Pathfinders for Women’s Economic Empowerment

Abstract

This book is a sequel to "Conversations with Pathfinders: Strategies that Worked for Women in the 2010 Constitution-Making Process," capturing in detail the stories of women involved in the process and the spirit that guided their pursuit. It chronicles the experiences of women in Kenyan political parties through conversations with key figures, including Honourables Phoebe Asiyo and Martha Karua, Jael Mbogo, Kamla Sikand, Professors Julia Ojiambo, Wanjiku Kabira, and Eddah Gachukia, among others, who took on roles in the constitution-making process and the second liberation struggle. They passed the baton to younger women, paving the way for new voices such as Daisy Amdany, Honourables Beatrice Elachi and Mumbi Ngaru, Professor Patricia Kameri Mbote, among others. Despite ethnic, religious, cultural, economic, and political differences, these women worked together toward a common goal— women’s inclusion in the new Constitution. The book explores the impact and contributions of the Women’s Movement and self-mobilization on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) in Kenya between 1963 and 2010. Historically, the experiences of African women have been marginalized from mainstream knowledge production and seldom acknowledged as valid sources of information to inform development across the continent. Women’s experiences and insights have not been sufficiently utilized to shape discourse, policy, and societal structures. This book seeks to make African women’s knowledge visible through academic and policy discussions. The women featured in this book hail from six regions, in Kenya, comprising the following counties: Busia, Kakamega, and Kisumu in the Western region; Kajiado, Nakuru, and Baringo in the Rift Valley; Nyeri, Muranga, and Kiambu in the Central region; Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni in Eastern region; and Kwale, Mombasa, and Kilifi in the Coast region; and Nairobi City County. The study aimed to: (1) map the historical contribution of grassroots women’s groups to women’s economic empowerment (WEE) between 1963 and 1975, during Kenya’s early independence; (2) examine their continued role in WEE from 1976 to 1997, leading up to the introduction of the affirmative action fund; and (3) assess how the national women’s movement has influenced WEE-related policies from 1990 to the present, highlighting key lessons on care work and effective mobilization strategies to inform future policy discourse.