Discursive Representation of Women?s Interests and Needs in Makueni District - Kenya Jacinta Ndambuki A thesis submitted to the School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, 2010 ii DECLARATION I declare that this report is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any other University. ---------------------------------- Jacinta Mueni Ndambuki ------ DAY OF ------------2010 iii ABSTRACT The thesis deals with the discursive representation of women?s interests and needs in Makueni District, a rural area in the eastern part of Kenya. The study explores the mismatch between the way politicians and other community leaders select and represent these interests and needs and the way women construct these issues in women?s groups. It provides a fresh approach to the study of women?s issues by using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a means of uncovering the subtle ways in which the representation of these issues interfaces with questions of power. The thesis explores the overall question: how does a study of the language used to talk about women?s interests and needs help us understand the constraints and possibilities for women with regard to agency and change? Data was collected from political rallies, interviews and focus group discussions. The data for the entire study consists of four political speeches, ten interviews with politicians and other community leaders and eleven focus group discussions with women?s groups. CDA as theory and method provides a framework for understanding how prevailing discourses impact on the participation of women in the political process in Kenya. A key finding of the research is that though women, politicians and other community leaders construct women?s agency within deficit discourses, these discourses do not match women?s enacted practices or what political and community leaders say they expect of women. The contradiction that emerges from the study is that although everyone constructs women as lacking in agency, these women act as agentive subjects. All these three categories of research participants draw on prevailing discourses about women in Kenya which locate women is a discourse of negative representation. This language reflects and reproduces the exclusion of women in the political process because it is hard for women to believe that they have a contribution to make when they are interpellated by these deficit discourses. Women for example continuously demand for a leader, a mentor and a saviour; an individualized discourse yet agency and sustainability depend on the collective. Further, my research has shown that women?s groups that are the focus of this study (popularly known as merry-go-rounds in Kenya) are not ?feminist? groups. While the aim of feminist groups is transformation, the aim of the women?s groups is sustainability. iv Overall, the study shows that women?s power is located in traditional discourse and collective action is at the heart of women?s ability to sustain their existence and their communities. Women?s inaction on the other hand is located in deficit discourses, a negative discourse on women. If they were to understand and recognize the power of the collective, and that power is in the collective and not in an individual leader, they might choose to influence the political process in a different way. Such understanding might provide different possibilities for political agency and transformation. The key finding of this research is the need to change the discourse of negative representation so that women can recognize their own potential for power. v DEDICATION To My children Duncan, Nicholas and Paul for their unconditional love and encouragement. My parents S. Ndambuki and M. Muthoki for their love and support. The women who toil every day to sustain our communities. vi Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the immense support and firm commitment of my supervisor Prof. Hilary Janks as a mentor throughout my study at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). I also wish to sincerely thank the members of staff in the Department of Applied English Language Studies (Wits), Head of Department, Yvonne Reed, the former Head of Department, the late Prof. Pippa Stein, Dr. Pinky Makoe, Dr. Ben Afful, Stella Granville, Dr. Kerryn Dixon and Dr. Visvaganthie Moodeley. I am highly indebted to these staff members and the students for a most stimulating ?academic community? and for their insightful remarks during departmental meetings particularly the PhD forum. My gratitude too goes to the late Dr. Hanong Puleng for supervision in my first months at Wits. Several people have been extremely supportive in the completion of this thesis. First, special thanks to Prof. Susan Van Zyl, Dr. Timothy Reagan, Dr. Ben Afful, Dr. Pinky Makoe and Dr. Carolyn McKinney who provided insightful comments as readers at various stages of the thesis. I also wish to acknowledge the input and support of other Wits lecturers and staff Prof. James Ogude, Prof. Nixon Kariithi, Dr. Samuel Kariuki, Dr. Tom Odhiambo, Dr. Dina Ligaga and Dr. Maina Mutonya for their helpfulness in the process of thesis writing. My sincere appreciation too goes to staff from Kenya Dr. Catherine Kitetu, Dr. Kimani Njoroge, Dr Joseph Bosire, Dr. Onyango Ogolla, Dr. Felicia Yieke, Pauline Ndoro, Dr. Fugich Wako and Prof. Francis Aswani, all of Egerton University for very valuable comments and support on the initial draft of the project proposal. I would particularly like to thank Prof. Maurice Amutabi and Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi for cultivating a strong belief in me on the social. I would sincerely wish to thank my sponsors in South Africa; my supervisor, Hilary, who went out of her way to secure funding at various stages of the thesis; the University of the Witwatersrand that provided joint funding from the Andrew Mellon Mentorship Programme for my supervisor and me (in collaboration with the Research Office, in this regard, I particularly commend the efficiency of Mr. Iain Burns and Ms. Anisa Keshav), and for other scholarships; the Harold and Doris Tothill Prestige Scholarship, the Postgraduate Merit Award, the E.P. Bradlow Scholarship; University Council Postgraduate scholarship and The National Research Foundation - South Africa for overseas travel grants, all of which contributed greatly to the completion of this work. I also wish to acknowledge the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) - Kenya for funding in the initial phase of the project. Much appreciation also goes to the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) for financial support in the vii award of the Small Grants for Thesis Writing. My sincere appreciation too goes to Egerton University for their support and the Office of the President in Kenya for authorization to carry out the study. Special thanks to my colleagues; Dr. Colomba Kaburi, Dr. Grace Musila, Laura Dison, Litsepiso Maltlosa, Paula Gains, Babazile, Daniella Medonca, Mpumi Mnqapu, Beverly Achieng, Sam Senayon, Aloysious Conduaa, Phylis Bartoo, Jenniffer Musangi, Dishon Kweya, Dr. Collins Miruka, George Makubalo, Alex Nyumbaiza, Moses Esilaba, Timothy Onduru, Emmanuel Sibimana, Hilaire Habyarimana, Sinfrid Maniraho, Agatha Ukata, Litheko Modisane and Mamoeketsi Ntho for moral support and encouragement throughout a journey we all now understand so well, and to my mentees in the mentorship programme Orepa Maite and Julia Hlahla from whom I learned enormously. Much appreciation also goes to staff at the Faculty Office ? Wits University, Miriam Mamatela and Julie Poyser; the Graduate Centre; Mapule Tsoari, Kathryn Takabvirwa, Shepherd Mpofu and Alina Modimola. My heart goes out to the women in the women?s groups and the politicians and other community leaders who agreed to participate in this research and without whose help the thesis would have been unsuccessful. I would also wish to acknowledge the support received from the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Social Services in Nairobi - Kenya especially from Patrick Ndivo. Special thanks to the staff at Mulala Divisional office who tirelessly helped with the data collection exercise. Lastly but not least, I would like to appreciate the unparalleled support from my family especially Martin, Kanini, Scolar and Irene for helping with the children and for graciously remaining strong even in my absence; and the family of Isaac and Chritine Esipisu for their friendship. * * * A version of Chapter Two appears in CODESRIA Bulletin Special Issue on the African Woman. Vols. (1 and 2; pp, 17-19): (2006) under the heading ?Foregrounding Women?s Agency in Africa?s Democratization Process?. Similarly, Chapter three appears in Studies in the Economic History of Kenya: Land, Water, Railways and Entrepreneurship (2009) Ed. Amutabi, M. under the title ?The Role of Women Groups in Development in Kenya: The Case of Makueni District? pp. 161-200. I am highly indebted to Prof. Maurice Amutabi and three anonymous reviewers from whose invaluable comments I have drawn on in the study. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ii Abstract iii Dedication v Acknowledgements vi List of Abbreviations xiv List of Figures xvi List of Tables xvii Transcription conventions xviii List of Appendices xix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 2 1.2 Aims and objectives 5 1.3 Rationale for the study 6 1.4 Research questions 7 1.5 Significance of the study 8 1.6 Conclusion 9 CHAPTER TWO: SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Background to the research site and the Kamba people 10 2.3 Women and sustainable development 17 2.4 Women?s groups in Kenya 20 2.4.1 History of women?s groups in Kenya 21 2.4.2 Feminsit groups 24 2.4.3 What we can learn from these two different projects? 25 2.5 The women?s movement 27 2.5.1 The feminist movement 31 2.6 Relationship between, women?s groups, politicians and NGOs in Kenya 37 2.7 Summary 41 ix CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 3.1 Introduction 43 3.2 Definition of terms 44 3.2.1 Gender 44 3.2.2 Discourse 47 3.2.3 Political discourse 49 3.3 Political rallies in Kenya: The baraza 54 3.3.1 Structure of the political rally 56 3.3.2 Style in the political speech 57 3.4 Representation of women?s issues in Kenyan politics 60 3.4.1 Women?s participation in the political process 66 3.5 Women?s agency and social change 73 3.6 Summary 76 3.7 Theoretical framework: major theorists 77 3.7.1 Pierre Bourdieu 77 3.7.2 Michel Foucault 79 3.7.3 John Thompson 80 3.8 Feminist Theory 81 3.9 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) 83 3.9.1 Criticisms of CDA 84 3.10 Chapter summary 85 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY 1.1 Introduction 86 4.2 Location of study 87 4.3 Research Design 89 4.3.1 Case study 89 4.4 Data collection techniques 90 4.4.1 Tape-recording 90 4.4.2 Interviews 91 4.4.3 Focus groups 92 x 4.5 Data analysis and interpretation 96 4.5.1 The data 96 4.5.2 Transcription 99 4.5.3 Translation 100 4.5.4 Thematic Content Analysis 101 4.5.5 Critical Discourse Analysis 102 4.6 Thompson?s modes of ideology 107 4.6.1 Legitimation 109 4.6.2 Dissimulation 109 4.6.3 Unification/fragmentation 110 4.6.4 Reification 110 4.7 Ethical considerations 111 4.8 Summary 111 4.9 Profiles of politicians, other community leaders and women?s groups 112 4.9.1 Description of the women?s groups 112 4.10 The Merry-Go-Round as a basis for the collective 115 4.11 Profile of the women?s groups 117 4.12 Summary 127 CHAPTER FIVE: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN?S INTERESTS AND NEEDS IN POLITICAL SPEECHES 5.1 Introduction 128 5.1.1 Construction of women?s issues in political speeches 129 5.2. Analysis of an opposition rally 129 5.3 Style in the political speech 135 5.3.1 Euphemism and Metaphor 135 5.3.2 Idiomatic expressions 138 5.3.3 Use of song 139 5.4 Analysis of a pro-government rally 139 5.4.1 Metaphors in the political rally 144 5.4.2 Idiomatic expressions 150 5.5 Summary 152 xi CHAPTER SIX: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN?S INTERESTS AND NEEDS BY POLITICIANS AND OTHER COMMUNITY LEADERS 6.1 Introduction 154 6.2 Construction of women?s issues by politicians and other community leaders` 155 6.2.1 Formal education 156 6.2.2 Water 158 6.2.3 Support 159 6.2.4 The burden of household chores 161 6.2.5 Leadership 163 6.2.6 Unity 165 6.2.7 Politicians? false Promises and the role of NGOs 168 6.2.8 Patriarchy 170 6.2.9 Healthcare 171 6.2.10 Land 172 6.2.11 Women?s rights 173 6.2.12 Youth 174 6.2.13 Food 175 6.3 Silences 176 6.4 A frequency count of pronoun and modality choices 177 6.4.1 The pronouns 178 6.4.2 Modality 178 6.5 Who should address the needs mentioned in 6.2? 178 6.6 Politicians and other community leaders? dreams and fears on women?s issues 180 6.7 Summary 182 CHAPTER SEVEN: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN?S INTERESTS AND NEEDS IN WOMEN?S GROUPS 7.1 Introduction 184 7.2 Key themes in women?s construction of their needs 185 7.3 Women?s construction of their own needs 187 xii 7.3.1 Money 187 7.3.2 Unity 189 7.3.3 Formal education 193 7.3.4 Support 195 7.3.5 Leadership 201 7.3.6 Healthcare 204 7.3.7 Water 205 7.3.8 Roads 207 7.3.9 The burden of household chores 208 7.4 Sustainability modes for women?s groups 210 7.5 Dreams, hopes and aspirations 211 7.6 Ways of maintaining enthusiasm and optimism 211 7.7 Threats to agency 211 7.8 Women?s construction of their agency 214 7.8.1 A frequency analysis of pronoun and modality choices 214 7.8.1.1 Pronoun use in relation to agency 214 7.8.1.2 Modality choices in relation to agency 215 7.9 Silences in the text 215 7.10 Summary 216 CHAPTER EIGHT: FORMS OF ACTION 8.1 Introduction 218 8.2 Gossip as social practice 219 8.2.1 Women gossiping 220 8.2.2 Women as object of gossip 225 8.3 Leaders construction of gossip 230 8.4 The Merry-Go-Round 232 8.4.1 Merry-Go-Round as a form of action 232 8.5 Summary 236 CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION 9.1 Introduction 237 9.2 Summary of findings 237 9.2.1 What are the interests and needs that concern women in Makueni as xiii identified by politicians, other community leaders and women in women?s groups? 237 9.2.2 How do women, politicians and other community leaders construct agency in relation these interests and needs? How do they see themselves as able to take transformative social action in relation to women?s interest and needs? 240 9.2.3 What are the differences and similarities between these different constructions of agency? 242 9.3 Suggestions and implications for further research 244 9.4 Impact of research on the researcher and the researched 248 REFERENCES 249 xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AAWORD - Association of African Women for Research and Development AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ASALs - Arid and Semi-Arid Lands CBOs - Community Based Organizations CCF - Christian Children?s Fund CDA - Critical Discourse Analysis CDF - Constituency Development Fund CODESRIA - Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. CKRC - Constitution of Kenya Review Commission DC - District Commissioner DO - District Officer ECK - Electoral Commission of Kenya FAWE - The Forum of African Women Educationists FCDA - Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis FGM - Female Genital Mutilation FIDA - International Federation of Women Lawyers Gad - Gender and Development HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus IDPs - Internally Displaced Persons ISAs - Ideological State Apparatuses KANU - Kenya African National Union KDHS - Kenya Demographic and Health Survey KWPC - Kenya Women Political Caucus KGDS - Kenya Gender Data Sheet KNBS - Kenya National Bureau of Statistics KNDRP - The Kenya National Dialogue & Reconciliation Process KNLSR - Kenya National Literacy Survey Report KLWV - Kenya League of Women Voters LNCs - Local Native Councils MGRs - Merry-Go-Rounds MP - Member of Parliament xv MYWO - Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (Women in Development) Organization NARC - National Alliance Rainbow Coalition NCGD - The National Commission on Gender and Development NCWK - National Council of Women in Kenya NGDP - National Gender and Development Policy NGOs - Non Governmental Organizations NPA - National Platform of Action NPK - National Party of Kenya ODM - Orange Democratic Movement PC - Provincial Commissioner PNU - Party of National Unity PTA - Parents Teachers Association RHS - Rural Housing Scheme RSAs - Repressive State Apparatuses SACCOs - Societal and Credit Cooperative Organizations SACMEQ - Southern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality SAPs - Structural Adjustment Programmes SC - Sub-Chief SL - Source Language TL - Target Language TRC - Truth & Reconciliation Commission UN - United Nations UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund WAD - Women and Development WCD - Women, Culture and Development WID - Women in Development WM - Women?s Movement xvi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Map of Makueni Constituency 88 Figure 4.2 Model of the study 103 Figure 4.3 Fairclough?s model of CDA: a three dimensional view of discourse 105 xvii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Interviews with politicians and other community leaders 97 Table 4.2: Political speeches 97 Table 4.3: Women?s groups 97 Table 4.4: Thompson?s Modes of Ideology 108 Table 4.5: Profiles of politicians and other community leaders 112 Table 4.6: Group Report 2006 115 Table 4.7: Group Report 2007 116 Table 4.8: The Dance Group 118 Table 4.9: The HIV Support Group 119 Table 4.10: The Kerosene Selling Group 120 Table 4.11: The Unity Group 121 Table 4.12: The Farming Group 122 Table 4.13: The Widows? Group 122 Table 4.14: The Orphaned Children Group 123 Table 4.15: The Widows? Support Group 123 Table 4.16: The House Construction Group 124 Table 4.17 The Farming Group 125 Table 4.18 The House Construction Group 125 Table 4.19 Summary of educational levels for participants in women?s groups 126 Table 6.1 W omen?s needs as identified by politicians and other community leaders 155 Table 6.2 A frequency count of pronouns and modality choices in the corpus 177 Table 6.3 Who should address women?s needs? 179 Table 6.4 Politicians? and other leaders? dreams and fears on women?s needs 181 Table 7.1 Women?s needs as identified by women in focus group discussions 186 Table 7.2 Sustainability modes for women?s groups 210 Table 7.3 A frequency count of pronoun and modality choices in the corpus 214 xviii TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS ( ) To give additional information , to indicate pauses and hesitations . To indicate end of statement ? To indicate questions ---- to indicate omitted words ___ to indicate a word cut in delivery Capital letter (e.g. S1) to indicate turns by different speakers Resp: Short form for respondent Inter: Short form for interviewer xix List of Appendices Appendix i: Location of Makueni District in Kenya 265 Appenxix ii: Location of study area 266 Appendix iii: Biographic questionnaire for women respondents 267 Appendix iv: Guiding questions for focus group discussions 268 Appendix v: Interview guide for politicians and other community leaders 269 Appendix vi: Information sheet for women participants 270 Appendix vii: Information sheet for women participants (Kikamba translation) 271 Appendix viii: Information sheet for politicians and other community leaders 272 Appendix ix: Consent forms 273 A: Consent form: Interviews (politicians and other community leaders) 273 B: Consent form: Recording politicians and other community leaders 274 C: Consent form: Women?s focus group discussion 275 D: Consent form: Women?s focus group discussion (Kikamba translation) 276 E: Consent form: Recording (focus group discussion) 277 F: Consent form: Recording (Kikamba translation) 278 Appendix x: Transcripts of women?s interests and needs as identified by politicians and other community leaders in interviews 279 Appendix xi: Transcripts of women?s interests and needs as identified by women in women?s groups 292 Appendix xii: Transcripts of women?s dreams, hopes and aspirations 303 Appendix xiii: Transcripts on ways of maintaining enthusiasm and optimism 305 Appendix xiv: Transcripts on women?s fears 306 Appendix xv: Research Clearance Certificate 307 Appendix xvi: Opposition rally 308 Appendix xvii: Pro-government rally 316 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Chapter outline 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Aims and objectives 1.3 Rationale for the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Conclusion This chapter locates the present research in a rural district in Kenya, while at the same time giving background to the study to situate women?s political participation within the global, African and Kenyan contexts. The chapter also identifies the gap in knowledge that the study seeks to fill and clearly outlines the objectives and research questions that guide the study. This is followed by an assessment of the significance of the study as well as a brief outline of the overall thesis. This study on the representation of women?s interests and needs in spoken discourse was carried out among the Kamba people of Kenya in Makueni District. In Kenya, demographically, the Kamba people constitute about 11% of the population. Kamba women constitute 53 per cent of the population in Makueni District (Kenya Gender Data Sheet, 2005). Many of these women belong to women?s groups which serve their collective interests. In this research, these groups are used as a lens for understanding how women represent themselves and their interests and needs in talk. Molyneux (1985) defines women?s interests by distinguishing between practical gender interests; those that arise from women?s concrete experience within the sexual division of labour, and which are required to secure their survival. These in her words, are ?those based on the satisfaction of needs? arising from the sexual division of labour. Strategic gender interests on the other hand, derive from the analysis of women?s subordination to men. These aim at transforming oppressive structural conditions, and work towards the development of an alternative, more equitable and satisfactory organization of a just society. This is the way in which I operationalise ?women?s interests? in this study. This is the sense in which I also conceptualise needs for the purposes of this study, i.e. in terms of practical interests. 2 The term ?representation? is used in the present study in two senses: the first is ?political representation?, that is how women are represented in the political system in terms of numbers, what Gouws (2003) calls ?descriptive representation?. The second sense is ?discursive representation?, which is concerned with how women are portrayed or constructed in discourse, and how they construct themselves. The relation between meaning in the world and its representation in this instance is mediated through language. Selection from the available options in language constructs a particular version of reality (Fairclough, 1989, Van Leeuwen and Wodak, 1999). It becomes possible therefore to understand how women?s interests and needs are constructed by an examination of the content and form of women?s talk and talk about women. Discursive representation is evident in the ways in which language is deployed. Focus on language in this study is part of the shift in recent years to increased focus on language and how it constitutes the social often characterised as the ?linguistic turn? (Fairclough, 2001c). 