaction and turmoil that women got access to freedom and equality. In the early 1960’s, women of diverse backgrounds dedicated tremendous efforts to the political movements of the country, which includes the Civil Rights movement, anti-poverty, Black power and many others (Hayden & King, 1965). The Africa...
On attaining independence in 1963, the inaugural Kenya government identified poverty illiteracy, disease and unemployment as the most debilitating of challenges facing the country. Almost five decades later, despite numerous policy efforts, these challenges continue to enslave many Kenyans. The situation is even more debilitating when one is a youth. According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey , approximately 67 per cent of the unemployed in the country are youth.
In the year 1942, fellows of the Kikuyu, Meru, Kamba, and Embu tribes took an oath of unity and secrecy to fight for independence from British decree. The Mau Mau movement initiated with that oath and Kenya ventured on its relentless journey to National sovereignty. The Mau Mau movement was a militant African nationalist unit that resisted against the British authority and its colonial rule. The Mau Mau members were chiefly made up of Kenya’s largest tribe, Kikuyu. The Kikuyu conducted intense assaults against their colonial leaders. Between the years 1952 and 1956, the British overpowered the Mau Mau over a violent operation of military action. Nevertheless, the Mau Mau Rebellion also convinced the British that social, agrarian and political improvements were essential for Kenya’s future.
Another area of the world where women are lacking reproductive rights is Columbia. Many women in Columbia cannot afford contraceptives and abortion is illegal. Women are forced to have abortions by a non-professional or induce them on themselves. Abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and hospitalization. Sterilization has now become the largest form of family planning in Columbia because contraceptives are not affordable. They either have to take the chance and risk dealing with an unwanted pregnancy or abortion or they have to use steri...
In Kenya, it is comprised of several different groups that are distinct ethno-linguistic. Over several decades, Kenya has evolved both biologically and culturally. This culture has a great diversity of customs and family patterns. To understand the families in Kenya, it is also important to understand their culture backgrounds and where they come from. Family has a high value in this culture and is considered the center of community life. The children here hold an upmost importance because it can be considered an economic advantage having more children and also wives too. It is common here for families to have eight or more children because there was a
This paper will focus on three of these concepts- economic inequality or the separation of the rich and the poor which is defined as the different life chances that a wealthy person may have than an impoverished person (Dykstra, 2014). The next concept that will be discussed is feminism, which is defined as the advocacy of the rights of women to be equal to men in all spheres of life (Applebaum, Carr, Duneier, Giddens, 2011). The last concept that will be discussed in this paper is gender roles, which are the ‘social definition’ of women and men. They vary among different societies and cultures, classes, ages and during different periods in history. Gender-specific roles and responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure, access to resources, specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors such as ecological conditions (FAO, 1997).
Kenya is a republic of East Africa. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the southeast. The capital of Kenya is Nairobi. It is located in the south central part of the country. It has a population of 1.5 million. The National Musum of Kenya, the National Theater and the University of Nairobi are in the city.
Within the Ibo tribe, men have more dominance over the women as they accept titles to display their power and importance, allowing them to participate in the decision making for the village. Compared to the women of the clan, men can marry multiple wives as a sign of wealth, and their wives stay home attending to their husband and caring for their children. For example, Okonkwo has already gained much respect among his tribe as “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars. And so although Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his time. Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered” (Achebe 8). To prove their masculinity and power, Ibo men rely on their wealth, shown by their farming and the number of wives they have, and their fighting abilities in wars. Even though elderly members of the tribe gained much respect, a man’s contributions to the village and successes increases their importance among the clan. As demonstrated from a village gathering, “It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders. The titled men and elders sat on their stools waiting for the trials to begin” (Achebe 87). During the ceremony, the way one is positioned illustrates their role in society. While the titled, important men and elders are seated in the front rows, the women are neglected in the outer regions as to show their low social status compared to the men. Achebe compares the women to outsiders because they serve little importance to the ceremony and to the village as they only work from home to care for their family. The ability of men to accept titles and
King E and Hill A, Women's Education in Developing Countries: Barriers, Benefits, and Policies. London: World Bank publications. 1997. Print.
Kenya is a very important country in the world basically due to its strategic location in the East African region. It is a country that has had an interesting political walk that despite the challenges it has faced, it has managed to pull through though with an interesting history to tell. There have been different regimes in the country since it acquired its independence. Worth noting is that these regimes have come into power through different ideologies and they have guided the country in different directions. The country was colonized by the British and acquired its independence in the year 1963. Notably, Kenya is considered to have been a colonial invention which had to contend with the colonialists.
It is true of Africa that women constitute a treasure that remains largely hidden. (Moleketi 10) African women grow 90% of all African produce, and contribute about 70% of Africa’s agricultural labor every year. (Salmon 16) Both the labor and food that are provided by African women go towards the increase in Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (Moleketi 10) Although African women are feeding the majority of Africa’s inhabitants, the constricting ropes of gender inequality are still holding them back from being appreciated and living up to their full potential. Outstandingly, women such as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, of Liberia, have gladly accepted the challenge of breaking free of these ropes. The history of women’s rights in Africa, the glass ceiling, and the modern aspects of women’s rights, all play prominent roles in the overall condition of women’s rights in Africa. Until the day arrives that these discriminatory injustices are corrected, individuals in African nations will continue to struggle.