One week down and six more ahead of me. I am now writing from Kakamega Golf Hotel-- a very nice, but extremely touristy hotel with free wireless internet and a pool (a rarity in Kakamega). My group and I have just finished our first weekly meeting with FSD where we reflected on our week and had a workshop on grant writing. So now, we all decided it would be enjoyable and appropriate to head to this touristy hotel to get internet, while listening to Africa by Toto, of course, just to add a bit more authenticity. Oddly enough, I feel like right now exemplifies the situation in Kakamega perfectly. In many aspects, town is a vivid and startling representation underdevelopment, poverty as well as tradition and culture. Quite contrastingly though, there are also significant signs of urbanization, globalization (mostly Americanization) and development. As I sit at this more luxurious hotel typing away on my laptop and sipping my Coca Cola light, it's easy to lose sight of where I am and the poverty just outside the gates. It seems to just go to show you that no place is easily classifiable and Kakamega is no exception--a place on the road to urbanization out of poverty, but stuck somewhere in the middle.
The end of the week was much slower than the beginning as I saw a glimpse of what the typical Kenyan work ethic and work attitude is like. To my slight dissapointment, much of the time was spent sitting around, talking, or even sleeping! I didn't know what my "bosses" were up to for much of the time which was a bit disconcerting. When I spoke with my friends though, they told me that that mentality seemed to be the case at their work as well. It seems that people take a more relaxed approach to work, often taking two or three half hour tea breaks and coming and going as they please. Despite this new approach to work, I did enjoy many inspiring experiences throughout the end of the week.
On Wednesday, Project Africa holds a discussion group for the young mothers and women of our sewing and computer training classes. There were about 13 women in attendance and their ages ranged from sixteen years old to 31. The topic of our discussion had been planned to be violence against women, however the discussion quickly evolved into more of what the women felt fit. It was difficult to get many of the women to speak at all, and the volunteers and I relied on the assistence of Susy to translate and facilitate the discussion. The conversation soon turned into one of the most disillusioning conversations I have had in a while. The topic of violence against women seemed to be uninspiring to the women and they didn't have much to say. I soon realized that the reason for this is that abuse is a common occurance in many of their lives. When we spoke about the strikingly high statistics about rape and abuse, the women simply laughed. They thought it was comical that we were so surprised by this. It was hard to tell if they were simply ashamed by their situation and uncomfortable with the discussion, but later conversations led me to believe otherwise. When we spoke about polygamy, the older women were convinced that their husbands have the right to marry whomever else they please without the consent of their current wives. They said that women should submit to men because we are the subordinate sex. When I asked why they believed this, they referenced the Bible. They were shocked to learn of some American relationship culture--that women can date multiple men at a time before committing to one, and that a boyfriend would sleep at his girlfriend's parent's house, and that an unmarried couple would live together in an apartment. What was so amazing about that experience was the rawness of their answers. It is one thing to read about the belief in polygamy, rape, and violence against women, but it is completely different to put a face to those views. These were women who I had talked to before and were by no means completely backwards women, the type you would associate with an acceptance of abuse from their spouse. I am excited to hold a discussion group with them for my research about their opinion on gender inequality in education. At the end of the day we visited an orphanage where another intern in my group works. We brought colored pencils and paper for the children and they were incredibly happy to be able to write and draw. The orphanage was run by nuns and seemed fairly well-kept, although it was apparent that the place was not very sanitary.
On Thursday we started the day by visiting the Ramand Children's Home again. This time, we discussed early pregnancy. The girls were less enthusiastic this time, which was a bit disappointing. Although they were tired and distracted, they were polite as always and participated in the discussion. The rest of the day was rather slow until we went to the Shiewye Secondary School. We were a bit tired from all of the walking (about 15,000 steps to be exact- my friend has a pedometer on her phone) on the dirt and rocky roads and I was unsure of what to expect when we met the girls. To my pleasant surprise, the girls were wonderful. My experience talking with them was so different from my conversation with the older women that I had to take notice. The discussion was on the same topic, however this time the girls had much more to say about it. Although some girls still contended that men have the right to force sex on their wives and beating is merely a way to teach a wife to act correctly, the majority opposed those traditional views. One girl in particular spoke up that women should make their own money, be financially independent, and should leave their husbands if they are being beaten. She was very adament that she would leave any man who abused her, take her children, become rich, and rub it in his face. It was refreshing to listen to her and the contrast between these teenage girls and the older women was apparent. Inspired, I realized what a perfect asset these girls would be for my research.
It seems that the pieces are all falling into place. This first week of mere observation is finally over and now I'm ready to delve into my research. At times, it was frustrating feeling so unproductive, but other times I was overwhelmed with inspiration. I have been researching literature on gender inequality in Kenya for months, and to get at the heart of these issues is eye-opening. I now face many challenges of how to acquire an accurate representation of these issues, and I know many more challenges lie ahead of me. However, the prospect of hearing the voices of these women straight from the heart of the problem encourages me to find solutions and continue. I only hope that I can be the voice of these women--whether they be sixteen or sixty, traditionally oriented or forward looking, whether they believe that forced sex from their husband isn't rape or they believe in leaving a marriage at a hint of abuse, their beliefs are important. These women are Kakamega, Kenya, and Africa.