1.1 Background to the study Africa, like other regions of the South continues to experience political changes of monumental proportions. Monumental, not only because of the drastic restructuring of social, economic, and political spaces, but also due to the introduction of new forms of politics as well as political actors. One remarkable category of actors in society is women as agents of social change. Since the late 1980s, Africa has witnessed a great deal of activity in the political arena, involving popular campaigns for reform, the convening of national assemblies, and transitions from single party and military rule to the introduction of multi-party politics. These political activities have also been accompanied by the emergence of local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the licensing of private newspapers and broadcasting stations, the conduct of elections for many countries under international observers and the assertion of the right of free speech and assembly and as Olukoshi (1999: 455) observes, ?an increase in the voices of women and the youth?. Despite an increase in the number of women in politics in the majority of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a growing concern that women?s political participation remains peripheral. Women?s negligible participation in politics in Kenya must be seen against the background of state formation in Africa which gave prominence to economic development over democratic principles (Nasong?o and Ayot, 2007; Olukoshi, 1999). According to Haugerud (1995) in the 3 Kenyan context, instead of institutionalizing democratic processes, both the colonial and post- colonial state emphasized that politics was dangerous and that political activity had to be curbed to preserve civil order, stressing that economic development must come before politics. Many gender experts caution against the categorization of women into either rural or urban, yet the disparity between women in these different spaces has been identified as hampering rural women?s action. Interestingly, gender debates are often framed by elite women who control the discourses about women. While it is potentially dangerous to maintain a paternalistic view as most political discourse has done particularly in the polarization of women using categories such as rural versus urban, poor versus rich, educated versus uneducated, literate versus illiterate and so forth, it is imperative to recognise women?s action in relation to women?s multiple identities, and begin to see how women are agentive in these multiple roles. In this study, rurality brings to the fore women?s perspectives on issues of gender and intervention. Elections in Kenya are conducted at three levels: the presidential, the parliamentary and the civic. This research focuses on the civic level. Kenyan national political discourse has been concerned with the empowerment of women in parliamentary elections and, in my opinion, not with as much vigour at the civic level. According to the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK, 2002a), a total of 1 035 parliamentary aspirants contested 210 seats in the National Assembly, forty-four of these were women, 9 (less than 5 per cent) were elected. Forty-one political parties fielded 7 009 candidates. Out of these, 381 women were nominated for the 2 128 electoral seats. This low number of women relative to men confirms the poor participation of women in party politics, which has been identified as one of the major constraints to women?s participation in politics (Nasong?o and Murunga, 2007; Adhiambo-Oduol 2002). Makueni District is one of the twelve districts that form the Eastern Province. In terms of administrative units, the district covers 5 constituencies, 17 divisions, 65 locations and 190 sub-locations (ECK, 2002a). The research is based in Mbitini Location, an administrative unit in Makueni District. It is important to make a distinction between Makueni District which is an administrative unit and Makueni Constituency which is a political unit. Makueni Constituency is the largest Constituency in the District (see Appendices i and ii for maps showing the location of Makueni District in Kenya and Mbitini Division in the district). Only one female parliamentary aspirant in the entire Makueni District stood for election but she was not elected. An analysis of the ECK (2002b) 4 civic election results shows that 8 women contested for councillor positions; 4 of these were from Makueni Constituency; only 1 was elected. In descriptive terms, these figures depict the low representation of women in the political process. The trend in Kenyan political discourse has over the last two decades been characterized by the rhetoric of gender equality and fairness towards both genders, especially in making opportunities available for leadership roles. Yet scholars (Khasiani, 2000; Ghai, 2002) note that women continue to be marginalized in the political process. Thus women?s participation in decision-making is mostly peripheral. Attempts to explain this trend in Kenya, for instance by Khasiani (2000) and Nasong?o and Ayot (2007)), have focused mainly on the social-economic and political factors that contribute to the marginalization of women. Women make up 52 per cent of the adult population and 60 per cent of the voting population in Kenya, making them the majority especially in rural areas (Khasiani: 2000). Due to their numeric advantage, it might be expected that they would play a very significant role in elections since their voter turn-out could be higher than that of men. However, the statistics available from the ECK (2002a) show that the number of women in the registration for the 2002 elections in Makueni Constituency were lower than that of men. The total figure for male registered voters in the Constituency was 40 100, compared to a figure of 38 446 for women. Consequently, women?s numerical strength does not seem to translate to a higher vote and therefore to increased attention to women?s concerns and interests. In other words, despite having good numbers in terms of political representation, there is not a corresponding increase in voting patterns. The analysis of Kenyan political discourse has been extensive, particularly from a ?political science? perspective (Olaleye, 2003). Most of this discourse is seen against a background of the widely accepted rationale for the NARC1 coalition based on the desire to see changes in Kenya?s political environment in the 2002 elections. Despite the recognition that language encodes relations of power (Fairclough, 1989), little research attention in Kenyan political 1 NARC refers to National Alliance Rainbow Coalition, the historic political coalition of the opposition parties in Kenya that dislodged KANU (Kenya African National Union) from power in the 2002 general election. KANU had been in power for forty years, from the time of Kenya?s independence in 1963. 5 discourse is given to the ?text? and ?talk? of politicians, as a possible source of understanding women?s interests and needs in the political process (See Brown and Yule, 1983; Van Dijk, 1997) on how the concepts of ?text? and ?talk? have become core units of analysis in discourse analysis). Sen?s fresh approach to development in ?Development as Freedom?, (1999) underscores the transformation that has accompanied women?s agency in social change with regard to the two- fold features used to increase women?s agency: those related to well being (which have received significantly more attention) and those related to the rights that are aimed at the free agency of women (italics author?s emphasis). He foregrounds the idea that the changing focus of women?s movements is thus a critical addition to previous concerns (an issue explored further in Chapter two). This research seeks to make a contribution to Sen?s view of development from a Kenyan perspective. Agency is linked to the question of power which is realized in two spheres: in macro-level civic politics and everyday micro-level interaction through social practices. In Kenya, both of these are shaped by patriarchal discourses. The politics of gender intersect with civic politics such that representation in the political sense and representation in the semiotic sense intertwine. Representation in language and discourse is fundamental to the articulation of policies and actions for the public good. Gendered social relations contribute to the prevailing conditions for the production and reception of texts. My argument is that the possibilities that exist for women?s semiotic representation of themselves affect their political representation. I have looked at discursive production to see if it can account for women?s lack of participation in the political process. Having looked briefly at the background to the study, the next section identifies the aims and objectives of the study. 1.2 Aims and objectives The overall aim of the study is to investigate spoken texts of women, politicians and other community leaders in order to investigate the construction of women?s interests and needs in Kenya. An analysis of these texts will show if there is a match or mismatch between the way politicians select and talk about these, and the way women talk about themselves and their 6 issues. Wodak (2001: 66) maintains that texts are the products of linguistic actions and that talk produces texts. The linguistic choices people make in the texts they produce were therefore the object of the study because they give an indication of people?s positions and values. Moreover, texts are instantiations of discourse. In this study, transformative social action is seen not only in terms of transferring of public responsibilities to civic groups but also in terms of increasing the capacity of ordinary citizens to understand and act on the issues affecting them in their daily lives. The term ?agency? is used in this study with reference to Fairclough (2003:22) who defines it as the capacity of free people to act, pointing out the limitations of agency thus, ?social agents are not ?free? agents, they are socially constrained, but nor are their actions totally socially determined?. The specific objectives of the study are: 1. To explore the ways in which women?s interests and needs are constructed by politicians and other community leaders in political speeches and interviews. 2. To determine which interests and needs are selected by women in women?s groups as well as how they construct them. 3. To investigate whether the women, the politicians and other community leaders see themselves as able to take transformative social action in relation to these interests and needs. 4. To compare the different constructions of women?s interests and needs by women, politicians and other community leaders. 1.3 Rationale for the study The key concern of studies on human agency is to contribute to the transformation of people?s conditions of life. A study on the role language plays in the representation of women?s agency is useful because if we understand how women?s interests and needs are represented, we will be in a better position to understand their non-participation in the political process. The discursive representation of women?s interests and needs in the political process in Kenya has not received much attention. Studying the way women use language might provide a better understanding of this situation and might provide different possibilities for transformation of their conditions of life. Women are seen to be disadvantaged in the political process though no explanation has yet 7 looked at language as a possible way of explaining the relation between the ?text and talk? of politicians and community leaders on the one hand, and the women?s construction of their interests and needs, their agency and their level of involvement in the political process, on the other hand. Moreover, there are development problems such as poverty, illiteracy and HIV that affect women differently from the way they affect men. Studying women?s interests from a macro-perspective, as has previously been the focus in the democratization process, ignores such differences. Besides, most studies on political discourse have used data and models from the Indo?European languages (Fairclough, 1992, 2001a, 2001b; Chilton and Schaffner, 1997; Van der Valk, 2003; Wodak and Leeuwen, 1999). Looking at data from Kenya may provide fresh insights into political discourse generally and the construction of women?s interests and needs in particular. In this study, I took into account both a functionalist approach to the analysis of social practices and a social constructionist approach to reality. This dual approach examines inequality based on gender and social class. In other words, there are inequalities in the way women?s interests and needs in the political process are represented that cannot be fully addressed by recourse to class differences only. Such interests can only be wholly addressed by reference to the socio- cultural differences between men and women. This implies that there is a need to examine the social processes of text production and reception as well as the socio-historical conditions of production for social action. The study pays attention to the action and interaction of women in women?s groups as a way of understanding women?s interests and needs. The study, therefore, borrows from the symbolic interactionism school of thought which springs from a concern with language and meaning (Giddens, 2001: 17). Issues of power are also important in this study as they help us to position women in the wider context of relations of domination. The purpose of this research is therefore to establish what needs women identify, and how these are represented by politicians, other community leaders and women themselves in Kenyan political discourse. 1.4 Research questions The objectives of this research will be achieved by answering the following research questions; 1. What are the interests and needs that concern women in Makueni Constituency as identified by politicians, other community leaders and women? 8 2. How are these interests and needs constructed by the politicians, other community leaders and women themselves? 3. How do politicians, other community leaders and women construct agency2 in relation to these interests and needs? 4. What are the differences and similarities between these different constructions of agency? The methods of gathering data to answer these questions are discussed in Chapter Four. This data is analysed in Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8. Question 1 is a means for eliciting texts that enable one to see how these different participants construct women?s interests and needs and position themselves in relation to them. In other words, it produces the talk and text that are analysed to answer questions 2 ? 4. 1.5 Significance of the study The findings from this research contribute to the advancement of knowledge. First in terms of theory-building, the use of a multidisciplinary approach that cuts across language, gender and politics provides an innovative lens to understand women?s interests and needs. The research is particularly relevant for policy studies in that it highlights different possibilities for the political education of rural women and the electorate more generally. Further in terms of practice, most studies on language and democratization have focused on a macro-level analysis. The current research focuses on a micro-level analysis by focusing on the text and talk of politicians, other community leaders and rural women. In this way, the research broadens the debate that studies concerned with the empowerment of groups or communities need to adopt a bottom-up approach (Robinson, 1996). The present research assumes that the way women are constructed in language by others and by themselves might enable us to understand their involvement in both the political process and social action. The study is also timely as the political climate in Kenya indicates enhanced freedom of speech following the repeal of Section 2A of the Kenyan constitution in December 1991 to allow for multiparty democracy. The role of women in the political process is being advocated more than ever before by the media, gender activists and the government. However, although women?s interests appear to be at the core of sustainable development discourse, there appears to be a gap in the way this discourse is investigated. The crucial role of language use (text and talk) by the women themselves as a possible means of 2 As defined by Fairclough (2003: 22) and discussed on page 5. 9 understanding women?s needs is ignored, yet language is one of the most important ways through which people construct reality. The research questions that underpin this research seek to address this gap. The research will be particularly useful to NGOs in Kenya for better provision of civic education. It will also help politicians, gender activists and sociologists. In addition, the study is also hoped to benefit communication and development specialists, linguists and political scientists. The findings might form a basis for disseminating information on how the representation of women?s interests enables or disables women from making informed choices in the political process. 1.6 Conclusion This chapter has provided an overview of the research, its aims, rationale and research questions. It has argued that most studies on women are quantitative, whereas this research is qualitative with a focus on representations in discourse. The next chapter, Chapter 2 examines the socio-political context of the study, while Chapter 3 provides a review of the literature and theoretical framework. After a discussion of the research methods in Chapter 4 and data analysis in Chapters 5-8, the final chapter of the thesis summarises the findings and their significance for further action and research. These findings are also considered in relation to the political upheavals in Kenya following the elections in 2007. Although this chapter has provided some background to the study, it is important to provide a more thorough explanation of the socio- political context in which the research participants live and work. This is the focus of Chapter 2. 10 CHAPTER TWO SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXT OF STUDY Chapter outline 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Background to the research site and the Kamba people 2.3 Women and sustainable development 2.4 Women?s groups in Kenya 2.4.1 History of women?s groups in Kenya 2.5 The women?s movement 2.5.1 The feminist movement 2.5.2 Conflating women?s groups and feminist groups 2.6 Relationship between, women?s groups, politicians and NGOs in Kenya 2.7 Summary 2.1 Introduction This chapter provides background to the rural context of the study. It also provides a history of the Kamba people as a basis for understanding the role of women in Kenya?s political process. The overarching argument in this chapter is that an overview of the history and culture within which the women operate is critical to understanding their participation in politics. Culture, notably socialization, provides a lens through which one can understand women?s roles in the division of labour. Feminists unintentionally view these women?s roles within traditional discourses as exploitation from which rural women need to be liberated. This is an elite perspective that devalues the work of rural women. In this chapter, I argue that the power difference between elite and rural women, leads elite women to believe that rural women need their help to bring them into the political process. This research was initially conceived as part of such a project. In this chapter, I argue against conflation of women?s groups and the feminist movement as this obscures efforts to address women?s practical needs. 2.2 Background to the research site and the Kamba people The people amongst whom this study was carried out are the Akamba (plural), while one person is a ?Mkamba? (singular), and they inhabit the area known as Ukambani (Whiteley and Muli, 1962). These people speak about five different dialects (Kitavi, 1992). In this study, the term ?Kamba? is used to refer to the ?Akamba? with a focus on those who mainly speak the Makueni dialect of the Kikamba language. Ukambani lies in the Eastern region of Kenya, stretching from 11 the equator towards the Kenya-Tanzania border, and westwards from the shores of the Indian Ocean towards the Kenyan Hinterland. During British colonial rule, Ukambani was divided into Kitui and Machakos districts in the East and West respectively. Each district was further sub-divided into smaller administrative locations and sub-locations over which the British set up chiefs and their assistants for ease of administration. Though the Akamba had states organized around clans, early European travellers did not recognize these as significant and trade caravans had their own leaders, such as Chief Kivoi of Kitui. There was virtually no written history of the Kamba people before the middle of the 19th Century. According to oral history, they migrated inland from Shungwaya on the coast of Kenya. From Shungwaya, they migrated inland. This migration was in pursuit of ivory for trade with Arabs and Indians (Zeleza, 1993). Traditionally, economic activities included keeping livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and domestic animals), farming, hunting, bee- keeping, and barter trade (Mbiti, 1966). In order to understand women?s interests and needs, I briefly look at three historical phases; the pre-colonial, the colonial and the post colonial periods and women?s position within them. In the pre-colonial period, women not only played an active role in food production and controlling of the surplus but also played a more positive role than it is assumed today because the division of labour was different. O?barr (1985) argues that African women in the pre- colonial times exercised more power and controlled more resources than they did in the colonial period. Similarly, Amadiume (1987; 2000) through research in the Igbo community of Nigeria argues that patrilineal and matrilineal practices in traditional African society placed both men and women in relative positions in terms of the power each gender wielded. In addition, ?society did not denigrate women?s work?, as Tamale (1999: 7) observes with reference to the Ugandan society. In the Kamba community, the men held power over the real wealth of society - land and livestock. A man?s wealth was measured primarily by the quantity of livestock and land he owned. Livestock was a status symbol and the Kamba had great regard for it. Livestock also played a major role in the marriage contract but in modern Kenya, this is increasingly being replaced by ?money?, a process that has been referred to as ?monetarization? of the bride wealth 12 institution (Kanogo, 2005). Hunting was common then. There were market-places where on market days, people would engage in barter trade. The Kamba were Kenya?s most dynamic long distance traders in the 19th Century (Austen, 1987; Zeleza, 1993; Spear, 1981). They traded with the central peoples of Kenya; the Embu, Mbeere, Meru, Tharaka, and Kikuyu, the Kisii to the West, the Samburu to the North and the Mijikenda to the East. Their trading activities also spread to Mombasa. Although it is not clear when the Kamba started trade with Mombasa (Mbiti, 1966), Zeleza contends that there is some evidence to suggest that they had been trading with coastal communities long before the 1800s (1993:307). The Kamba are also noted for their expertise in making beads, baskets, pots, knives, and sculptures. Wacker?s (1997) study of the Kikuyu of Laikipia District in Kenya established that, in pre- colonial Kikuyu society, women?s access to land was mediated through lineage and marriage, and women controlled the allocation of labour skills on the land. She interprets this as ?power? (following Weber, 1947) on the part of the women because they monopolized agricultural skills, controlled the allocation of labour and the process of production and decided what crops to plant. In her view, women?s groups today serve a crucial function in enabling rural women to gain access and control over resources through self-help. O?barr (1985) maintains that the amount of control women had over their lives was greater then, than it was under colonialism and the loss of autonomy was disproportionately greater for women than for men. The colonial period in Kenya started way back with Portuguese rule in 1848-1729. This rule continued with British rule which was marked by the Berlin Conference of 1884 that partitioned Africa and gave Kenya to Britain. Kenya became a British colony with the formation of the British East Africa Colony in 1895. Colonial rule ended in 1963 when Kenya gained independence. This period produced changes in women?s traditional roles and their power associated with these roles. This period was also marked by famines such as the ?Great Famine? which occurred from 1897 to 1901 (Ambler, 1988). According to Kanogo (2005), these natural calamities stretched the capacity of the male heads of households to retain control over their people. In her view, one way a household could preserve itself was by the practice of pawning (placing as collateral) some of its women. These women were sent into the custody of another ethnic group in exchange for food. This simultaneously relieved those who remained behind. She goes on to argue that marriages constructed out of ?pawn-ship arrangements? were in reality 13 political alliances that enabled a community facing an economic crisis to exchange some of its human social capital to acquire sustenance for the rest of the population, pending the recovery of its economy (Kanogo, 2005: 45). In Ambler?s view, ?the buyers were acquiring rights over the women themselves not simply their labour? (1988: 71). Ambler (1988) presents conflicting insights between the local people (Kikuyu, Embu and Mbeere) and the colonialists about their perception of this practice. While the colonialists saw pawning as a form of slavery, Africans saw it as a normal process of social integration. During the colonial period, pawning was practiced by different ethnic groups including the Kamba. The Kamba received Maasai women and pawned their own women to the Kikuyu. With regard to the colonial period, despite contesting views on the effects of colonialism on women in Sub-Saharan Africa, researchers have come to a consensus that colonialism on the whole undermined women?s power (Amadiume, 1987; 2000; Kanogo, 2005; O?barr, 1985; Adhiambo-Oduol, 2001; Wacker, 1997). Citing evidence from history, Adhiambo-Oduol (2001) argues that African communities are either matrilineal or patrilineal. Colonialism however disrupted the clearly defined roles that existed in pre-colonial societies in Kenya, giving less value to women?s status. For Amadiume (1987; 2000), economic changes in colonial times undermined women?s status and reduced their political role such that these patrilineal tendencies persist today to the detriment of women. Kanogo (2005) expresses similar sentiments based on research in her Kikuyu community in Kenya observing that on the eve of the colonial era, women were embedded in gendered constructions of power, authority and ownership of and access to property in a manner that publicly diminished their individual agency. In the colonial system operating around capital and labour, a woman became a commodity like everything else ? an asset for her poorly paid labour. She could get no employment except as an ayah (maid), or coffee and tea picker (Ngugi, 1978: 207). These forms of labour took women out of their communities and exposed them to sexual abuse as these women were not protected by law. In addition, Ngugi argues that racism reinforced prostitution because the law did not protect African women from sexual abuse but punished it severely where white women were involved. This marks the historical origin of the concept of women being ?cheap? meaning with ?loose morals?, making a link between ?work? and ?loose morals?. This might be said to apply to 14 women in Kenyan politics. This might also explain why most scandals involving women politicians in Kenya often depict their image as one of low morals and therefore ?cheap?. Though Ngugi?s publication is over 30 years old, the crucial point is that a similar pattern and structure persists. Rural women, especially those who work as domestic workers (also known as ?house-helps?) continue to be largely underpaid and exploited as cheap labour, a situation similar to that of the colonial period. For O?barr (1985), colonialism not only destroyed female social institutions, but imposed new institutions which favoured men over women. She identifies four key areas - the introduction of scientific agriculture, the establishment of Western education, the creation of new political and religious authority, and the control over access to the market economy. In all these areas, colonial policy had a differing impact on women as opposed to men. She further argues that by stressing the development of cash crops and plantation agriculture rather than the improvement of subsistence farming, colonial policy set in motion the conditions which perpetuate chronic food shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa. Colonial labour policy in plantation agriculture focused on the recruitment of men leaving women as dependants. As the market and wage economy became dominant over the traditional economy, men had more resources with which to deal than did women. The provision of Western-style education was gender-biased, with men getting more education than women. A strengthening of indigenous values that stressed the greater importance of male achievement meant that fewer women advanced in western education. Unlike previous descriptions that presented women as being non-agentive in the colonial period, some accounts of women?s participation in the Mau Mau revolt against British rule (Gachihi, 1984; Likimani, 1985) are exceptions. The Mau Mau refers to events beginning in the colonial period in Kenya, late 1940s, and ending with independence in 1963 in Kenya. This was a revolt by African peasants against economic, political and cultural conditions in which they lived, (O?barr, 1985: 1). With the publication of Passbook Number F.47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya, Likimani (1985) foregrounds the voices of Kenyan African women as actors with agency in the Mau Mau rebellion. The book presents one of the most illuminating accounts of women?s role in the political process particularly in nationalism. 