Gender and Development: A History of Women's Education in Kenya

335 Pages·2018·1.416 MB·English

by  Emily Awino Onyango

In this book, Rev Canon Dr Onyango has brought to light women’s agency
in navigating layers of systems that first affirmed them in the community life
and then excluded them from being heard in the area of education. The triple
culture within which women operated in seeking formal education is well nar-
rated. Most importantly the objective analysis of culture, especially the Luo
culture, shows the learning processes between African women students and
the missionaries who taught them. The African women’s agency runs through
the book and adds to the perspectives of women and the growth and develop-
ment of a new community. The intersections between the African and Western
learning systems run through the chapters of the book and are an indication of
the author’s effort using them in as much as they impacted education for girls.
This is an important book in teaching about women and education in Kenya
during the period discussed, but it also has parallels to some of the education
patterns in society today. Education has been and continues to be an important
factor in empowering women to be key leaders in society.
Esther Mombo, PhD
Director, International Partnerships and Alumni Relations,
Faculty of Theology, St Paul’s University, Nairobi, Kenya
Emily Onyango is a pioneer in the history of girls’ education in Kenya. With
good evidence based on state and missionary archives and the recollections
of some memorable women, she tells an extraordinary story of initial cultural
courage by young Kenyan women, of persevering female missionary dedica-
tion, of difficult gendered negotiations in home and employment and, in the
end, of the confident, if still embattled, sense of achievement by a growing
number of Kenyan women.
John Lonsdale, PhD
Emeritus Professor, Modern African History,
Fellow of Trinity College,
University of Cambridge, UK

Gender and Development
A History of Women’s Education in Kenya
Emily Awino Onyango
© 2018 Emily Awino Onyango
Published 2018 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-489-2 Print
978-1-78368-490-8 ePub
978-1-78368-491-5 Mobi
978-1-78368-492-2 PDF
Emily Awino Onyango has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to
be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-489-2
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but
does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this
publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does
not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or
interpretation of its published content.
Contents
List of Abbreviations .............................................................................ix
Introduction ..........................................................................................1
Chapter 1 ..............................................................................................7
The Argument
Chapter 2 ............................................................................................23
Women during the Precolonial Period
Education of Girls .............................................................................23
Case-Study of Siwindhe as a Locus for Girls’ Education .............25
Women in Religious Leadership ........................................................31
Leadership in Society ........................................................................34
Socio-Economic Empowerment ........................................................35
Chapter 3 ............................................................................................41
Colonial Period as a Watershed for African Women
Leadership during the Colonial Period ..............................................41
Socio-Economic Changes during the Colonial Period .......................54
Changes in the Practice of Agriculture .......................................54
Formation of Class System .........................................................63
Chapter 4 ............................................................................................67
The Establishment of Christianity in Kenya
Precolonial Period at the Coast as the Foundation for
Mission Work ................................................................................67
The Establishment of Christianity in Central Kenya .........................77
The African Inland Mission .......................................................77
The Gospel Missionary Society ..................................................81
Church of Scotland Mission ......................................................84
Church Missionary Society ........................................................88
The Establishment of Christianity in Western Kenya ........................90
The Establishment of Mission Work ..........................................90
The Establishment of the Women’s Movement in the Church .........116
Establishment of Buch Mikayi at Ng’iya Mission Station .........116
Establishment of Mothers’ Union in Kenya .............................121
Chapter 5 ..........................................................................................125
The Interaction between the Missions and African Culture
Female Circumcision ......................................................................125
Bride-Wealth ...................................................................................133
Forced Marriages ............................................................................139
Polygamy ........................................................................................146
Widowhood and Levirate Marriage .................................................157
Conclusion .....................................................................................162
Chapter 6 ..........................................................................................165
Mission Education for Girls: Case-Study of Ng’iya Girls’ School
Aim of Education for Girls .............................................................165
Case-Study of Ng’iya Girls’ School..................................................169
Establishment of Ng’iya Girls’ School ......................................169
Bible, Bath, Broom: The Curriculum at Ng’iya Girls’ School ...173
Teacher Training at Ng’iya .......................................................180
Interaction with the Wider Society ..........................................184
Developments Between 1946–1960 .........................................188
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education:
Gender and Development ...........................................................194
Recapturing Dignity through Sewing and Domestic
Science Skills ........................................................................194
Challenging Negative Cultural Practices Related to
Luo Marriages ......................................................................198
Socio-Economic Empowerment ...............................................201
Women in Church Leadership .................................................204
Women’s Leadership in Society ................................................208
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Case Study,
Lucia Okuthe (1919–1989).........................................................213
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Case Study,
Grace Onyango (1931–Present) ..................................................217
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Case Study,
Grace Ogot (1930–2015) ............................................................222
Chapter 7 ..........................................................................................227
Mission Education: Case Study of Alliance Girls’ High School
Aim of Education ...........................................................................227
Alliance Girls’ High School .............................................................233
Background .............................................................................233
Establishment of Alliance Girls’ High School ...........................235
The Women’s Movement .................................................................244
The Establishment of the Women’s Movement .........................244
Maendeleo Ya Wanawake .........................................................247
Case Studies ....................................................................................257
Margaret Kenyatta ...................................................................257
Julia Ojiambo ..........................................................................259
Eddah Gachukia ......................................................................264
Conclusion ........................................................................................275
Glossary ............................................................................................281
Bibliography ......................................................................................287

List of Abbreviations
AAWORD African Association of Women in Research
ABC analysis tool of gender
ADC African District Councils
AGHS Alliance Girls High School
AIDS acquired immune deficiency syndrome
AIM African Inland Mission
CMS Church Missionary Society
CSM Church of Scotland Mission
DAWN Development Alternatives with Women in a New Era
DC district commissioner
EFA Education for All
FAIM Friends African Industrial Mission
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization
FAWE Forum for African Women Educationists
FEMNET African Women Development and
Communication Network
FGM female genital mutilation
GMS Gospel Missionary Society
HIV human immunodeficiency virus
ICHDR International Centre for Health Development and Research
KAU Kenya African Union
KCA Kikuyu Central Association
KCAN Kenya Coalition for Action in Nutrition
KISE Kenya Institute of Special Education
KNDI Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institutes
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