Women

African women are tough! If I had to choose one word to describe the Kenyan women in general, it would definitely be "tough."


The status of women depends a lot on which tribe one comes from. I mentioned a lot about the Gabbra women in the desert, who do nearly all the work, yet whom some (generally uneducated) men still consider of a lower status than a camel, but living among the Kikuyu has been a completely different experience.



Gender roles are fairly clearly defined. Women are responsible for cooking, washing, and caring for the children (especially babies). Men then typically do the "hard labor." The entire family, works in the shamba (garden). The more rural a place is, the more traditional the roles. A lot of course depends on the family, but men often view themselves as the head of the family. I naturally disagree with this, and once had an animated discussion with the male teachers. When James was recently married, they were talking about how now he would never be late to work, would aways have clean matching clothes etc., so I asked them "How is it that he has been doing all of these things alone for years, and suddenly now that he is married someone else has to do this?" After light prodding, they conceded that yes indeed they all have two very good hands that are capable of doing laundry and dishes. We agreed that it is only fair to share the workload, and there are a lot more dishes than fences that need fixing! One of my favorite excuses as to why I can't marry a random stranger is that "in my culture men and women share the work so if you think I'm going to do all the work while you sit and watch TV you are wrong," although this has been met with the very incorrect answer of "we'll hire a househelp!"



While there are no specific laws limiting formal jobs women can have, it is much the same as in the U.S. where women tend to get paid less for equal positions, and hit 'glass ceilings' unfairly. I really have tried to emphasize to my students that girls are equally capable as boys, and that gender stereotypes should not limit the young women from pursuing math and sciences. I do not consider myself a feminist, and wholly believe that men an women are different, but those differences are definitely not in intelligence! Occasionally I will try to prove a point using an extreme "example" such as when asked by a student why men have mammory glands that



Occasionally small comments throw me off a bit, such as one older student saying that he "doesn't like to see women riding bicycles because it might spoil something." Not inherently sexist, but something also that I certainly see as a misperception! Also, in the case of an unplanned pregnancy girls and women are often left alone with the baby with absolutely no support, nor responsbility, from the father. There is not really a way of proving who the father is, and denial from the man is enough for him not to be involved.



I feel like I am beginning to ramble without making a point, but I think the point is that girls and women do have less opportunities in general, and while there are no specific rules that cause this, it is definitely present. Research proves that education, especially of women, is the number one way to reduce poverty levels, and I wholeheartedly agree. Education empowers women to believe in their own potential, as well as giving practical life skills.