15 In the post-colonial period, since 1963 when Kenya gained independence from Britain, with changes reflected in all aspects of life, the Kamba people placed more emphasis on formal education, mechanized farming and commerce. They have expanded their trade in carvings to markets in London, Geneva and New York, just to mention a few. Although the Kenya Gender Data Sheet (KGDS, 2005) shows more male headed households (57.7 per cent) than female ones (42.3 per cent), Khasiani (2000) argues that poverty has pushed most men out of Makueni in search of employment in urban areas, and this in reality has left the women to head the households and manage the rural farms and small-scale enterprises. In other words, socio- economic changes in the division of labour, leave more responsibility to women to provide for their communities but no means to get out of poverty. This is what Nasong?o and Ayot (2007: 189) allude to when citing Nasong?o, 2005, they point out that men and women are differentially affected by the level of poverty in Kenya with 69 per cent of women working as subsistence farmers compared to 43 per cent of men. Arguing that subsistence farmers are among the very poor in society, this high dependence of women on subsistence farming makes women economically disempowered, which in their view make it difficult for women to participate effectively in electoral politics. For Nasong?o and Ayot (2007), ?feminisation? of poverty means that ?women become more concerned with struggling for their daily bread than following any serious political development? (p, 190). Looking at the Makueni District Development Plan, for the age group 15-59, the labour force, as at 1989, stood at 278 406 people comprising 150 276 females and 128 130 males; the implication being that women dominate the labour force in the district (1997-2001:12). According to the KGDS (2005), women comprise 66.3 per cent of unpaid family workers as compared to men (23.7 per cent). In view of women?s contribution to the labour process, women?s interests would be incomplete without a clear understanding of the relationship between the labour process and women?s participation in Kenyan society (Zeleza, 1988). For one to understand the operation of women?s groups, one needs to have some knowledge of Makueni District within the wider Kenyan context. Kenya has both administrative and electoral units. The system of governance that the British introduced during the colonial period is still used in present day Kenya in many ways. For example the colonialists divided Kenya into regions so as to better govern the indigenous people. These administrative regions are 16 maintained by forms of local government. The largest of these administrative units are provinces which are governed by Provincial Commissioners (PC). There are eight provinces: Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi, North-Eastern, Nyanza, Rift-Valley and Western. Provinces are in turn sub-divided into districts, districts into divisions, divisions into locations; and locations into sub-locations. A District is governed by a District Commissioner (DC), a division by a Divisional Officer (DO), a location by a Chief and a sub-location by a Sub-Chief. Chiefs and Sub-Chiefs as community leaders constitute ?traditional leadership? also known as ?chieftainship? in related literature. According to Quinlan and Wallis (2003: 146) the notion of traditional leadership is a contested one; on the one hand, chiefs and by extension the institution of chieftainship is a hindrance to political democracy and it should not be recognized by the national government. On the other hand, chiefs are regarded as significant forms of authority particularly in rural areas. They are also seen as having a role to play in the government of a modern state. An extension of this argument is that the institution of chief ship stands alongside the bureaucracy of a modern state and therefore the institution needs to be transformed to the effect that chiefs become actively participants within local government structures. Kenya is also divided into Constituencies. A constituency is an electoral unit, an area that an elected Member of Parliament (MP) represents. Currently there are 210 constituencies many of which have boundaries similar to those of Divisions. In some cases, however, constituencies consist of more than one division (Maathai, 2004). As at 2002, Makueni District had 5 constituencies, 17 divisions, 65 locations and 192 sub-locations (ECK, 2002). Government registered groups are one of the common ways through which Kenya conducts rural development (registration of women?s groups is dealt in more detail in Chapter 3). The majority of the members in such groups are women, though not all women?s groups are registered. Members of such groups often reside in the same sub-location (the smallest administrative unit), and have some commonality for example they worship in the same church or have similar occupations; in other words, they share a common history. Wacker (1997: 136) maintains that while in traditional society women automatically became members of particular groups because of birth, age, sex, kinship and marriage, membership in today?s women?s groups is largely voluntary. 17 The representation of women?s interests and needs in Makueni District is seen against a backdrop of Kenya?s recent political crisis. At the beginning of 2008, the situation of women was exacerbated by the post-election violence that followed the December 2007 elections in Kenya. Women?s ability to sustain their communities was further eroded by their displacement. The ?National Accord and Reconciliation Bill? subsequently passed in parliament was designed to restore human rights and to secure a safe environment for vulnerable groups mainly women and children. This study comes amid calls for ?issue-based politics? in Kenya that will address the needs of the electorate. Following the post-election conflict, a reconciliation body; the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process (KNDRP) was formed headed by the former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan. The key role of this body is the resettlement of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the country. This is important because women?s well-being depends on their ability to work in their communities as a collective. 2.3 Women and sustainable development A discussion of women?s interests and needs would be incomplete without the notion of sustainability. Women?s integral role in sustainable development in Africa has been variously documented (Ng?ang?a, 2006; Wacker, 1997). The focus on women and sustainable development indicates the idea that women, particularly rural women in Sub-Saharan Africa are ?among the most important and best experienced actors in bringing about sustainability (Dankelman and Davidson, 1988: xiii, cited in Wacker, 1997: 10). This is an instance of these women?s actions being valued and being seen positively in the literature. Sustainability means different things to different people in different contexts. In this study, the operational definition used is in relation to sustainable development as ?a process that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? (UN report, 1987). In the UN report, also commonly referred to as the Brundtland report, this is the most commonly used definition, and it is also appropriate to the concerns of this study in that it indicates a shift from the idea that sustainability is mainly ecological to a framework that emphasizes the economic and social context of development. There are two key concepts in this definition; the concept of ?needs?, in particular, the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given and the idea of ?limitations? imposed by the state of 18 technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs? (1987: 43). There is however a theoretical problem underpinning this view of sustainability as it raises a fundamental philosophical question; can the present generation preserve resources for future generations? In a sense, this definition positions itself against future generations as the needs of today may not necessarily be the needs of future generations. The challenge for future generations is that they must make sure that there is a planet on which they can sustain themselves. The needs approach as conceptualized in the present study is context specific and prevents homogenization and generalization of women?s conditions. The basic ?human needs strategy? pushed by the World Bank and adopted by most international agencies has played a crucial role in this regard. This strategy has, however, been critiqued as lacking a significant link to people?s everyday experience. In other words ?basic human needs? discourse as previously conceptualised does not foster greater socio-political participation, a gap which a study on language hopes to fill. This thesis suggests that an integrated approach to practices of sustainability that are women?s needs-specific should be mirrored in the socio-political, economic and environmental agendas as these are closely interlinked to bring about sustainable development by using a multidisciplinary approach that cuts across the areas of language, gender studies and politics. For Molyneux (1998: 236), focus on how needs are discursively constructed gives more political meaning to them for ?needs are usually deemed to exist while interests are willed?. She argues that some way for combining a discourse of needs with that of interests is essential in the planning field. The thesis provides a fresh approach to the study of women?s interests and needs by using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a means of uncovering the subtle ways in which the representation of these issues interfaces with questions of power. Wacker (1997) observes that, as is common with other terms in development politics, the term ?sustainable development? has been defined controversially and its meaning has changed overtime. In her view, As a normative concept, sustainable development requires a political system that gives communities an effective say over the resources on which they depend. It requires promoting citizens? initiatives, empowering people?s organizations, and strengthening local democracy,? (p, 9). 19 Wacker?s definition alludes to the shift that has occurred from the traditional view of politics as a mechanism for controlling government to participatory democracy where politics is seen as a system of ?popular control in everyday life? (Phillips, 1991). There is broad agreement that sustainability in Africa stands on the shoulders of its women. For Ng?ang?a (2006), in order to continue to stand tall and develop sustainably, these shoulders must be kept strong, a task for everyone, especially, the young female elites who mainly manage women?s agendas in Africa. In this research, I argue that the way women are constructed both by others and more importantly by themselves might enable us to understand their sustainability and their agency with regard to their involvement in both the political process and social action. One way of doing this is by addressing the discourse of women in relation to their practices of sustainability in women?s groups (see Ndambuki, 2009b). Given the broad agreement that sustainability depends on women, this research raises the question as to why then negative representations of women prevail? This study argues for a more respectful discourse in order to develop women?s agency: a discourse that constructs women?s actions as having value and integrity. Socio-historical analysis of contemporary women?s groups, particularly how they have survived social change over the years, is critical to understanding their sustainability. Existing literature available on African economic history (Austen, 1987; Zeleza, 1993) together with that of Kenya?s economic history (see Ambler 1988; Chitere, 1988) have ignored the ?means? of endurance for women?s groups; yet these are important for any meaningful discussion on these women?s political participation. Culture has also been found to undercut and destroy women?s action (Bonner and Goodman, 1992; Estes, 1998; Adhiambo-Oduol, 2001). In order to understand women?s participation in Kenya?s political process, I draw on Ngugi Wa Thiong?o?s (1986: 17) definition of culture as ?a product of the history of a people?. In his view, Culture develops within the process of people wrestling with their natural and social environment. They struggle with one another. They evolve a way of life embodied in their institutional and certain practices. Culture becomes the carrier of their moral, aesthetic and ethical values. At the psychological level, these values become the 20 embodiment of the people?s consciousness as a specific community. That consciousness in turn has an effect on how they look at their values, at their culture, at the organization of power, and at the organization of their wealth extracted from nature through the mediation of their labour (1993: 27). Culture embodies the way of life of a people; the next section therefore begins with a definition, and examination of women?s groups and their history in Kenya. This provides a cultural understanding of women?s groups as they operate in Kenya. This is followed by an analysis of the growth and development of the feminist movement in Kenya and the ways in which women?s groups have figured in the development. The next section starts by looking at women?s groups because for purposes of this study, it is important to separate these women?s groups. 2.4 Women?s groups in Kenya Women?s groups consist of women who get together to help each other with what has traditionally been defined as women?s work. As times have changed, what counts as women?s work has been extended (Booner and Goodman, 2002). In this chapter, I argue that women?s groups are not feminist groups. The history of women?s groups (also popularly known as ?Merry-Go-Rounds? or ?rotating credit associations? in Kenya) actually pre-dates the feminist movement. Distinguishing between the two is complicated by the fact that in everyday talk and in the literature both are referred to as ?women?s groups?, even though they have different projects. In this thesis, the term women?s groups is used to refer only to rural women?s self help groups. Essentially these women?s groups tend to be community based groups who work together to sustain their own families and the families of the other group members. The members of these small collectives work at the grassroots. Thomas (1988: 4) argues that ?as an approach to rural development, self-help is an integral part of Kenya?s political life?. Wacker (1997) identifies reciprocity and sanctions as the crucial elements through which women?s groups foster co- operation. For her, women?s groups gain access to and control resources by involving members in rotating credit associations and negotiating legitimacy over the resources the group controls. She captures the Merry-Go-Round framework aptly thus; Analytically, this process consists mainly in transforming money and labour into gifts. In their rotating credit and labour associations, the women bring money, (which the 21 members earned individually) and labour into the group. It passes through the chairperson in a ritualized procedure in which money and labour are equally distributed as a group gift to one member at a time; one by one all the members get involved in a system of reciprocal gift exchange (1997: 136). The idea of the Merry-Go-Round is seen in practices like the ?myethya? (working group meetings, Hill, 1991) among the Kamba, where people come together to assist one another in times of need as in everyday activities like crop harvesting, house construction and the organization of various social functions such as marriage ceremonies, burials, fundraising and the establishment of social networks. If anyone member of the group has a problem, the group often takes it up collectively. 2.4.1 History of women?s groups in Kenya Women?s groups in Kenya started as work groups which were rotational in nature in the pre- colonial period. Women?s labour, however, intensified over and above their traditional chores meaning they had to produce exportable and sellable products. After the Second World War with Africans being allowed to grow cash crops, they were enabled to improve economically. This permeated the 80s, 90s and the contemporary period, which saw the development of women?s groups whose basic objective is to pool their resources. Women?s groups have been studied from various standpoints. While some studies provide a historical perspective (Chitere, 1988, Zeleza, 1988), others focus on case studies to explore the role of women?s groups in the political economy (Coppock, Desta, Wako, Aden, Gebru, Tezera, and Tadecha, 2006; Stamp, 1986; Hyma and Nyamwange, 1993, Khasiani, 2000). From the onset, it is instructive to see this case study of women?s groups in Makueni District in the broad context of research on Africa?s economic history which has been acknowledged as increasingly multidisciplinary and which ?has become a vast international enterprise, dominated by no single national or methodological tradition? (Hopkins, 1980: 154 cited in Zeleza, 1993: 1). Chitere provides a very comprehensive analysis of women?s groups within the Women?s Self- Help Movement in Kenya from colonial times to the post-independence period. According to him, the Women?s Self-Help Movement during the colonial period was characterized by intensive training efforts of African women leaders by the whites and formation of women?s 22 clubs (another name for women?s groups) whose main activities were home crafts (spinning and weaving), home, and community improvement. In the 1950s, there was a notable shift in these institutions from emphasis on women?s work, from ?domestic science? to ?self-help?. Various terms were used in the colonial period to signify the women?s groups. The term ?institutes? appears to have been used in areas like North Nyanza; the term ?club? was on the other hand used in areas like Machakos, while the term ?league? referred to those groups mainly in European settled areas. From the mid 1950s, the term ?club? or ?Maendeleo? (a Swahili term for ?Progress?) was widely used. Increased numbers of ?clubs? during this period led to the formation of the MYOW in 1951, as a national coordinating organization. The formation of this organization might be said to have marked the beginning of the conflation of women?s groups and the feminist movement as it might be said to show how the feminist groups co-opt women?s groups to advance their cause. The post-independence period, particularly the 1970s registered a remarkable growth of women?s groups in Kenya judging by the numbers of women?s groups; in 1972 there were 2 805 women?s groups with 126 150 members and in 1986 the estimate was 15 000 groups with 550 000 members (Monsted, 1975) cited in Chitere, 1988: 50). By 2000, Kenya had more than 30 000 women?s groups with membership totalling over 1 million (Khasiani, 2000). According to the Kenya Gender Data Sheet (2005), in 2003, Makueni District had 3 398 women?s groups with a total membership of 138 378. Out of these, 99.8 per cent were female an indication that to a large extent, women?s groups are essentially female in the district. Monsted cites the reduction of financial assistance to the women?s groups (Monsted 1978: 3, cited in Chitere 1988) as a failure on the part of government to emphasize the importance of women?s groups to the national women?s movement in Kenya. For instance, Machakos District had 94 women?s groups in 1954, which by 1967 had dropped to 75. The drop in the number of women?s groups might have been the result of a lack of proper articulation on policies dealing with grassroots organizations including women?s groups. It would also appear that the conflation of women?s groups with the feminist movement might have been hampering the growth of women?s groups. 23 The 1970s also saw the development of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as part of civil society notably the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots NGO, initiated by Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. Nyamwange and Hyma (1993) use the NGO to illustrate women groups? involvement in household, farming and management of local resources using a case study of Kiambu District in Central Kenya. The Green Belt Movement in Maathai?s words ?has over the past 30 years shown that sustainable development linked with democratic values promotes human rights, social justice and equity, including balance of power between women and men? (2004: xvi). In her view, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize demonstrates that although the work of grassroots groups, especially women?s groups, does not always make headline news, it does make a difference. The 1980s and 1990s were characterized by NGOs typified by discourses on women?s rights. The women?s groups at this point mainly addressed new social demands brought about by Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs)3. These emerged in the globalization era and were influenced by western feminist movements whereby motherhood was no longer privileged as the determining factor of womanhood. Globalization is seen as the increasing stand for interconnectedness in terms of communication, flow of ideas and goods. Amutabi (2006) draws a linkage between global forces and development particularly in the work of NGOs. The author suggests that the NGO is one of the ways through which poor and more marginalized Kenyans experience globalization. In his view, the local and the global are inter-related. Women?s groups are often seen as traditional and non-threatening on the one hand while the feminist groups evoke fear among politicians and this is probably the reason why the national organization, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation (MYWO ? meaning ?Women in Development?) is always under heavy scrutiny from politicians. These groups are the focus of the next section. 3 Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) brought about introduction of user-fees in accessing government services like education, healthcare and a significant cut in agricultural services. It was a hard time for the people who needed to come up with coping mechanisms, the women?s groups therefore formed part of this coping mechanism. 24 2.4.2 Feminist groups Unlike the rural self-help women?s groups, ?feminist groups? consist mainly of members who typically stay in urban areas and are educated. Because their project aims to address women?s gendered interests, I refer to them as ?feminist? groups for the purposes of this study. The term ?feminist? is enclosed in scare quotes to acknowledge that this naming practice is contested and in recognition of the fact that in some instances this lexicalisation would be rejected by the women in these groups. In contexts in which the term is recognised and accepted, no scare quotes will be used. These women (also known as elite or feminist in related literature) are the ones who run the agenda for the women?s movement as seen in the MYWO (this is dealt with in more detail in the next section). These groups tend to be more national and are concerned with gender equality, equity and the cross-gender sharing of responsibilities. The MYWO organization was established to voice the concerns and aspirations of women and to influence public policy on matters of concern to women. The formation of the national women?s organization by white women to train Kenyan women in homecare might have marked the origin of the condescending attitude of elite women to rural women. The reason for this is that the national organization was in a sense an organization for the ?elite women? who could probably not meaningfully identify with the needs of the rural woman. With reference to Aubrey (1997), I would say that the role of the organization has evolved from the patriarchal production of ?good wives and mothers? to a vehicle for maintaining the patriarchal hold on power in Kenyan politics and as an organ for boosting male power in general. Aubrey validates this view in her in-depth analysis of MYWO, particularly its incorporation into the ruling party KANU in 1987; which led to its autonomy being abrogated. Incidentally, both Kenyatta?s rule, from 1963-1978, and Moi?s reign from 1978 to 2002 may be described as gender insensitive periods and particularly because it was during Moi?s time that the organisation was openly used by the male ruling elite to advance their political agenda at the expense of the women?s agenda. In 1964, in the immediate post?colonial period, The National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) was formed. This was formed as a front for women?s concerns, co-opted women?s self-help groups into the movement. This gave the movement more legitimacy and among other things contributed to its politicization. Despite this, little attention was paid to the needs of the women in the Self-Help Movement. Because of their so-called inclusion in the women?s 25 movement there was also little official support for these rural women?s groups. According to Nzomo (1993), the post-colonial era saw a deliberate move to keep both ?feminist? and women?s groups off political agendas. Many organisations? constitutions barred them from engaging in political matters. ?The formation of the Women?s Bureau (WB) in 1975, following the first women?s conference in Mexico and the introduction of monetary grants to the ?feminist? and women?s groups, led to rapid growth of the movement during the late 1970s. Although the movement now incorporates both ?feminist? and women?s groups the agenda is still determined by the ?feminist? elite women?s agenda which is to improve women?s interests. Their project, which focuses on gender equality, is not the same as the focus in women?s groups on sustainability. The project of the women?s groups is to address the needs of their communities, such as health care, education, food security, water and so forth. Although these two different groupings of women have different projects, they are regularly conflated in the literature. In literature and in talk, feminist and women?s groups are conflated. The differences between the two groups do not enable women?s different projects to be accomplished. It is therefore important to separate these groups in order to address the needs of each adequately. 