Listen to the Voices of Maasai Women in Kenya: Ensuring the Well-Being of their Families through Collective Actions

Authors

Taeko Takayanagi, Teikyo University, TokyoFollow

Abstract

This is an ethnographic study that provides insight into grassroots activities managed by Maasai women leaders in the Narok area of Kenya. Four women’s narratives were used as a basis of analysis to demonstrate their roles in facilitating grassroots activities to improve village women’s well-being despite gender discrimination and multidimensional constraints. The women’s group leaders commented that low literacy had a negative influence on Maasai women’s development; however, the issue of illiteracy could be overcome through cooperative learning during women group activities in their village. The results showed that the women’s group leaders played a facilitative role in improving women’s situations and everyday lives through knowledge sharing and collective social actions. An analysis of the narratives of four women demonstrated that: each woman has a unique experience of grassroots development activities that should be valued; and village women promote women’s empowerment and develop forms of resistance to gender inequality by accommodating men’s self-pride and different gender roles to ensure a harmonious society.

Recommended Citation

Takayanagi, Taeko (2019) "Listen to the Voices of Maasai Women in Kenya: Ensuring the Well-Being of their Families through Collective Actions," International Journal of African Development: Vol. 5: Iss. 2, Article 5.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/ijad/vol5/iss2/5