Colonial and post-colonial changes and impact on pastoral women’s roles and status

Abstract

The colonial experiences of pastoralist women have been largely ignored in the literature on Africa. The paper focuses on pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods to locate the impact of colonization on pastoral women's roles and social status using the example of Borana women of northern Kenya. In this study, it is demonstrated that while the pre-colonial women of the Borana did not enjoy full position of status relative to men, colonialism reinforced the differences between the roles of men and women, contributing further to the waning of Borana women's pre-colonial roles and status. The paper explores the process by which Borana society was brought into contact with the colonial economy and commercialization of their pastoralist activities. It sheds light on the impact of this integration on women's roles. The paper concludes with areas for further research on Borana women's roles in the post-colonial era.

African Immigrant’s Women Experiences on Extended Family Relations

“…In this study, we explored how cultural roots and transnational ties affected/influenced newcomer transitions and integration in Canada and the results highlighted four major intersecting points of influence and confluence, focusing primarily on the female perspectives of SSAIRs. From this perspective, it appears that transnational ties and post-colonial constructs play critical roles in relationships with family and the communal approach to support, as well as in gender relations between SSAIR couples in managing the burden of care and privileges associated with men and communication [ 16 ]. Based on the transnational perspective, the importance of maintaining relational ties with the extended family in the homeland has been highlighted as both a source of support—providing moral, social, religious and cultural support during the integration processes—and strain, with participants noting its impact on their integration processes, such as delaying the ability to restructure life, financially plan and save [ 28 ].…”

“…These commonalities include (1) collectivist cultures that place community above the individual, valuing family, immediate and extended, as a crucial engine for enacting collective responsibility [ 15 ]. (2) Gendered and racialized by culture, colonization and capitalist expansion prior to their migration, albeit in different ways, women’s status remains socially subordinate to men’s in the transition into a postcolonial era [ 16 ]. (3) Due to tradition, women’s latitude to pursue economic ventures is curtailed, given their primary responsibility to provide for their children.…”

A review of gender in agricultural and pastoral livelihoods based on selected countries in west and east Africa

“…The vast majority of papers look at how gender influences a particular outcome, such as poverty, as opposed to how other factors affect gender (norms, roles, relations, and equality) as an outcome . Approaches are also typically based on snapshots, although there are some exceptions [e.g., Guyo (2017) looking at the evolution of gender roles and the impact of the colonial and post-colonial periods on roles and social status of Borana pastoralists in Kenya]. Clusters of papers look at various gender differences in assets (9%); health (11%); perceptions of environmental degradation (2%); agricultural perceptions and outcomes (49%); and climate change perceptions, vulnerability and adaptation, including climate-smart agriculture (CSA; 20%).…”

Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design

“…Taking the able-bodied, working male as the "neutral" user of the city, male planners and designers -whether intentionally or unintentionally -created urban spaces that catered to their needs, while reflecting and perpetuating the patriarchal gender norms of their society: one that designated men as breadwinners, with full access to the public realm, land, and housing; and women as caregivers, relegated to the private realm of the household and deprived of land-based assets (Fainstein and Servon, 2005;Moser, 1993). Through colonization, gendered norms such as these were imposed upon and adopted by colonial territories throughout the world, with the resulting policies and practices sometimes replacing markedly different norms such as collective land ownership, as seen in Australia and Kenya (Watson, 2009;Guyo, 2017), and matrilineal inheritance as seen in Ghana (Selase et al, 2015).…”