2.4.3 What can be learnt from the differences between the two projects? Rural women help themselves through the power of the collective. At a practical level, each women?s group works on its own needs. Conflating the ?feminist? groups and women?s groups as seen in the co-option of women?s groups by MYWO is objectionable. Khasiani (1993) identifies three broad types of groups which emerged in the Self-Help Movement; those focusing on self-help, those focusing on welfare and those involved in income-generating activities. The self-help groups composed of men and women, and over the years have become dominated by women as most men migrate out of rural areas in search of urban employment, leading to the name ?women?s groups?. These form around community needs like construction of water structures, schools, bridges, and dispensaries. The distinguishing feature of self-help groups is that they are often large with membership of between 50 and 200 people. Welfare groups on the other hand, are mainly formed by women out of efforts to meet basic needs. They are often formed to assist relatives and friends in need and therefore are of a welfare type, meeting such needs as to comfort bereaved relatives, 26 collecting money to assist members who are unable to pay school fees for their children, operating Merry-Go-Round mutual aid to assist members to buy furniture, utensils, or iron sheets for constructing houses. These are the ones dealt with in the current study. The income- generating groups mainly engage in farming and are often registered with the Ministry of Gender, Sports and Culture. However, according to Khasiani (1993: 118), most of their activities remain at the welfare level because they are not in a position to engage in lucrative commercial farming. The fact that these groups remain at the welfare level in a sense confirms that these groups address the practical needs of women rather than their strategic gender interests. Women?s groups have no interest in the strategic gender interests because on the one hand, they are so pre-occupied with meeting the practical needs of women and on the other hand, they do not identify with the feminist agenda. Women?s groups in rural Kenya mostly operate in isolation which sets them apart from feminist groups. Were these separate women?s groups able to come together with a transformation agenda, they might be able to harness their experience with collective action to defend Kenyan women?s strategic gender interests, in addition to their practical daily needs. What stands out clearly is that women?s strategic gender interests are a major silence in rural women?s talk because it is a political project of the feminists but a project of sustainability for rural women. It is in view of the need for linkage amongst self-help groups that women?s groups in central Kenya, have decided to unite. Central Province has some of the strongest groups both economically and organisationally in the history of women?s groups in Kenya. A case in point is the Ndia Integrated Women Development Association (NIWDA), a CBO which functions as a networking model and acts as an umbrella to provide interaction between and within one hundred self-help groups (Mutugi, 2006). The sole purpose of NIWDA was to provide linkages between different self-help groups in order to document and share best practices in the areas of agriculture, health and micro-enterprise, and thus stimulate activities for poverty alleviation especially among rural women. Mutugi (2006) identifies a tendency of each self-help group to be secretive, which often leads to apathy and isolation of the groups. Following Kropotkin (1904), who maintains that the self-help group is the oldest and most natural system of improving the situation of human beings, Mutugi (2006) recommends using self-help groups as 27 reliable units for gender sensitive education, for development and for poverty eradication. The current research adds a further dimension by considering the role language could play in bringing about greater possibility for transformation of women?s groups. According to Udarvady (1998), contemporary women?s groups and development workers have much to learn from indigenous women?s collectives about the powers of collective action (p, 1750). Such women?s collectives based on a study of the Baraibag of Tanzania, the Gikuyu, and the Giriama of Kenya did not include purposive attempts to permanently change gender relations but women?s organizations in the past defended, protected and maintained women?s collective interests. Although based on a comparison of past and present women?s collective organizations and action over a decade ago, Udarvady (1998: 1758) reveals that ?the activities of women?s groups remain largely directed at meeting the immediate and practical needs of women?. This finding remains relevant to women?s groups in Kenya today and to the present study. For his part, whereas women?s collectivities in the past were integral parts of the social structures of the ethnic groups in which they were found, and contributed to their cohesiveness, today?s women?s groups operate on an individual neighbourhood basis with no effective overarching integrative structure. Whereas women?s collectivities of the past were tangible representations of powers and spheres believed to be intrinsic to the female gender, today?s women?s groups arise from women?s acute needs for access to material, informational and economic resources. Given their potential for collective action, women?s groups could foster greater political participation for rural women than is presently the case. A study of language could provide fresh insights on how to bring this about. 2.5 The Women?s Movement Hassim (2006) writing within the South African women?s movement recognises two complexities associated with the concept of women?s movements. One, ?women do not mobilise as women simply because they are women, they frame their actions in terms of a range of identities? (p, 4) and secondly, no one agrees on how to define the notion of women?s interests given the interaction of race, class, and other objective and subjective interests. She further argues that most women?s movements should be understood as made up of heterogeneous organizations rather than being viewed through the lens of a single organization. Hassim (2006) defines a women?s movement as having the capacity to articulate the particular interests of its 28 constituencies and to mobilise those constituencies in defence of those interests. For her part, such a movement is able to develop independent strategies to achieve its aims while holding open the possibility of alliance with other progressive movements which in her view suggests that a strong social movement requires a degree of political autonomy in order to retain its relative power within any alliance. Citing the Kenyan women?s Self-Help Movement, Molyneux (1998) suggests that it is preferable to reserve the term ?movement? for something that involves more in size and effectivity than small-scale associations if these are few in number and have little overall impact. For her part, To speak of a movement then implies a social or political phenomenon of some significance, that significance being given both by its numerical strength but also by its capacity to effect change in some way or other whether this is expressed in legal, cultural, social or political terms? (Molyneux, 1998: 224). Molyneux (1998) identifies autonomy and women?s interests as two important criteria for the definition of a ?women?s movement?. Autonomy has to do with the question, ?where does the authority to define women?s goals, priorities and actions come from?? (p, 226). In terms of autonomy, the Kenyan women?s movement falls under what she calls ?directed mobilisation? or ?directed collective action? which according to her ?applies to those cases where the authority and initiative clearly come from the outside and stand above the collective itself? (p, 229) and in such a case, the women?s movement is subject to a higher (constitutional) authority and is typically under the control of the political organization (such as the MYWO) and/or government (as seen in the registration of women?s groups). Within the framework of the Self-Help Movement, various definitions have been used for the ?women?s movement? in Kenya. For example Kameri-Mbote and Kiai (1993: 8) define it as ?any organised or cohesive effort by a group of people that actively seeks to promote a specific cause or an end?. Adhiambo-Oduol (1993:22) defines the women?s movement as; women coming together to attain a common purpose?women have mobilised themselves to address common issues of concern?through the women?s movement, they (women) attempt to re-examine their position in society, question and challenge those social values and structures which perpetuate their marginalisation and formulate strategies to improve their overall status. They endeavour to attain this objective by forming women?s clubs, voluntary women?s associations and various co-operatives. Khasiani (1993) argues that the women?s (self-help) movement is synonymous with the emergence of women?s groups. She attributes the origin of the movement to women at the 29 grassroots level arguing that the women?s movement was a response to women?s low status; it represents organized mobilization of their meagre resources; The women?s movement represents their (women?s) response to their state of insecurity and an expression of their resilience and rejection of the resignation that can emanate from their marginalised position. The movement demonstrates women?s potential to effectively participate in mainstream development utilising their own resources. It is women?s way of asserting their presence in the different spheres of development including welfare, economic and professional areas (Khasiani, 1993: 115) Arguing that it is this spirit of self-help that gave birth to the women?s movement, the women?s movement was not something new, but rather an application in modern context of women?s organization and mobilisation skills based on the principle of ?mutual aid? previously applied in a traditional setting. This she identifies in the traditional ad hoc work groups such as the bulala among the Luyha and the ngwatio among the Kikuyu, all similar to the myethya among the Kamba. Voices of some of the Kenyan women writers offer interesting insights into the women?s movement in Kenya. Mukabi-Kabira (2003: 19), brings to the fore the metaphor of ?dirt? in Kenyan discourse when interviewed by Kuria regarding whether there has been anything like mass action in Kenya?s women?s movement compared to that found in the USA and Britain in the 1960?s in fighting for women?s right to vote. She responds, ?I think it is the first time that women in NGOs have decided that there is nothing dirty about politics, it is only the men who are there who are dirty? and the interviewer interjects and says ?or the politicians there? to which Mukabi-Kabira adds ?we are saying the men because there are hardly any women in it? (2003: 20). Women?s interests have been studied from various theoretical standpoints. Of the three key approaches and theoretical frameworks used to study women?s conditions in the 80s: ?Women in Development? (WID), ?Women and Development? (WAD) and ?Gender in Development? (GAD), the GAD approach has become the most popular and it is the one used by policy planners, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. One of the key assumptions underlying the GAD approach is that as a result of women?s and men?s different gender roles, they also have distinctive gender interests. The Gender and Development (GAD) approach maintains that it is more constructive to speak of ?gender interests?. Critics however, argue that 30 when applied to women, it is a less specific term than ?women?s interests?, a term which tends to impose a false homogeneity based on biological similarity, at the expense of the diversity of women?s experiences which are as much determined by variables such as their class, race, ethnic and religious identities (Moser, 1993). In view of this critique, I conceptualise the notion of women?s interests in this study to underscore the commonality of experience among the women in this research in terms of these variables. The GAD approach makes a distinction between practical and strategic gender interests first conceptualised by Maxine Molyneux in 1985. As the analysis of data in Chapter Seven will show, by taking on their traditional roles (responsibilities), women meet their practical needs. However, these activities are criticised by ?feminists? because they see women?s traditional roles as oppressive (not agentive) from the perspective of strategic needs. This is an important distinction for my research because through meeting practical needs, women get things done. These achievements are often seen as exploitation and disempowerment from a feminist perspective, because of the gendered division of labour. Gouws (2005) points out that the technocratic and reductionist way in which gender is used in the GAD approach is at the expense of women's agency. A shift has occurred from focusing on women to also focusing on the role of men thereby making gender relations the prime target of investigation and transformation (p, 25). As a researcher, I am aware that the field of gender studies has moved on to ?gender interests? rather than ?women?s interests?, so that women?s interests are not discussed in isolation from men?s interests (because men?s interests need to be adjusted if women?s interests are going to be met). My argument, however, is that women?s practical interests are served best by a focus on women?s needs while women?s strategic interests might be served by ?gendered interests? that consider women?s interests relative to men?s interests. Women in women?s groups are still only able to meet needs at the level of sustainability because they have been kept in poverty. In other words, these women are located at a practical level, the level of action to meet basic needs. Rural women are too busy, in their efforts to meet their practical needs to address gender interests. Elite women on the other hand are located in the strategic level, the level of power relations. While elite women locate rural women at the 31 practical level, they do not worry about practical needs. At the forefront of their consciousness is equality with men. From my research, it would appear that rural women are better at achieving their practical needs than elite women are at achieving strategic interests. My research on women?s interests as represented by their needs draws from Gouws (2005) who argues that the GAD approach is incomplete without the transformation of development discourse to include addressing women?s needs and to develop women?s agency. The GAD approach focuses ?not only on including women in development projects, but also on the relationships of power (which are also the relations that exist between elite and rural women), that generate women?s inequality? (p, 25). The dual approach (involving both political and discursive representation) adopted in the present research provides a wider framework for addressing women's interests and needs particularly given the divergent interests of rural and elite women. Analysis at the level of discourse shows language as one source of understanding the participation of women in economic development encompassing, the political process and social action in Kenya. As Adhiambo-Oduol (1993) argues, an important question is how language can facilitate the mainstreaming of women in the democratization process. It is hoped that a study of the role language plays in understanding women?s needs might be one of the ways to transform development discourse in order to recognise and develop women?s agency. In discussing both the politics and power relations involved in the articulation of women?s diverse interests, this project recognises the fundamental shift that Molyneux points out regarding a move away from needs-based discourse to rights-based issues in the discussions of women?s movements. However, focus on women?s needs in this research is an attempt to keep the distinction between needs and interests especially for the planning process which is an important part of the vision on how to transform women?s position in society, more so in the wider framework of social justice. This dual focus is part of the appreciation of the diversity in women?s groups already discussed, and feminist groups as seen in feminist movements in particular which are the focus of the next section. 2.5.1 The feminist movement The feminist movement is any activity that involves women coming together with the aim of meeting the strategic gender interests of women, and which in related literature is said to have a feminist agenda. Bryson (1992) traces the term feminism in English during the 1880s, indicating 32 support for women?s equal legal and political rights with men. She uses the term to mean any theory or theorist that sees the relationship between the sexes as one of inequality, subordination or oppression, seeing this as a ?problem of political power? (p, 266). In dealing with power relations between the sexes, feminism becomes important for political theory and practice, seeing women as central to political analysis; it seeks to address male domination in virtually all known communities and how it can be changed. According to Bryson (1992: 1) feminism ?seeks to understand society in order to challenge and change it with regards to women and their situation?. For the purposes of this study, feminist groups are concerned with strategic needs and mainly consist of urban elite women. Stromquist?s (2007; 2008) work on women?s organizations is revealing on feminist groups. For example she cites her research on three feminist groups (one in the Dominican Republic and two in Peru) which shows that ?these groups seek to advance the situation of women and transform gender relations - promote collective action? (2008: 43), thus giving women a collective voice as well as the knowledge and skills to engage in the public sphere. Hassim (2006:5) discounts the identification of the elimination of patriarchy (understood as the system of male domination) as the common interest by some women?s movements and some forms of feminism arguing that in many postcolonial countries, the notion of patriarchy has been unhelpful as it fails to account for the particular intersections of class, race and colonial forms of domination with the oppression of women. In the debates that abound on feminism, though scholars make a distinction between African feminism and Western Feminism, the common denominator between the two is that it is about ?women?s well-being?. Mukabi-Kabira (2003) argues that between the two forms of feminism, different historical and socio-political contexts bring about differences in focus on what women consider to be their issues. For example women in Kenya may consider land to be basic in order to be able to get food while in America, choice in terms of sexual orientation may be the basic concern (p, 26). She argues that as an African woman, land means food, it means shelter, and it also means a kind of a permanent place that one can call their own. According to Ogot (2003), western feminists have an ideology and their agenda posits feminism as a war between men and women. In her view, in the African context on the other hand, African women are not at war with men but they are saying that there are some wrong things that have been going on and both men and women should revise them for the betterment of all. She notes that the idea of the extended family where women are homemakers does not allow them to be labelled as 33 ?feminists? which in her view is different from the situation in the West. From these two scholars one senses a resistance to the label ?feminist?, because of the negativity often associated with the term typically associated with the radical women?s movement in the US. Macgoye (2003) expresses strong sentiments against feminism or even the existence of the women?s movement, arguing that women, especially in rural areas in her Luo community, are decision makers. According to her, the rural areas are largely dominated by women because the stronger of the men have left and gone to work outside so that the men who are left are probably those that are not the strongest; that women control of the produce, the farm, and personnel. She further argues that the woman is the one who dictates what must be done, and in many cases, she is very aware of things like electoral issues and well she is also aware of women?s groups offering loans (2003: 61). Macgoye makes a very important observation regarding the importance of the collective and sustainability, which are central to the concerns of the current study; Whatever our views are about other things about sex and so on, there is no point saying that we are freeing women if the next generation is not surviving. We must as women act together? I do think we downplay the role of women and we should be respecting it and I suspect this is also happening in other countries (2004: 64-65). What is significant is the recognition of the deficit terms in which women are represented despite the many things identified by Macgoye that they do for their communities, as this paves the way for interventions. The current research will argue that changing these negative discourses is a priority in Kenya. Ogot (2003) further argues that African feminism is complicated by the notion of motherhood, for example she notes that as a politician and as an African woman, she has to ?carry? her husband with her, in other words, her actions differ markedly from those of western women. For Ogola (2003: 137), Western feminism argues for the supremacy of women, but in her view, feminism should be simply about women?s well being but not anti-men. For her, motherhood means power for women. She is against the talk of ?empowering women? because it means leaving men out of the equation, sidelining men from family life. 34 Despite agreement that the feminist movement in Kenya may be taken as a response mainly to the economic marginalization of women, there is no agreement as to exactly when it began in Kenya. This marginalization of women can be traced to the colonial period by the end of which women controlled fewer economic resources with which to play their social roles. O?barr (1985) argues that without training in new areas and with a decreasingly viable indigenous community, women?s (feminist) organizations did not emerge during the colonial period. Though often, groups of women mobilized in Kenya for specific purposes, a general social movement that analysed women?s position relative to that of men and claimed redress did not emerge (p, 19). Wacker?s observation supports the argument that women?s groups that are the focus of the current study in the colonial period were mainly concerned with meeting the practical needs of women and not their strategic gender interests. Conflation of the women?s groups and the women?s movement erroneously suggests that these women?s groups had a feminist agenda, and yet they did not. Though it would appear the term ?women?s movement? is preferred over ?feminist movement? due to the perception that feminism is a western concept, Oduol (2001) argues that it is a misconception to view feminism as a western ideology which reflects western culture, simply because it has been influenced by theories from developed countries. Similarly, she also argues against the misconception that feminist theories have been influenced by external pressure resulting from colonialism and imperialism. In other words, feminism is an inherent feature of African women?s sensitivity to inequality in society. Global perspectives addressing women?s issues can be traced from the first World Conference on women in Mexico 1975; the second in Copenhagen 1980; the third in Nairobi, Kenya 1985 and the fourth in Beijing in 1995. In Kenya, this period saw the development of welfare associations at the local level. Most of their objectives and visions dwell on improvement of incomes and standards of living through self- help activities. For example self-help women?s groups were working at the local level; Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (Women in Development) focused on women?s objectives specifically at the national level. A number of professional organizations began to interrogate the unchallenged value and belief systems that reinforce the subordination of women in society, meaning that they clearly had a feminist agenda. Some of these organizations include; 1. Association of African Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) 35 2. National Council of Women in Kenya (NCWK) 3. Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 4. The Forum of African Women Educationists (FAWE) 5. International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) 6. Kenya League of Women Voters (KLWV) 7. Kenya Women Political Caucus (KWPC) While the MYWO and the seven groups mentioned above can be described as a ?feminist?, women?s groups may not necessarily be described in similar terms because unlike the national organization whose goal at inception was transformation, they operate in an isolated way and their goal is basically sustainability of their communities. In the current study, I argue that conflating both feminist groups and women?s groups as most of the literature does is not helpful. It amounts to talking about women in a monolithic way yet there are different issues for different women in different contexts. As Creighton and Yieke (2006) argue; It is vital to contextualize social processes carefully, and to analyse the constraints and opportunities open to women within particular regional, national and local contexts if we are to avoid overgeneralizations and if we are to devise effective solutions to the problems which women face (p, 1). This study traces the feminist movement to multiple approaches that have been adopted to the study of women?s interests and needs. The most widespread approaches have been the Women in Development approach (WID) and the more recent approaches jointly referred to as the critical approaches. The WID approach is based on the assumption that women were not making full economic contribution to development and thus issues that underlie this approach of integrating women into development are ultimately economic in nature. The emphasis on income-generating activities of women?s groups by mainstream donors and international bodies is evidence of this goal. This approach is based on the mainstream economic theories of development; these focus on the expansion of only one choice, income. The critical approaches on the other hand, whose key proponents such as Sen (1999), Streeten (1995), and Willis (2005) advocate for alternative theories of development. These embrace the enlargement of all human choices - be they economic, social, cultural or political (Haq, 1995) and have emphasized welfare and human development with increased choices as the higher-order objectives. In the alternative theory, development is redefined as a process of enlarging people?s choices in a 36 much broader sense than that proposed by mainstream economists. Communication is also seen as central to the promotion, growth and development of society particularly in the area of development communication. This conception of development is important for the current study especially in understanding the relationship between the state and women?s groups. A historical review of the relationship between the state and women?s groups indicates that despite efforts to bring women into the mainstream of economic development, there has been very little achieved on the situation of women. In an attempt to understand this relationship, I look at the registration of women?s groups in Kenya. There are conflicting views on what role registration of the women?s groups plays. Kabira and Nzioki (1993) argue that state bureaucracies created to deal with women?s groups create obstacles for any meaningful change. According to Wacker (1997) who notes that women?s groups are the only formal organization of rural women recognized by government ministries, donors and political parties, registration within the ministry of Culture and Social Affairs and under the national KANU-MYWO (at the time of her research) facilitates women?s visibility for financial support from the government and donor programmes. Lewa, (2002) on the other hand, sees the registration of the women?s groups as a form of capacity building as it requires groups to have a constitution with clear objectives, rules and regulations, a bank account and elected leaders. According to her, these requirements provide a basic framework of closed membership as most women?s groups are characterised by low literacy levels, which in her view limits their ability to manage larger groups. This study argues that the registration of women?s groups could be seen as a form of surveillance (in Foucault?s, 1977 sense of the word) particularly the idea of governmentability in relation to management of populations due to the potential threat of the power of women?s groups, and, is dealt with at greater length in Chapter Five. It is not clear why women?s groups, aimed at improving incomes and standards of living through self-help activities need to be registered neither are the benefits of being registered self-evident. In summary, the relationship between feminist groups and women?s groups is an uneasy one. While women?s groups aim to take up men?s work on the basis of self-help, feminist groups on the other hand are basically urban and ?colonize? women?s groups with the aim to boost their numbers when it suits them, generally seeing it as their job to uplift rural women. Though the two are sometimes conflated in the literature, they are in fact different both in terms of their 37 participants and agendas. In the next section, I look at the relationship between women?s groups, politicians and NGOs. I also focus on NGOs as one of the institutions of civil society that has been particularly influential in the activities of women?s groups. In this study, NGOs merit attention as part of civil society especially when seen against a background of the alternative theories of development, where civil society has emerged as a substitute to offer what the state (public goods and welfare), and the market (jobs) are no longer able to deliver. 2.6 Relationship between women?s groups, politicians and NGOs The key issue in the relation between politicians and women?s groups is that there has been a concerted effort to control the activities of the women?s groups. In other words, politicians can relate to women?s groups as long as they depend on them for achieving power, status and wealth which go with politics. In this regard Kabira and Nzioki (1993) point out that when women attempt to struggle to achieve power, male politicians are quick to advise them to keep out of politics, mainly because politicians see politics as a domain for men. Any direct attempt to get involved in politics is looked upon as ?getting out of control?. Nasong?o and Ayot (2007) identify this as a major constraint on women?s political participation. There has always been the need to control women in Kenyan politics. This has been necessary for the success of men and the perpetuation of patriarchal structures. While over time, the state has criticized women?s organizations as being elitist, ineffective, politically motivated, misguided or foreign, the way to achieve power and resources is by being powerful themselves (Kabira and Nzioki, 1993: 73). Wacker (1997), maintains that the women?s groups involve themselves in a process of negotiation which often includes substantial contributions in kind, labour, cash and time to build alliances with powerful outsiders especially during harambee (a Swahili word which means ?lets pull together?), a self-help approach to development in Kenya in the 1970s (Thomas, 1988: 4). The harambee was particularly strong in Kenyatta?s rule and continued into Moi?s rule but has since been abolished. In what Wacker (1997), calls ?a public ritual?, the women?s groups receive recognition for their achievements and thus legitimacy for the resource control they achieve. She argues that the maintenance of autonomy seems to be a crucial factor in enabling women?s groups to redevelop resource management systems, in order to regain access to resources which they had been deprived of during the colonial period in 38 Kenya. While some groups maintain collective control over resources, others transform the resources acquired through the groups into a private property resource for each member. On the whole, however, any attempt by women?s groups for autonomy creates an uneasy relationship with politicians. The development of NGOs in Kenya is conceived against a backdrop of the alternative theories of development, which unlike the mainstream economic theories of development, shift the whole perspective and focus towards civil society defined as ?the whole body of individuals, groups and organisations that work for the welfare of their nation or community outside the established official services of the government?, The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC, 2001a: 281). In this school of thought, the state is viewed as an enemy. The state is considered bureaucratic, corrupt, and therefore unsympathetic to the needs of the poor. NGOs are local donor organizations, mainly branches of International Donor agencies whose management is appointed externally. This is a classic example of other people deciding what rural women need. As will be seen in Chapter Seven, NGOs do provide a useful window to understand efforts to address women?s needs in Kenya. Consequently, they could play an important role in enhancing women?s political participation. Stromquist (2008: 41) distinguishes between what she calls ?recreational associations? and ?transformational NGOs?, the latter are central to everyday local and global life, for they contribute to the ways in which individuals produce and improve civil society. She argues that NGOs, as key organizations within civil society, are critically needed to produce a counterweight to state policies and priorities by bringing attention to problems the state ignores or denies. Initially viewed negatively, the perception of NGOs has changed remarkably over the last 20 years. The initial proliferation of NGOs was of charitable organizations charged with provision and delivery of relief food and welfare services. However, recently, they have shifted to more active participation in development-related issues. NGOs are mainly oriented towards community development services and women?s groups, filling the gap left by the governments, aimed at meeting the needs of poor people and often characterized by small-scale operations. They work on the premise that the participation of the local communities is important in achieving the desired goals. 39 According to Mbuvi (1994: 84), NGOs are often received with more enthusiasm than government since their approach to development makes them attract local, national and international support to the needs of underprivileged groups. Although the contribution of NGOs to the development of women?s groups cannot be underestimated, their charitable approach is more likely to create dependency. This might contribute to the use of deficit discourses in talk about women?s interests and needs. Citing the MYWO which works selectively with a few women?s groups, Lewa (2002) attributes the challenges facing NGOs as capacity building instruments to the fact that the implementation of their activities has been flawed To overcome these challenges, Lewa suggests new, improved, and innovative strategies for building the capacities of women?s groups based on an understanding of the existing groups that are successful. In her view, ?capacity building entails the act of improving and strengthening individuals and organizations to decide on what to do, to seize opportunities and to carry out their activities effectively and efficiently? (2002: 4). As seen in Lewa?s view, development discourse foregrounds ?individuals? but my research is interested in the collectives that women form and how these may generate positions of power for rural women. Before interventions by NGOs, the rotating credit association framework was mainly focused on home improvement but with the NGOs, the women?s groups are increasingly involved in income generation. In Lewa?s view however, capacity building programmes undertaken for women?s groups notably by NGOs may not always be appropriate and may not necessarily match their needs. Moreover, some of the skills imparted to women?s groups such as tailoring and production of handicrafts have in the course of time been found to be weak with limited ability to transform the social and economic status of women. Increasingly, these skills are viewed as reinforcing the gender stereotypes that exclude women from public participation (Lewa, 2002: 76). For Stromquist (2008) most women?s and feminist NGOs contribute to social change but focus their activities on issues of empowerment, domestic violence, and income generation. These hardly focus on formal education, ?thus failing to question it, leaving schooling an unquestioned institution even though it plays a substantial part in the reproduction of gender ideologies? (p.43). 40 In Lewa?s study, 65.5 per cent of respondents agreed that women?s groups from the area have managed to operate without external support, suggesting that women?s groups have capacity to exist with or without external support. From Lewa?s study, education and training were the preferred strategy of capacity building programmes. From her study, the level of education and training affected the nature of groups? objectives and the degree of dynamism within a group (Lewa, 2002: 79). Arguing that education is a prerequisite for the success of women?s groups is part of the elite discourse that presents school based-education as what women need. The question should actually be, what kind of knowledge do the women need? These might be financial management and marketing and not necessarily school-based education. With regard to donors, Kabira and Nzioka (1993: 72) further contend that ?unless the donors structure their funding by addressing issues of social justice, power, distribution of resources and equity, their funds will continue to support projects that fall far short of the actual needs of women?. There is a need to address the differences of power and privileges between men and women in order to create a more just society. Despite the important contribution of NGOs to women?s groups particularly in addressing women?s interests rather than needs, it appears that women?s construction of their own agency is complicated by NGOs as actors, and their role in Kenya has been described as sinister and paradoxical (Amutabi, 2006; Aubrey, 1997). Amutabi (2006: 4-5) aptly captures the paradoxical nature of NGO involvement in community development thus; ?however great a job NGOs have done in development in Kenya in the past, at times they act as unseen agents of capitalism and globalization and play more sinister roles than has previously been recognized?. For Kabira (2003) the key problem in Kenya is the misrepresentation and confusion surrounding NGOs such as MYWO, on the one hand, and grassroots organizations such as the women?s groups on the other hand. In a candid analysis of the MYWO, Aubrey (1997) uses the metaphor ?web of deceit? to capture the kind of complexities that are created by partners in the politics of development co-operation. She describes MYOW as; a chameleon with multiple personalities and the NGO persona is one of its facades. MYWO at the national level was basically a ?tea club? for KANU women. It was a political appendage of the KANU party and government. MYWO was not a committed grassroots development NGO for women, although it posed as such?MYWO was in effect, not a women?s organization with a women?s agenda (p, 162). 41 Aubrey further draws a parallel between MYWO and foreign donors in the way many of them became involved in development partnerships under the guise of desiring to implement development in Kenya by providing financial and technical assistance. In her view, it is no surprise that many of them attempted to supposedly bypass corruption in the Kenyan government, mismanagement and red tape by going directly to the people. In the process, they demonstrated the potential power of NGOs to undermine the sovereignty of the Kenyan state. Pointing out that it is hard for the grassroots people particularly women, who are caught in the web of deceit as victims, to understand exactly what crookedness happens, Aubrey (1997: 168) also points out that a few grassroots women?s groups manage to elude this web of deceit. For Mukabi-Kabira (2003: 24), ?the only thing that has happened is that there has not been a very clear connection between what we would call the NGO movement and the women?s grassroots movement?. 2.7 Summary This chapter has provided a background to the rural context of the research. It also provides a history of the Kamba people as a basis for understanding the role of women. I have argued that the use of the term ?gender interests? in a sense obscures the needs of rural women, and hence I have maintained the term ?women?s interests?. Based on the argument that the colonial period undermined women?s power relative to men, I have demonstrated that an understanding of the history and culture within which the women operate is essential for understanding women?s participation in politics. I have examined the development and history of women?s groups, which have been conflated with the women?s movement in Kenya, while at the same time making a distinction between feminist groups and women?s groups. Women?s groups, which are the focus of this study, differ largely from feminist organizations in that their goal is essentially sustainability; feminist groups aim at political transformation. Although most research on women?s groups conflates the two, I have argued that this does not address the concerns of rural women. It is necessary, rather to address the two as fairly separate with different needs in different contexts in order to contribute to an understanding of the possibilities for change for both groups. My research has focused on women?s groups in an endeavour to avoid the perspective of elite women. However, as the discussion unfolds, explicit recognition and acknowledgement of the value of feminists? strategic position will emerge. Having grown up in 42 rural Ukambani, I can identify with the needs of rural women as well as critique the position of elite women with regard to rural women, because of my elite position as a an urban-based educated researcher. I also examined the relationship between women?s groups, NGOs and politicians. This lays the ground the analysis of how women are talked about in Chapter 6 and how women talk about themselves in Chapter 7. In the next chapter, Chapter 3, I will provide a conceptual and theoretical background to the research by examining leading theorists on (Critical) Discourse Analysis, as well as key concepts pertaining to political participation, and the representation of women?s interests and needs. 43 CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Chapter outline 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Explanation of terms and concepts 3.2.1 Gender 3.2.2 Discourse 3.2.3 Political discourse 3.3 Political rallies in Kenya: The baraza 3.3.1 Structure of the political rally 3.3.2 Style in the political speech 3.4 Representation of women?s interests and needs in Kenyan politics 3.4.1 Women?s participation in the political process 3.5 Women?s agency and social change 3.6 Theoretical framework: major theorists 3.6.1 Pierre Bourdieu 3.6.2 Michel Foucault 3.6.3 John Thompson 3.7 Feminist Theory 3.8 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) 3.8.1 Fairclough?s model of CDA 3.8.2 Criticisms of CDA 3.9 Summary 3.1 Introduction This chapter examines the literature related to key terms and relevant theories needed for the analysis. The basic argument here is that discourse is abstract and is instantiated in text. This is the reason why I analyze texts to bring to the fore patterns and practices in order to arrive at how women represent themselves and their issues as well as how they are represented. I also focus on the ?baraza? ? a Swahili term for assemblies (public meetings or political rallies) as a revealing point of entry into Kenyan political culture. Following Haugerud (1995), I argue that the study of political speeches is illuminating because they are the principal meeting ground between ordinary citizens such as the women on the one hand, and the civic officials such as the councillors on the other hand. The baraza also demonstrates the structure and style of the political speech in Kenya. In looking at literature on the representation of women?s interests and needs, this chapter provides a background to uncovering the gap that motivates looking at language as a possible means of understanding the nature of rural women?s participation in the political process. 44 3.2 Definition of terms 3.2.1 Gender Many researchers have shown that what we think of as ?womanly? or ?manly? behaviour is not dictated by biology, but rather is ?socially constructed?. Such social constructions of gender are not neutral; they are implicated in the institutionalized power relations of societies. In known contemporary societies, power relations are often asymmetrical such that women?s interests are systematically subordinated to men?s (Bryson, 1992; Giddens, 1993; Tamale, 1999). In Wodak?s (1997) view, many empirical studies have neglected the context of language behaviour and have often analyzed gender by merely looking at the speaker?s biological sex (p 1). As a result, she proposes that a context-sensitive approach which looks at gender as a social construct would lead to more fruitful results, that is, a look at gender in relation to the socio-cultural and ethnic background of the interlocutors, and in connection with their age, level of education, socio-economic status, and the specific power-dynamics of the discourses they inhabit. I operationalise the term gender based on Tamale (1999: 4) who defines it as ?the interaction that occurs between men and women as they carry out their different roles in society?. In addition, Tamale cautions against uncritically projecting the Western conceptual paradigm of gender onto African cultures and societies arguing that gender analysis in the African context must incorporate a critique of Western notions of gender and the effect of neo-colonialism on gender relations. Citing the case of a Catholic Sabiny woman in Eastern Uganda as an example, Tamale identifies five key systems of oppression; elements of the indigenous culture, Catholism, capitalism, imperialism and neo-colonialism which dehumanises her as reflected in policies such as the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). All these five produce an integrated matrix that produces a specific social location not just for the Sabiny woman but also for women in similar conditions such as the Kamba women who are the subject of this study. I wish to point out a sixth element of oppression that stems from the fifth element; that of language policies resulting from the colonial legacy and which have to do with linguistic human rights (Musau, 2004). These work in such a way that they hamper the participation of women such as those targeted in this study, in the democratization process (for more details on this see Section 3.4.1). 45 Sexual differentiation may be a biological fact but the principle underlying the concept gender is that the traits assigned to a sex by a culture are cultural constructions that are socially determined and therefore alterable. Giddens (2001: 107) defines ?sex? as the ?biological or anatomical differences between men and women?, whereas gender ?concerns the psychological, social and cultural differences between males and females.? For Lazar (2007), gender functions as an interpretive category that enables participants in a community to make sense of their particular social practices, a social relation that enters into and partially constitutes all other social relations and activities. In her view, a feminist political critique of gendered social practices and relations is ultimately aimed at effecting social transformation. To capture this all encompassing nature of gender, Hassim (2006: 4) writes, Gender is simultaneously everywhere - gender differences are inscribed in practically all human relationships as well as in the ordering of the social, political, and economic structures of all societies - and no where (sic) - it is difficult to apprehend as an independent variable. Similarly, Tamale (1999: 28) argues that because gender exerts a major effect on individual lives and social interactions, many feminists now view it ?as an institution in and of itself?. What is important for the current research as Adhiambo-Oduol (2001) observes is that the gender question in Kenya is seen against the background of a growing feminist discourse that constructs women as citizens and as persons worthy of sharing the privileges of the newly emergent democratic order of the 21st Century. According to the National Policy on Gender and Development (2000: 2), gender relations in Kenya have been moulded by a combination of factors that draw from the influence of various traditions, customs and cultural practices. In addition, levels of education and awareness, economic development and emerging patterns of social organization besides legislation also affect gender relations. The socio-cultural attitudes held by men and women, the socialization processes and women?s perception of their own status, roles and rights are of particular significance in determining the status of women. Since young children are socialized by women at a very early age (formative stage) this could either change their attitudes or perpetuate negative perceptions. Despite forming more than half of the population, women?s participation 46 in the political process remains at the periphery and the reason for this has not been fully understood. To understand the role of women in Kenyan politics, one also needs to understand the different statuses of gender relations accorded to men and women. Mukabi-Kabira (2003) brings out the role of socialization as a very pertinent issue in the Kenyan society. She highlights conflict in the institutions of family, marriage and motherhood describing the relationship between mothers and their children as a ?nurturing? one while that between husbands and their wives as one of power. This results in a competitive relationship where one finds more struggles within the family between husbands and wives; ?This is because the husbands are looking at the wives as people who should play the role of the mother and the women are resisting that kind of relationship?women are looking for partnership and men are looking for mothers? (Mukabi- Kabira, 2003: 36). In her view, the socialization process does not promote the idea of a partnership between men and women. She also highlights a very interesting aspect in terms of lexicalization arguing that the use of the term ?woman? in Kenya is synonymous with ?wife?. Although she makes her observations with regard to the Kikuyu language, this applies in exactly the same way to the Kikamba language where mundu muka ? a female person, is synonymous with kiveti ? a wife. This example also underscores complexities in translation in view of which she proposes transformation in the discourses on gender relations if strides are to be achieved in the gender debate in Kenya. In discourses of conflict in the family, Mukabi-Kabira (2003) also highlights particular aspects of socialization that produce a sense of alienation in men; arguing that the process of alienation is very strong particularly where men are concerned, ?You have no resources, you have no land, no money, and you actually cannot be a man except being male. The society has certain expectations of you but the society has stopped providing the resources to enable you to become the man it expects you to be? (p, 46). In Kenya there has been a strong movement within gender and development to consider the ways in which girls? education and girls? empowerment is central to the broader development issues. Of concern has been the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence as a way to enhance girls? education. This is evidenced in the work of NGOs such as Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Fatuma Chege?s work is also particularly relevant in this regard (see Chege, 2001; 2006). The ?empowerment? of the 47 girl-child is also seen in practices like affirmative action efforts aimed at gender parity in Higher Education in Kenya where, female students are admitted to university with one point lower that the male ones. Yieke (2005: 73) cites access to higher education in Africa as one of the more enduring challenges with only 4% of eligible candidates are enrolled in universities. The critical issue however is that gender gaps in Kenya are not only evident at the national level but are also apparent at the regional and the district levels. Access to education especially for girls is still a serious problem in Arid and Semi Arid areas (ASALs) as well as poor rural and urban communities. According to the Kenya Gender Data Sheet (2005), the Primary School Gross Enrolment Ratio in Makueni District in 2004 was 129 % for females and 130.8% for males (based on the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey - KDHS, 2003). To increase the agency of the girl-child in Kenya, Mule (2008: 79) suggests ?rethinking affirmative action? to an alternative discourse that seeks increased government funding for education, broad-based affirmative action ? that targets all levels of schooling and curriculum change. 3.2.2 Discourse The term ?discourse? has come to be viewed in terms of the way language mediates our understanding of the world. Van Dijk (2001) defines discourse as ?text in context?, a form of language use and a specific form of social interaction interpreted as a communicative event in a social action. In defining discourse, Fairclough (2003: 3) defines a text ?as any instance of language use? and in his 1995 publication, makes a distinction between ?text? and ?genre?. In his view, ?text? refers to the product of linguistic actions, while ?genre? (dealt with in more detail in section 3.2.3) can be characterized as the conventionalized schematically fixed use of language associated with a particular activity as ?a socially ratified way of using language in connection with a particular social activity? (p, 14). This differentiation between text and genre is important to this study that deals with a variety of genres including interviews and political speeches. For the present study, however, discourse is conceptualized as ?bigger? than ?text in context?. To understand how the term ?discourse? is used in the current research, I make a distinction between practices and events (as used in ethnography) to show that texts are informed by discourses in the same way as events are informed by practices. Discourse (abstractions of 48 patterned ways of making meaning) in this sense is like practices (abstractions of patterned ways of acting) which express or manifest the underlying rules that govern the use of language. Discourse in this sense is abstract in that it refers to the ideological, habitual recurring ways of speaking and writing that underpin the actual choice of words in particular events. On the other hand, the language used in a particular event has material reality in texts. Following this line of thought, discourses are instantiated (exemplified or made manifest) in texts. Gee?s (2006: vii) definition of discourse is particularly relevant to the concerns of this study; Discourses as ways of behaving, interacting, valuing, thinking, believing, speaking and often ways of reading and writing that are accepted as instantiations of particular roles (or types of people) by specific types of people whether lawyers, bikers, business people, church members, men or women ?discourses are ways of being, ways of being in the world ?they are thus always and everywhere social and products of social histories. Gee?s definition brings meaning making and acting in the world together. For Fairclough (2003: 17) ?a discourse is particular way of representing some part of the (physical, social and psychological world) there are alternative and often competing discourses associated with different groups of people in different social positions?. Fairclough (1995) views discourse is a form of social practice which takes consideration of the context of language use. He conceptualises language and the social as shaping each other, that is, as having a dialectical relationship. Fairclough sees people as subjects of discourse who take up different subject positions. The notion of subject includes both the notion of being subjected to some authority as well as being the subject or agent of action, Gee?s definition emphasizes the notion of ?social roles? particularly when he goes on to add that discourse is ?a socially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, of feeling, of valuing and acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group (social network). Gee?s focus on ?social roles? complements Fairclough?s emphasis on representation in that it provides a frame for conceptualizing women?s groups as a social network. I draw on these two definitions in the current research to analyse the representation of women?s interests and needs. Fairclough (2003: 145) further maintains that discourses differ in how social events are represented, what is excluded, or included, how abstractly or concretely events are represented how more specifically, the processes and relations and social actors are represented. Particularly relevant in his conceptualization of discourse is his clear analysis of how social actors are represented; active/passive, personal impersonal, named/classified, specific and generic. 49 Many social researchers would argue that people?s understandings of the world are not merely expressed in their discourse but actually shaped by the ways of using language which they have available to them. In other word?s reality ?is discursively constructed?, made and remade as people talk about things using ?discourses? (Cameron, 2001: 15). This is the way I operationalise the notion ?discourse? in the present study. While linguists use the term discourse to refer to ?language above the sentence? or ?language in use?, social theorists use the plural version ?discourses?. The plural usage reflects the influence of Michel Foucault who defined discourse by drawing a link between reality and language use. Discourse analysis or (discourse studies) is a cross-disciplinary field of research that has emerged since the 1960s, in virtually all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. Although initially developed in linguistics, literary studies and anthropology, it has spread to sociology, psychology, communication research and more recently politics and history. Van Dijk explains discourse analysis as the ?analysis of discourse structures with an account of their cognitive, social, political, historical and cultural functions and contexts? (1998: 199). The term has been used in a fairly similar sense by Fairclough (1989, 1992, and 1995); Van Dijk (1985, 1997) and Fairclough and Wodak (1997). Hodge and Kress (1993:158) argue that, For analysts interested in language in politics or politics in discourse, it is necessary to understand that meaning does not exist outside discursive and semiotic domains. It is constructed by various participants in texts that circulate in some material form, in various social spaces, each situation and text a site where countless histories intersect [and] meanings are realized in linguistic forms of all kinds. Meanings relate to reality in that there is something real that language encodes or represents. Different discourses construct participants and processes, events and practices differently, giving us different versions of what is real; and hence different meanings. 3.2.3 Political Discourse Political discourse is used in this study to refer to the discourse of politicians (Fairclough 1989; 1992; Wodak, 1989) and is one of the main areas of enquiry for CDA. Several scholars highlight the multiple meanings associated with the concept of political discourse (Blommaert, 2005; Chilton and Schaffer, 1997; Schaffner, 1996; Van Dijk, 1997 and Van der Valk, 2003). Blommaert (2005) argues that CDA?s focus on work at the intersection of language and social 50 structure is evident in the choice of topics and domains of analysis, his definition of political discourse is relevant to this thesis in that ?political discourse is considered an applied topic and a social domain; a form of public discourse, whose defining features include its emphasis on abstract, social, political and economic forces and on people acting as social agents rather than as individuals? (p, 26). Political discourse may be identified through a variety of genres such as interviews, slogans and political speeches in election campaigns. Chilton and Schaffer (1997: 212) identify two key issues in political discourse. The first is the relativity of discourse as ?political? to which they offer an important solution by noting that the term ?political? derives from those actions (linguistic or other) which involve power or its inverse, resistance. For this study, this power is realized in two spheres; in everyday interaction through patriarchal practices at the micro-level and civic politics (constituting the macro-level) and which may also be shaped by patriarchy. For instance, the politics of gender intersects with civic politics as part of the conditions of production and reception of texts. In the present study, I am interested in the oppressive relations in which women are located in Kenya. Reisigl (2008: 27) however advocates for a broad conceptualization and cautions against a simplistic notion of the political as ?everything politicians do in pursuance of their profession?, arguing that such a conception of the political implies that political rhetoric is rhetoric produced by politicians. This understanding neglects the fact that political matters enter the life of everyone and that non- politicians also produce political rhetoric in private contexts and that, as has been particularly shown by feminist critique (see Tamale, 1999), a rigid binary opposition of the private and the public in the political sphere is untenable. The second issue in political discourse has to do with the multiplicity of functions (speech acts) that are performed through discourse. For Chilton and Schaffner (1997), the notion of strategic functions links political situations and processes to discourse types and levels of discourse organization. King?ei?s (2001: 103) study of Kenyan political discourse shows that language is often used with the express aim of shaping, directing, controlling and manipulating the audience in politically desired ways. Wilson (2001), in an article entitled Political Discourse, similarly acknowledges the ambiguity surrounding the term political discourse. He suggests that to overcome the difficulties in the 51 definition of the term ?political discourse?, we simply delimit our subject matter ?as being concerned with formal and informal political contexts and actors? (p 398). Such delimitation is not without problems and as a result, explicitly stating one?s political goals in targeting political discourse for analysis is crucial this allows for more descriptive perspectives ?where the main goal is to consider political language first as discourse and only secondly as politics? (p, 399). In this way, he foregrounds the general principle underpinning political discourse: articulating information on policies and actions for the public good, a principle also articulated by Orwell (1995). He highlights transformation and representation (in the political sense) as two important processes in political discourse Though focusing on parliamentary debates, Van der Valk?s (2003) work is relevant to my research in that he argues that political discourse represents social action and therefore should be analyzed as a form of social action. In this way, political discourse functions as an instrument of power, control and exclusion as well as an instrument for achieving equality and democracy. His analysis is useful in understanding the ?us? versus ?them? discourse in the way politicians represent women in speeches. Using a case of the British Prime Minister?s response in House of Commons, Zinken (2003) he argues that the metaphors used by speakers in the discursive construction of new ideas, are motivated by their personal experience as members of a cultural group. This is useful in the interrogation of the use of metaphor in political speeches by politicians in Chapter 5. In talking about political discourse, one cannot ignore the concepts of power and ideology. Power is seen as one of the concepts that organises many relationships in society. Wodak (2001: 11) captures the notion of power thus; Power is about relations of difference and particularly about the effects of difference in social structures. The constant unity of language and other social matters ensures that language is intertwined in social power in a number of ways; language indexes power, expresses power, is involved where there is contention over and a challenge to power. In this study, power is used in Van Dijk?s (1997) sense to refer to ?mental? power exercised through text and talk sometimes in very subtle ways. This kind of power often produces hegemonic discourses taken as naturalised common-sense. Such hegemony is seen, for instance, in cases where women are perceived negatively when they engage in ?politics? due to what Gee 52 (1992: 108) calls ?primary discourses?. Citing Gramsci?s notion of hegemony, Mesthrie and Dumert (2000: 324) argue that power is secured by the internalization of the norms and values implied by the prevailing discourses within the social order. The relevance of this for the present study is that, it is always worth asking the question, who is allowed or obliged to say what? The exercise of power basically involves focusing on the kinds of the interaction in which participants are positioned asymmetrically. One party has the responsibility for the conduct of talk, while the other has less control over it. This is the case in many kinds of talk including courtroom discourse which illustrates that courtroom defendants may not speak unless they are spoken to and when they must speak, what they say must conform to the dominant party?s definition of an acceptable contribution (Hanong, 2002). Similarly in classroom discourse, power is enacted in the same way; it is teachers who ask questions and evaluate the answers learners elicit (Kitetu, 1998). In interaction between doctors and patients, it is the doctor who has more medical knowledge (and therefore more power) than the patient. Likewise in political speeches, it is politicians and other leaders who normally have the power to raise issues during political rallies, and not the audience (Haugerud, 1995). Classical Marxist scholars view ideology as a system of ideas and practices that disguise or (distort) the social, economic and political relations between dominant and dominated classes. Critical linguists such as Hodge and Kress (1993) look at ideology as ?discursive? implying that that through language we are able to construct ideology (or are constructed) in our everyday interaction. Their concern is to show how various aspects of grammar (syntax and semantics) are connected to power and domination. For Althusser (1971), power is repressive. Althusser uses the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) to refer to institutions like the family, the school, the church and the media. He stresses the relative autonomy of ideology from the economic base, and the significant role played by ideologies in reproducing or changing economic or political relations. According to him, ideology works through putting individuals into subject positions through interpellation. Ideology interpellates individuals as subjects in a way that is so pervasive that it forms part of our reality and this appears to us as ?true? or ?obvious?. This concept is important for the present study where women?s talk will be analysed in Chapter 7 to show how women are interpellated 53 by deficit discourses. The term ?subject' may be interpreted to mean either the subject who acts or the subject who is acted upon, who is subjected or subordinated to power. Althusser further differentiates between Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs) and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) arguing that RSAs such as the army function by violence (meaning that power is repressive) while ISAs such as the church and school function by ideology. Rather than the use of physical force, ?the ideological apparatuses are concerned with the promotion of certain values and beliefs? (Althusser, 1971: 19), for instance the history of schooling as an administrative practice seeks to change society by calculating and inscribing principles of how to think, reason and act as future citizens of the nation (Popkewitz, 2007), which in turn produces consent. Gee (1990: 23) conceptualises ideology in terms of ?a social theory which involves generalisations (beliefs, claims) about the way(s) in which ?goods? are distributed in society? By ?goods?, Gee means ?anything that people in the society that people generally believe are beneficial to have or harmful not to have, whether this be life, space, ?good? schools, ?good? jobs, wealth, status, power, or control?. This conceptualisation of ideology in terms of ?goods? is relevant in discussing how women talk about their needs. He argues that ideologies are important because theories ground beliefs, and beliefs lead to action, and actions create reality; in other words, ideologies simultaneously explain and partially create the distribution of goods. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a method of Discourse Analysis takes a particular interest in power. According to Wodak, (2001: 2) As an approach, CDA is defined as fundamentally concerned with analyzing opaque as well as transparent structural relationships of dominance, discrimination, power and control manifested in language. As a result it aims to investigate critically social inequality as expressed, signalled, constituted and legitimized by language or discourse. Wodak (2001:3) also observes that power, history and ideology are indispensable concepts in CDA. The next section looks at the baraza as a lens through which relations of dominance, discrimination and control are expressed. 54 3.3 The Political rally in Kenya - baraza One of the seminal works on the baraza in Kenya is Haugerud?s (1995) book The Culture of Politics in Modern Kenya. Written against a background of the general global and African political upheavals of the early 1990s, the book provides an illuminating analysis of the ?baraza?, a concept which therefore becomes crucial to understanding Kenyan political discourse. Haugerud traces the history of the baraza to the colonial period in Kenya, where it originated as an off shoot of the Local Native Councils (LNCs) which were established in 1924 in part because of Africans? demands for fuller participation in the new colonial system. Baraza formally offered an opportunity for citizens to be heard in a state-sponsored forum (1995: 73). Haugerud?s work is particularly relevant to the current research where the focus is on rural baraza. Her data constitutes rural baraza in Embu District in Eastern Kenya. These are normally much smaller than what might be termed national rallies often held in the national stadiums in Kenya. Her research brings to the fore interesting ways in which these rural rallies differ from the national ones. For a start, baraza were formally constrained by official state concerns to preserve ?stability? and suppress political activity. In essence, baraza offered colonial District Commissioners the opportunity to hear the complaints and requests of the ?ruled? as well as to announce government policies. The baraza was typically characterized by more lecturing than listening to complaints. As a result, on the surface, the baraza instead became a forum for monologues by colonial officers (similar to the imbizo in South Africa), which would sometimes result in symbolic displays of defiance where some members of the audience would attack the officer. Likimani (1985) clearly demonstrates the kind of defiance with regard to women?s role in the Mau Mau rebellion. Baraza are of different types and this research only focuses on those official gatherings held at the divisional administrative level in Makueni District. According to Haugerud (1995), such baraza often aim at what she calls ?pro-forma consensus? rather than vital debate of issues. The balance of dialogue and monologue during baraza varies and is sometimes openly contested but officials may permit more questions from the audience at less- politically charged smaller meetings such as those at which agricultural extension and livestock officers instruct farmers on crop and livestock care. 55 In modern times, despite significant changes to the traditional form of the baraza, certain aspects have remained. Though public figures such as District Officers still hold baraza, the rules regarding their attendance are not as stringent as before. During the Kenyatta government (Kenya?s first president), people had to abandon all their daily chores to attend the baraza, especially if a person as senior as the president was attending. Conditions became even more rigid in Moi?s (Kenya?s second president) rule. However, the Kibaki (Kenya?s third president since independence) administration has facilitated a complete transformation of the baraza where those directly involved are mainly the ones who will normally attend. For instance, all schools in a particular division do not have to abandon all their chores to attend a political rally, as they did previously. People are no longer forced to attend baraza although the monologic nature of baraza still remains. For Haugerud (1995) baraza serves several functions; as an institution, it serves to anchor the abstraction of ?what Kenya is? to the local people, secondly, crowds cheering enthusiastically is an outward display of compliance with the ruling regime. It can create ?solidarity? and the joint participation of the actors involved such as the politicians and the voters, which is crucial for integration purposes (1995: 56). Further, she contends that the baraza also serves to keep open secrets out of public talk by preserving silences in order to marginalize critics. In her view, baraza conceal what she calls ?every day forms of domination?. In other words, baraza offers a stage on which state elites use political oratory to foster national unity, territorial identification, and loyalty to the ruling regime. She addresses the language of politics by drawing on questions that lie at the intersection of social theory, sociolinguistics and political anthropology. From a sociolinguistic perspective, Haugerud argues that individual orators at a baraza can be understood to create as much as to enact political structures. In her view, the baraza is more than a ritual in the sense that formal oratory can backfire, for instance, in a case where an audience may ridicule or refuse to accept the status of the speaker. Individuals in a baraza audience sometimes shout questions that refer to scandals such as misuse of local funds collected for a development project. Official speakers refer to alternative political possibilities even if only to criticize them and dismiss them. To mention them officially, however, is to 56 acknowledge their importance; hence baraza rhetoric offers a partly-obscured window on powerful political cross-currents in Kenya (Haugerud, 1995:59). In order to understand the structure of the baraza, who speaks and in what language, what is said and not said (silences), speaking style and rhetorical devices are important. In her view, an area?s position in the national political economy helps to shape local baraza. As a result, it is important to investigate and describe the area specific baraza as one cannot be taken as representative of other parts of colonial or post-colonial Kenya. For example people from Mt. Kenya?s fertile soils have more privileged access to state resources and market opportunities than do people in many other parts of the country. As a result, a baraza in Embu is bound to differ significantly from that in Makueni. Makueni District is classified as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) region because it receives inadequate and unreliable rainfall most of the year (Makueni District-Development Plan, 1997-2001: 51). In addition as King?ei (2001) argues, in political economy discourse, it is largely accepted that effective political communication is imperative in order to mobilise and educate the masses on their role in the process of socio- economic development. In the next section, I take a closer look at the structure of the political rally in depth. 3.3.1 Structure of the political rally In terms of the structure of the baraza, a speech usually begins with fairly formulaic greetings to groups or lists of people present in the meeting such as the District Officer or the Member of Parliament. The speaker is likely to say to the entire audience ?how are you?? to which they reply, ?we are fine? either before or after such a list. The speaker might then thank the organizer of the meeting, emphasize the importance of the theme and proceed to give a supporting address. The guests of honour are normally allocated the most time for their speeches while other speakers are allocated much less time. At the end of the body of the address or just after the opening greetings, the speaker is likely to engage the crowd in a series of formulaic repetitions of political slogans (e.g. haraambee in Kenyatta?s time and nyayo4 (footsteps) in Moi?s time jogoo (KANU? symbol meaning cockerel). The end of an address is marked by a 4 Nyayo' means? footsteps? and is the slogan that President Moi used to depict his rule as following the footsteps of Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, on taking over in 1978 when the latter died. 57 simple ?thank you? or ?stay well people of--- (place)?. This is often followed by the master of ceremonies, introducing the next speaker which might involve simply giving his or her name and official title, or by adding preliminary remarks about how fine a leader such a person is. Preceding the introduction of the Guest of Honour is often characterized by the chair engaging the crowd in, what Haugerud (1995: 67) terms as, ?syncopated claps?, and for King?ei (2001: 102) locally known as ?makofi ya kilo? in Kiswahili. These punctuate brief phrases of personal praise and gratitude to the notable for exercising wise leadership and so on. Haugerud (1995) distinguishes between onstage (official) and offstage (unofficial) political talk in the baraza. The on-stage talk is seen as the politically correct while the offstage consists of meanings that cannot be contested openly at a public assembly. These are often reworked in other contexts such as off-stage gossip, subversive music or underground political pamphlets. She contends that what is said in a baraza is, however, never entirely predictable and it is this unpredictability that arouses sufficient interest for people to attend. 3.3.2 Style in the political speech The ability to hold the crowd is a major determining factor to the success of a baraza. Proverbs and figurative speech, notably metaphors, are seen as some of the most important means of peppering rhetoric. Such stylistic features in political discourse often work to emphasize what is considered thematically important at a particular moment in time as well as point out areas of controversy. According to Reisigl (2007: 96), political rhetoric refers to the practical science and art of the use and effects of linguistic (including nonverbal) and other semiotic means of persuasion relating to political matters, prototypically of the effective or efficient speaking and writing by professional politicians. For the purposes of this study, focus will be mainly on the linguistic and not the non-verbal aspects of communication. Haugerud (1995) identifies different forms of rhetoric at baraza, ranging from the celebratory, to the pedagogical. Kenyan political discourse that has often been likened to a homily extolling the virtues of hard work, education, and respect for those in positions of authority or leadership. During baraza, locals get an opportunity to make requests for various form of government assistance, usually for social services, such as schools, health centres, and improved roads. Such requests may be incorporated into special songs and dances rehearsed for the occasion by local school choirs and 58 women?s groups. It is also during political campaigns that candidates addressing baraza compete with one another in claiming responsibility for local development projects. Haugerud (1995) points out the solicitation of audience response when posing a rhetorical question as a means of involving the audience, exerting control and inducing support or compliance, and establishing consensus. In her view, when Kenyan politicians or state authorities ask rhetorical questions of an audience, the answer is self ? evident mainly due to the authority of those permitted to the speaker?s platform. Such questions are a tool of symbolic coercion by the agents of the state. Conventions of ?politeness? and respect for authority as well as fear of reprisal help preserve what she calls ?public silence? on such occasions. However, the expansion of democratic space in the last decade since Haugerud?s publication appears to have eroded such fear of reprisal. The style of the baraza also hinges on who addresses it, Haugerud contends that this is a politically charged issue. This is a forum where who can speak is a matter regulated during the meeting by a master of ceremonies (often a government appointed chief). Before the meeting, organizing authorities such as the Chief or District Officer schedule their own meeting to discuss themes and speakers. There is often a lot of flexibility about who speaks as it is never certain who will turn up as the master of ceremonies and individuals on the speakers? platform make final decisions during the meeting about who speaks and in what sequence. A prominent guest of honour such as a cabinet minister or Provincial Commissioner is likely to give a key- note address late in the meeting. Haugerud (1995) summarizes the manner of who speaks thus; It is not unusual for fifteen or more speakers to address a single gathering. The master of ceremonies invites selected speakers ?to greet the people? giving them an opportunity to make a speech if they wish ? speaking time is an approximate index of social and political status (p, 64). If political protagonists address the same rally, then the sitting Member of Parliament or an Administrative Officer who convenes the meeting may try to set a neutral tone at the outset by stating that the focus of the meeting is ?development,? rather than ?politics?, a contentious distinction officials often invoke in Kenya as they assert the former over the latter. This distinction is debatable because there are distinct ways to categorize ?development? and ?politics?. For Haugerud (1995: 65), to claim ?development? rather than ?politics? as the 59 meeting?s focus is to attempt to discourage or undermine in advance explicitly critical or politically provocative words a rival may utter. Though written a decade ago, Haugerud?s work remains relevant in Kenya today with regard to the absence of women in the baraza since most politicians and senior beauraucrats are male, making it unusual for women to address baraza. However, given the significant increase of numbers of women in politics over the years, there is likely to be a remarkable reversal of this trend. Haugerud (1995) also explores the role of code switching in a baraza as a sociolinguistically significant strategy that is connected to the power asymmetries of languages and to individual negotiation of power and status in conversation. She points out the dominance of Swahili in most (national) baraza as the national language as opposed to English the official language. Similarly, King?ei (2001) identifies code switching and code mixing as common features of Kenyan political discourse. According to him, the intermittent use of English and Kiswahili is a common-place feature of Kenya?s political communication. For more details on the social motivations for code switching see Myers -Scotton (1988, 1993). Haugerud (1995) argues that code switching among English, Swahili, and a first language is a mark of academic, political and administrative elite status in Kenya. From her study, use of English words by a local politician in a rural rally might be interpreted as superiority to the non-educated members of the audience (p, 63). The audience recognizes the words as from the language of power. In fact, some voters had expressed the view that they would not vote for someone who does not use a few words in English as this might indicate that such a person is not good enough as a politician5. She also points out that this code switching strategy might be reversed in the case of a well-educated senior politician addressing the same audience in which case the official may find it necessary to demonstrate fluency in the first (native) language to show that he has not forgotten his roots. Code switching might also occur with reiteration, amplification or alteration. For example if an international speaker addresses a mixed audience especially in peri-urban areas, a local politician might have to translate the message into the local language keeping in mind the 5 This is from personal communication from Dr. Catherine Kitetu in 2004 who revealed that voters in a particular Constituency at the Coast in Kenya had expressed the view that they would not vote in someone who cannot utter a few English words in a speech. Such words are a marker of being ?elite?. 60 original message conveyed by the international speaker. This practice is common even with the head of state whenever he addresses political rallies across the country. However the meaning of the switch is open to different interpretations as will be seen in the data. In this section, I have examined the central role of power struggles as underpinning the controversy surrounding the notion of ?politics? as a basis from which to position the current study. In this study, I explore the baraza as a lens into Kenyan political discourse. I have argued that in addition to code switching having a sociolinguistic function, it may also act as a form of exclusion for the rural women. Next, I turn to the literature on the representation of women?s issues. 3.4 Representation of women?s interests and needs in Kenyan politics From the relevant literature, representations are viewed in two ways; as ?universalist? and as ?constructionist? (Wilson, 2001: 401). On his part, the ?universalist? view on the one hand, assumes that we use language as a vehicle for expressing our thought; the constructionist view on the other hand sees ?language and thought as inextricably intertwined? with our understanding of the world which is affected by available linguistic resources. The constructionist nature of representation of language is more widely accepted by analysts since experience of the world is not given to us but is mediated by language (Van Leeuwen and Wodak, 1999). Culture to a large extent determines how the users of a language construct reality. While some scholars argue that language is part of culture; others view language and culture as two distinct phenomena. The view that seems to be generally accepted is that language use can be considered as a cultural practice, and that language is both an instrument and a product of culture (Gumperz and Levinson, 1996; Duranti, 1997). For Ngugi wa Thiong?o (1986), culture is almost indistinguishable from the language that makes possible its genesis, growth, articulation and indeed its transmission from one generation to the next. He succinctly captures this mutually constitutive relationship thus; Language as communication, and as culture are then products of each other. Communication creates culture: culture is a means of communication. Language carries culture, and culture carries particularly through orature and literature, the entire body of values by which we come to perceive ourselves and our place in the world?language is thus inseparable from ourselves as a community of human beings with as specific form and character, a specific history, a specific relationship to the world (p, 15-16). 61 The importance of this for the current research is that the individual women in the Kamba community learn values norms, beliefs and behaviour patterns in the groups of which they are members through social interaction including linguistic interaction. In other words, culture impacts on language and language is one of the practices that is used to (re-) produce culture in the Kamba community especially with reference to gender and power. Groups express their cultural identities through language, amongst other ways (Gumperz, 1982) and most importantly, language reflects the cultural character of people both in their vocabulary and the discourse conventions and ways of speaking. Stereotypes are important in understanding the cultural activities in a community. The success of such women politicians in Kenya despite negative stereotypes might be attributed to the fact that they ?have managed to resist domination as well as hegemony in order to access (politics as) a dominant discourse? (Gee, 1992: 111). Essentialist views on identity argue that identity is individual, and is understood in terms of traits that are fixed rather than, dynamic and evolving. However, most of these traits are for the most part the result of social interaction. Scholars, however, have recently argued that language users engage in text and talk in a complex combination of multiple social, cultural and professional roles (Van Dijk 1997) for example as daughters and mothers, and speakers and writers to produce multiple identities (Cameron 2001). Language is a social practice through which people assert their identities. Context also becomes an important aspect of identity construction and as Van Dijk (1998) argues, people are not only individual; they also belong to groups. The view of identity in terms of group membership is relevant to the current study because it becomes an important criterion for inclusion into a particular women?s group. This view of identity has an ideological basis in that for one to qualify as a member, one has to share certain beliefs and attitudes as a member of a women?s group. It is also important to note that women also construct certain identities through silence i.e. what they do and cannot say. Silences in texts will also be analysed in Chapters 6 and 7. Women are portrayed as having problems in entering politics or being elected despite the increasing number of educated and talented women in various domains of society (Ghai, 2002: 82 ff). Factors leading to this situation have not been fully understood. It has been argued that 62 among other factors, sexism in language use in the construction of women?s interests and needs is probably tied to the poor representation of women in politics (Nasong?o and Ayot, 2007; Adhiambo-Oduol, 1993). In a paper on Language and Ideology: the Role of Language, Adhiambo-Oduol (1993) cites examples of utterances by those in positions of leadership as evidence of sexist world?views, for example the late Mulu Mutisya, a former Nominated Member of Parliament who while addressing a women?s group remarked that another MP, the late Johnstone Makau, ?was such a failure that he could only be replaced by a mere woman?, and Nicholas Biwott, then a Minister for Energy who accused the Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD ? then the opposition political party against KANU) members, ?of grouping like women rejected by men and have been going to Chester house like prostitutes trying to attract men clients? (1993: 42). On the basis of these examples, she argues that in Kenya, there exists a world-view that discriminates against women through language use, which in her words ?is an aspect for which there is need for mental liberation? and which in the context of the democratization process has to be examined if women are to attain development (p, 46). Because politicians and community leaders are opinion shapers, it is therefore important that they are accountable for what they say. The problem of a sexist world-view is exacerbated by the patriarchal and patrilineal nature of Kenyan society where men are socialized to police women both in talk and action. In addition, the few elected women fail to translate acquired political power into recognizable policy which would have a positive impact on the status of women in the country. House- Midamba (1990) points out that elite women, who are elected to political institutions, do not truly represent the gender interests and the needs of poor and disadvantaged women in Kenya. The author argues that part of the reason for the failure of women to acquire dynamic change in their status is that most elite women are ?pro-status quo? and therefore do not speak in a critical way on the real problems that women encounter. They have more in common with their male counterparts from the same class background than they do with women of lower socioeconomic backgrounds. House-Midamba?s observation supports my argument that the literature is revealing in the way in which elite women committed to equality for all women also produce ?deficit discourses?. These discourses are also used to construct rural women as needing to be ?uplifted?, ?saved?, and enlightened by these feminists as well as politicians. As will be seen in Chapter 7, the rural women reproduce these discourses. 63 Studies on the representation of women in the Kenyan media portray shifting identities for women. Worthington (2001), in a case study, explores how a Kenyan owned news magazine, the Nairobi-based Weekly Review represents female advocacy as ?combative motherhood?, a strategy developed to describe a situation whereby women draw on their moral authority as mothers to assert their legitimacy in a male-dominated political arena. The importance of Worthington?s work for my research is the centrality of the cultural discourses that associate particular meanings with the women portrayed. For example the mothers who stripped to ?curse? the authority were ?framed? as ?insane?. Wangari Maathai, then in the opposition, was framed as the leader of these women, a negative thing because they were seen as acting against the government of the day. Now currently a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate she is represented as a ?heroine?. Popular Swahili expressions often used in Kenya by both women and men to describe assertive and educated women such as Wangari Maathai did include ?mjuaji? (a know-it all) and ?kichwa ngumu? (a hard head) and ?wazimu? (mad). These are also expressions for elite women. In acknowledgement of the pervasive nature of such negative constructions of women, Estes (1998) wrote; in various parts of the world today, if a woman takes a stand politically, socially, spiritually, familiarly, environmentally, ? if she speaks out for those who are hurt, who are without a voice, her motives are examined to see if she has gone wild; that is crazy? (p, 240). In a more recent case study, Worthington (2003) analyses the Kenyan press and explores environmentalist Wangari Maathai?s 1989-1990 protest against the ruling party?s plans to construct a sixty-storey sky-scraper in a Nairobi park. The study illustrates how such moments can be exploited for political advocacy. Initially, for Wangari Maathai, gender was invoked as an already existing rationale for marginalizing her. On the other hand, although Kenyan political structures and processes exerted control on gender relations during the transition to multiparty politics (1992, 1997), strategically defiant women as Wangari Maathai can succeed in opening up political space. This is particularly relevant in trying to understand the construction of women?s agency at the civic level. In Kenya, the 1997 elections marked an end to the single party system (from the 1960s to 1990s) to political pluralism. This is a major social change in Kenya?s democratization process. Studying the way politicians use language to communicate to voters is one of the ways of understanding this process. In this regard Cameron (2001: 129), echoing Fairclough (1992) observes, 64 Social changes manifest themselves in all areas of social life, including the way people communicate. Studying the discourse in which people communicate during that period is one way of studying change itself?.if an institution wants to change the relations it has traditionally had with its people?then one thing it has to do is to instruct them in their new roles and relationships by changing the way it addresses them. From a Political Science6 perspective, Gouws? (2004) research on women?s representation in the South African Electoral System in the 2004 election is relevant to my work, in her observation that there is a shift from a concern with numbers (descriptive representation) to participatory representation (democracy) where quantitative data must be matched with qualitative data. This shift involves voicing women?s interests, experiences and perspectives. Since the 2004 elections, South Africa has had 131 women in parliament, the eleventh highest in the world. Women formed quite a significant constituency, with 1 982 867 more women than men having a vote. The findings of the study show that voters are not mobilized by their gender identities but by their racial and class identities. Gouws? conclusion that ?women need more than the vote, they need a voice in government? (2004: 64), suggests that besides numerical representation, there is a need to investigate the representation of women?s interests in other ways. One of these is the need to re-examine the role of quotas (Hassim, 2006) in political parties and policies such as affirmative action (Tamale, 1999) as promising avenues to address women?s increase in numbers, provided they are accompanied by the appropriate discourse on women?s interests. Numbers though important in understanding the political representation of women, do nothing to explain the issue of women?s low participation in the political process (Ndambuki, 2009a); pointing to a gap in knowledge on women?s interests and needs which the current study, seeks to fill. A possible solution to the small number of women in politics has been proposed to be a constitutional and legal system that is more supportive of women for example as shown by Tamale?s (1999) study, When Hens Begin to Crow, Uganda?s Affirmative Action policy of 1989 has been used to reserve a number of parliamentary seats for women. At least 39 seats (one from each district) in the Ugandan parliament are reserved for women. She uses the metaphor of the crowing hen both with reference to women who venture into the national politics as well as to ?the wider rural female populace, which is beginning to assert the right to participate in 6 Van Dijk (2001) notes that political science is one of the areas where discourse analysis remains unknown in that in this discipline, there is very little influence of modern approaches to discourse. 65 national politics? (p, 21). Tamale?s study indicates that affirmative action has enhanced the participation of women in the electoral process in Uganda since the late 1980s. Focusing on the Parliamentary elections, she concludes that language use plays an important role in the campaign process, especially in mudslinging of female candidates. Her research shows how women?s participation in Ugandan politics has unfolded and particularly that women?s parliamentary participation has improved as a result of affirmative action handed down by the state rather than from grassroots movements. Citing Uganda as one of the countries in Africa with substantial numbers of women in public political positions, Ahikire (2005) traces the remarkable increase of women in these positions from 1989 (17 per cent of women in the national parliament) to 19 per cent in 1996 and 24.4 per cent in 2001 (2005: 97). With the minimum 30 per cent women councillors at local level, this places Uganda well above the regional average of 14.5 per cent. Nasong?o and Ayot (2007) identify two main political constraints as hampering women?s political participation. The first has to do with the electoral system design. Available evidence indicates that the type of electoral system plays an important role in determining women?s representation. Nasong?o and Ayot (2007) argue that generally, Proportional Representation (PR) systems in which the electorate vote for party lists and parliamentary seats are allocated on the basis of votes the party garners are most conducive to women?s legislative presence. In such PR systems, there is greater incentive for political parties to draw up diversified lists of candidates that include women for purposes of appealing to the widest base of voters possible. Conversely, plurality electoral systems are based on single?member districts with the candidate securing a plurality of the votes winning the seat. With only one seat available for each constituency, parties are less likely to nominate women in this system in which incumbents, usually men tend to have an added advantage. It is thus by no accident that African countries that use a variant of the PR systems such as Rwanda, South Africa and Mozambique rank the highest in terms of women?s representation in politics. Most African countries such as Kenya use the plurality single-member district system hence the negligible presence of women in electoral politics in most of these districts. Of concern to the present study is that despite an increase in numbers, and the strong representation of women at the level of MPs in Rwanda, there are still key gaps in terms of civic participation. 66 The second political constraint Nasong?o and Ayot (2007: 188) identify is related to the structures and agendas of political parties. They argue that ?many political parties, reflecting the general conditions in the rest of the society do not easily accept or promote many women into their echelons, let alone women?s occupation of important positions within these parties?; yet as Adhiambo-Oduol (2008) observes, it is the party leaders that largely determine who gets to be nominated to run for political office. They cite the failure of the Social Democratic Party to nominate Charity Ngilu in the run-up to the 2002 elections to contest for the presidency on account of her weak academic credentials, (her not having university education). It is her decision to form the National Party of Kenya (NPK), which enabled her to contest the presidency. The 17 legislators constitute only 7.6 per cent of the total legislators a far cry form the targeted 30 per cent, a figure far below the Sub-Saharan Africa average figure of 16.6 per cent women?s representation in Parliament as of January 2006 (p, 187). They attribute these increased numbers of women to deliberate efforts of national level women?s movements and the synergy created between them and initiatives of the global women?s movement for political representation. The key thing they point out is that women?s representation in politics and in policy?making institutions remain far below the critical mass required to make an impact. What is surprising is that Nasong?o and Ayot (2007) single out the ?elite? organizations as well as global women?s movements but hardly mention the grassroots women?s movement and the potential it might have had on Charity Ngilu?s campaign. This is typical of most development discourse that conflates ?national? women?s organizations with the ?local? ones such as the Kenyan women?s Self-Help Movement. 3.4.1 Women?s participation in the political process One of the most critical women?s interests currently in Kenya besides the numerical imbalances in political representation, is an equally important question of ?participation? where such participation not only includes increased numbers of women leaders, but also includes a need to introduce a variety of governance mechanisms that ensure accountability by decision makers to promote the best practices including participatory management (Sessional Paper no. 2 on Gender Equality and Development, 2006: 19). The role of women in the political process in Africa and in the South, more generally (Sen, 1999), is seen within a context of language policies that some scholars have described as problematic (Mukabi-Kabira and Nzioki, 1993; Ndambuki, 2006; Ndung?o, 2004; Webb and Kembo-Sure, 2000). Webb and Kembo-Sure 67 (2000) argue that less than 25 per cent of Africans know ex-colonial languages such as English and French well enough to develop economically, socially, and politically. Consequently, these languages are barriers to effective access to information and to participation in educational, economic and political processes and decision-making. In other words, the use of Swahili and English is a form of exclusion for rural women who normally conduct their everyday activities in Kikamba. This kind of exclusion will be clear as used in Chapter 5 in the political speeches. In Kenya, the language of political administration is English. Kiswahili, the national language, is however used in communication between the ruling elite and the majority in rural areas. Unfortunately, Kiswahili itself is as alien to most rural people as English. The women in the rural areas mainly use their mother tongues and this puts them at a serious disadvantage when it comes to participating in official and public affairs. Based on attitude research (Kioko and Muthwii, 2004; Muthwii and Kioko, 2004), one can say that this exacerbates the situation of women as users of indigenous languages. Muthwii and Kioko (2004) underscore the language issue problem underlying the seemingly ?neat? language policies in Africa particularly the bilingual type, as in the Kenyan context, and the multilingual type as in the South African situation where nine indigenous languages co-exist with English and Afrikaans. Multilingual policies produce positive effects such as reducing school drop-outs. A case in point is the introduction of a Dual Medium Degree at the University of Limpopo (BA CEMS flier, 2009); the first of its kind in Higher Education in South Africa .This course uses Sesotho and English as the languages of instruction. The success of this program shows that it is possible to offer higher degree courses in the indigenous languages. This takes agenda setting on indigenous languages away from focus on attitudes to increased advocacy by teachers as language activists and agents of change. One can draw on this project to argue that indigenous languages can indeed deal with what Muthwii and Kioko (2004) call ?complex situations? and in this way contribute to increasing access to higher education as part of the process of addressing language inequality for social justice, particularly to reduce the problem of exclusion for marginalized people such as the women participants in women?s groups. Additionally, although women have made an immense contribution to the socio-economic and cultural development of Kenya, their position in political participation and decision?making is influenced by a patriarchal system that assumes that men represent women (National Gender and Development Policy ? NGDP, 2000). At the community level (both in pastoral and 68 agricultural communities) women were traditionally not represented in decision making bodies at village or clan councils of elders where all political and judicial decisions were made (Wacker, 1997). The situation is, however, changing gradually. Women have made a lot of in- roads through various forums such as Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs), self-help women?s groups and Advisory Boards. Although the main objective of women?s groups is to engage in various economic activities, women more often than not voice their concerns through their representatives at the community decision-making level. As at 2000, there were 90 000 women groups in Kenya with a membership of 3 900 548 members with their paid up contribution standing at Ksh.381 000 000. Women manage about 25 per cent of households in both rural and urban areas. This entails decision-making regarding productive resources, labour allocation and income among others (National Gender and Development Policy, 2000: 17). As The Beijing Platform for Action, adopted unanimously by 189 delegations at the fourth Conference on Women in 1995 stresses, empowerment, full participation and equality for women are the foundations of peace and sustainable development. Today there is a growing emphasis on ?mainstreaming? i.e. integrally incorporating women?s concerns and participation in the planning, implementation and monitoring of all development and environmental management programmes to ensure that women benefit. In line with this and to attain gender equality in political participation and decision-making, the government of Kenya promises to undertake and support appropriate action which will ensure women?s equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making. It plans to achieve more participation of women by aiming at gender balance in various government committees, lists of national candidates for election or appointment to international, regional and local bodies, agencies and organizations; adopting a 50 per cent policy of women/men each, often known as ?the 50-50 rule?. It also has a policy of promoting the active participation of women in political and decision-making levels at the grassroots level, to ensure that ambitious women get equal access to training opportunities especially at technical, managerial and leadership levels. These plans, particularly those regarding the grassroots level are probably too ambitious given the challenges identified by scholars regarding women?s relative ineffectiveness in the political arena. Khasiani (2000), in research comparing women's participation in governance in Kakamega and Makueni Districts in Kenya, notes that more than one third of women in Makueni District are 69 unable to read or write in any language. This is an important fact which the present study takes into consideration. Khasiani recommends that we need to identify and understand the biases and prejudices surrounding women's issues and sensitively repackage information so that it portrays women positively. Education emerges as a critical factor for women aspiring to leadership positions, as seen in the recent election of Liberian President Ellen Johnson - Sir Leaf as Africa's first woman president. Despite the policies formulated by the Kenyan government to demonstrate its commitment to advancing the status of women in all areas of life, such as the Government?s commitment to implementing the National Plan of Action based on the National Platform of Action (NPA); Ndambuki (2007) argues that more needs to be done with regard to implementation of these policies to address gender inequality. In his inaugural lecture on language as a forgotten parameter in democratization, Okombo (2001) underscores the greatest weakness of Kenyan development discourse. It ignores the crucial role that language policy plays in bringing about human development in the process of democratization. He argues that despite advocacy for education and poverty alleviation as Africa's most urgent problems, the linguistic resources as the 'means' to achieving these goals are not harnessed. He also argues that language issues are supposed to act as capacity-building instruments by ensuring that citizens are capable of enhancing themselves. Citizens can only play their civic roles if they are empowered to use their individual and collective creative resources. The present research on the role language plays in the representation of women?s interests and needs may, therefore, be seen as part of a capacity-building process and as a positive step towards the enhancement of women?s agency. Following repeal of Section 2A of the Kenyan Constitution in 1991 which made it possible for the re-introduction of multi-party democracy in Kenya, Ndung?o (2004) identifies the issue of language choice for political education in Kenya?s multilingual set up as important for civic sensitization. She argues that it has to take into account language diversity. One striking finding from her research is the way in which women were asked to leave civic education seminars when it became apparent that they could neither communicate in Kiswahili nor English. Based on the views of political educators from NGOS she therefore argues that ?for Kenyans, there is 70 no better language than their national language which is Kiswahili or ethnic language? (p, 162). For her part, any of these foster greater political participation and additionally, political education should be carried out without paternalism for people are not helpless, but have capacity to understand various matters affecting them, provided appropriate language is used. In terms of political representation, there is a general consensus that women have been marginalized in the democratization process in Kenya (Akivaga et al, 2001; Ecumenical Centre for Justice and Peace, 2001; Nasong?o and Ayot, 2007; Thogori, 2002). It is in view of this concern that the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (2001) advocated increased civic education for the population in order to inform and empower citizens, and to enable them to make informed choices on the issues that affect them in their daily lives, be they social, economic or political. It has been documented that people who have little or no civic knowledge, especially in the areas of voter education, gender awareness and adult education are not able to easily and usefully take part in the process of democracy and democratization (Akivaga et al 2001: Sen, 1999; Tesfaye: 2002). In its publication, Making Informed Choices: A handbook for Civic Education, The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC, 2001: 75) argues that civic education improves the ability of people in vulnerable groups to make informed choices. It has become an important part of democratization because it improves people?s knowledge and skills enabling them to participate in public life. Ndung?o (2004) however, cautions against the use of ?genderized language? to pass on political messages citing the example that politicians often use to talk about the way NARC entered into a political coalition similar to that of marriage. I concur with her that such language where the woman is often depicted as having demeaning status, reinforces gender inequality. The 1997 elections are particularly relevant for the women?s movement in Kenya; this was the year that Charity Ngilu became the first Kenyan woman to contest the presidential election. Grignon (2001) identifies two key factors as responsible for Ngilu?s dismal performance nationally and the Kamba?s failure to vote for her as a bloc in the 1997 elections. The first is that Ngilu was the least well off of the five presidential candidates and money is crucial to electioneering; this is echoed by Adhiambo-Oduol (2008). Secondly, ?in a male-dominated country where close to 75 per cent of the population is still rural, the usual prejudice against women?s leadership may have greatly hampered her presidential bid? (Grignon, 2001: 345). 71 These two factors worked at breaking what Grignon (2001) calls the ?Ngilu wave?, in that Charity Ngilu had a great challenge to face, the most important being the age?old attitude among the men who in Grignon?s words ?could not imagine being led by a woman? (2001:116). He captures this challenge thus; As in many Latin European or Latin American countries, a great majority of the electorate might enjoy the idea of a woman president, but when the time comes for casting the ballot, the weight of the individual?s political socialization which associates power with men?s attributes does not play in favour of women candidates. Kenya is not unique in this respect (p. 345) This represents the kind of challenge women, in general face, especially in the Kamba community. Derogatory language was observed in Ngilu?s campaign; for example, she was nicknamed ?wiper? because of her popularity and ability to get votes, a label that was normally transformed to ?viper?7 by opponents. Grignon?s (2001: 317) study clearly shows how Paul Ngei, one of Kenya?s freedom fighters as well as one of the Kamba independence leaders, had created Mbai Sya Eitu (the women?s clan) in Machakos District in the 1960s. This was an army of women?s groups organized on clan lines, which he protected against male clan organizations and which in turn gave him years of staunch support till 1971 when it was banned. The manipulation of such women?s groups created by politicians are part of politicians? political strategy as Grignon (2001) points out; women who form 70% of the rural electorate are the regular target of food and money distributions in Ukambani as they provide a guaranteed source of support during election times. In the case of political leadership, there is plenty of evidence to show that when women get opportunities that are typically the preserve of men, they are no less successful than them. Citing Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Burma and Indonesia, Sen (1999) argues that the opportunities at the highest political levels come to women in many developing countries only in special circumstances - often related to the demise of their established husbands or fathers but women have risen to these challenging positions. On his part, there is need to pay more attention to the part that women have been able to play ? given the opportunity ? at diverse levels of political activities and social initiatives. 7 The nickname ?viper? is a derogatory term that was used to portray Ngilu as a venomous ?monster? and an inappropriate choice for a presidential candidate. 72 Sen (1999) argues that women?s increased participation in the political process is important for a greater balance, wholesomeness and equity in socio-economic development. He clearly articulates this with regard to the Kerala8 experience of India. Nasong?o and Ayot (2007) contend that women?s presence in key policy-making institutions in appreciable numbers enhances and strengthens the political agenda on social issues such as healthcare, education and environmental protection. Additionally, Kamau (2008) makes a link between a critical mass of women in political leadership particularly those who support the course of gender equality and justice, and higher achievement in terms of development that takes on board gender issues. She further argues that due to the small representation of women in predominantly male organizations, they may undergo what she calls a process of ?masculinisation? where they learn to do things in the traditional, masculine and patriarchal ways. The implication here as argued by Adhiambo-Oduol (2008) is that higher numbers of women in politics would translate to women finding their own way of engaging in politics. She proposes that the best way to ensure this engagement is to sensitize women to support other women. She highlights three key issues; one there is need for a paradigm shift from the ?what? side of female politics (listing obstacles to women?s participation in politics) to the ?how? of specific actions that women must take as candidates. First, organising party members and leaders; two, sustainability of the transformation achieved so far; and lastly, the integration of women?s traditional roles and new responsibilities. She further maintains that the approach adopted by key actors to date does not enhance women?s capacity to increase their own self-reliance and internal strength through a deliberate effort to harness and nurture their energy around a common political agenda. This in her view is the reason why women are still locked out of meaningful political participation. She foregrounds the importance of women?s collective in enhancing their participation thus; Women need to strengthen networks with women?s organizations and other social networks to invest in and buy into their collective agenda. Vibrant, cohesive and 8 Kerala is a state within India with a population of about 30 million people. It has the lowest infant mortality rates and highest life expectancy rates. It is the state on which the famous ?Kerala model of development? or ?Kerala?s Development Experience? is based and which has captured the attention of development analysis due to the unique pattern of social and economic changes that have been taking place in Kerala as a result of initiatives both governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) based on public action (Parayil G. (2000: viii). 73 successful women organising occurs when women come together, organise around clearly perceived areas of the collective oppression which then define their common goal and helps chart the path for their collective action? (2008: 50). In this chapter, I argue for a dual focus on representation in studying women?s interests and needs; that is, to take account of both the numerical characteristics and the discursive aspects of women?s participation in social action. The reason for this is that emphasis on the numerical aspects of women?s representation, though undoubtedly important in understanding the political representation of women in politics, does not seem adequate to address women?s low participation in politics. In this section I have provided a background to understanding women?s participation in politics and also exposed the problematic context surrounding the representation of women in politics. One such practice is the selection of Kiswahili as the National language (the language of power) in Kenya which denies rural women a voice in official and public matters. Such practices may provide a way of understanding women?s (in)ability to see themselves as able to take transformative social action in relation to their own issues. 3.5 Women?s agency and social change A review of the relevant literature reveals the need to address women?s agency as a way of enhancing women?s participation not only in political participation but also in social and economic arenas (Basu, 1998; Jeffery, 1998; Mugo, 1978; Nasong?o and Ayot, 2007; Ogot, 1978; Sen, 1999). On a global perspective, Sen foregrounds the changing nature of women?s actions to emphasize the active role of women?s agency (italics author?s emphasis). Sen adds that the relative deprivations in the well-being of women were and are certainly present in the worlds in which we live, and are certainly important for social justice, including justice for women (1999: 190). Noting that there are also pervasive indications of culturally neglected needs of women across the world, he argues that there are also excellent reasons for bringing these deprivations to light and keeping the removal of these iniquities very firmly on the agenda. It is on the basis of this argument that he maintains that that there is an urgent need to take an agent-oriented approach to the women?s agenda. For example, looking specifically at linguistic features such as modals and pronouns might provide a lens to understand women?s agency. Looking at what role language might play in the discursive representation of women?s 74 interests and needs is one way of taking an agent-oriented approach to women?s issues. This study hopes to reveal the ways in which negative representation may be undercutting women?s action. Advocacy for such an approach is based on empirical work in recent years which has shown clearly that relative respect and regard for women?s well-being is strongly influenced by such variables as women?s ability to earn an independent income, to find employment outside the home, to have ownership rights and to be literate and educated participants in decisions within and outside the family. Sen (1999) foresees a future where if progress is made with regard to these different variables as agency aspects (which he refers to as entitlements), the survival disadvantage of women compared to men is likely to go down, and probably, even get eliminated. The implication with regard to all these variables (women?s earning power, economic role outside the family, literacy and education, property rights and so on ) is that they would add force to women?s voice and agency through independence and empowerment. He further argues that the lives that women save through more powerful agency will definitely include their own, and those of their communities. According to Sen (1999), women?s economic participation can make a big difference. He attributes women?s low participation in the day-to-day economic affairs in many developing countries to a relative lack of access to economic resources. The ownership of land and capital in the developing countries has tended to be heavily biased in favour of male members of the family. It is, therefore, typically harder for a woman to start a business enterprise, given the lack of collateral resources. There is ample evidence to show women have done business with much success and that the result of women?s participation is not merely to generate income for women, but also to provide the social benefits that come from women?s enhanced status and independence. Thus, women?s economic participation is a major influence for social change. In contemporary discourse studies, it is assumed that anything working towards increasing self- actualising agency is a good thing. It is believed that human agency is necessary for people to act in order to transform their conditions of life. This is part of the motivation for this study. However, Popkewitz (2007) in his book Cosmopolitanism and the Age of School Reform provides a useful critique of agency. In Popkewitz? view, cosmopolitanism brings to the surface 75 the importance and limits of the qualities and characteristics of modern life that order what ?we? are, what ?we? should be and who is enabled to be that ?we?. He argues that these very practices meant to include, simultaneously exclude. Today, that excluded (my emphasis) ?other? is placed in a space inside but recognized to be included and different (Morrison, 1992, cited in Popkewitz, 2007: 35). In his words, ?today, the abject are given the categories of disadvantaged, urban, at risk, and the left behind, recognized for inclusion and paradoxically radically cast out as different? (Popkewitz, 2006: 172). This view of cosmopolitanism succinctly brings out the paradox of agency in that despite being seen as the way to empower those seen as being in need, it actually excludes them further. Popkewitz? critique is typical of how most development discourses have represented women?s marginalization; this study opens up different possibilities by investigating women?s interests and needs from the point of view of the women. In view of women?s contribution to sustainable development (Ng?ang?a, 2006, Wacker, 1997), it is no wonder that Sen (1999: 202) notes that the changing agency of women is one of the major mediators of economic and social change, and its determination as well as consequences closely relates to many of the central features of the development process. He aptly captures the urgent need to address issues of social injustice in relation to women?s agency thus; The extensive reach of women?s agency is one of the most neglected areas of development studies and most urgently in need of correction, nothing is as important today as an adequate recognition of political, economic and social participation and leadership of women, this is indeed a crucial aspect of ?development as freedom? (p, 203). Jeffery (1998) makes an important observation that agency is not wholly encompassed by political activism. Women outside the high profile organizations such as the participants in the present study are by no means passive victims, in various low-profile ways women critique their subordination and resist the controls over them, in personal reminiscences, or songs, in sabotage or cheating (p, 222). In her view, such everyday resistance confirms that women have a capacity for agency since women?s actions reflect their intentions and goals, and hence women are not wholly subdued by their situation. She also argues that their resistance must not be conflated with their agency. Women?s agency is often deployed towards ends that give feminists little cause for celebration such as when women consent to patriarchal authority rather than critique it; endure and comply rather than overtly challenge, or practice that which is seen a appropriate 76 for a good woman. Women may also oppress other women for example a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law or when a mother sends her daughter back to her marital home where she is being harassed about dowry. Although Mugo (1978), over 30 years ago argued that the ?the biggest enemy to be reckoned with in the battle for the liberation of the abused female image is first and foremost language?, little has bee done to address this problem. She argues against the depiction of men as history makers and the disregard for women?s contribution to history?making, particularly during the Mau Mau struggle for freedom in Kenya. She stresses the importance and urgency of revolutionizing our language and conventional concepts. She examines the role of the Kikuyu women during the Mau Mau upheaval against the mythical stereotypes that most societies in the world have created about women. Images that suggest negativity, weakness, and even in-born stupidity and going by these images women are supposed to be idlers, gossipers cowards, fools etc. as opposed to men who are active, intelligent , strong etc. In her view, this myth is based on psychological insecurity on the part of its perpetrators and the vehicle of oppressive chauvinistic tendencies among men; and such chauvinistic utterances are unconscious mechanisms for self defence. Further, Mugo argues that women who participated in the struggles for independence were not compensated to the same extent as men. After independence, men managed to make their way through outlets like political parties and special appointments to positions of responsibility; the only thing that women gained was that they were asked to organize themselves into women?s groups. Mugo?s argument, though made several years ago is still relevant in Kenya, the implication being that women have top take party politics seriously if they hope to improve their participation in politics. 3.6 Summary The literature review has explored various aspects of women?s issues particularly women?s representation and political participation to provide the gap that motivates looking at the role language might play in understanding women?s participation in Kenyan politics. I have also examined the baraza as a lens through which to understand Kenyan political discourse, particularly to establish the context for understanding women?s interests and needs in political speeches. In the next section, I highlight the major theorists for the current study and the general theoretical principles of CDA. 77 3.7 Theoretical framework: major theories 3.7.1 Pierre Bourdieu The study is based on a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework borrowing from social theory particularly the ideas of Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault and John Thompson. The theorists provide principles that explain language and power in addition to Fairlough?s theory shown on page 81. Bourdieu?s work (1988, 1990, 1991 and 2001) in sociology is relevant to my research. He makes a link between linguistic practices and how they interact with the forms of power and inequality which are pervasive features of society. One of Bourdieu?s key concepts is that of ?habitus?. He defines habitus as a set of predispositions which incline agents to act and react in certain predisposed ways. The dispositions generate practices, perceptions, and attitudes which are regular. These dispositions are inculcated in early childhood through the mundane processes of training and learning during primary socialization through what Gee (1992: 108) calls ?primary discourses?. These are discourses to which people are apprenticed early in life during their primary socialization. For example, women are often socialized to believe that men are better leaders than them. These ?primary discourses? differ from ?secondary discourses?, to which people are apprenticed as part of their socialization within local, state and national groups and institutions. Such socialization is outside the early-home peer-group socialization and is done through institutions such as schools, and churches. Borrowing the notion of ?habitus? from Bourdieu (1988; 1990; 1991), Gee (1992) defines practices in terms of discourse thus: ?a habitus refers to ways of speaking, writing, doing, being, believing and valuing i.e. the mental structures through which an individual perceives and appreciates the physical and social world? (p, 83). For Bourdieu (1991), all linguistic practices are measured against the legitimate practices i.e. the practices of those who are dominant (p, 53). Speakers lacking the legitimate competence are de facto excluded from the social domains in which this competence is required, or are condemned to silence. This is why I want to investigate the representation of women?s interests and needs. Though not done in the current study, this could be used to explain the experience of women who cannot read and write Kiswahili, the national legitimate language in Kenya. 78 Another useful concept is Bourdieu?s (1991: 23) notion of ?symbolic power ?described as an ?invisible power? which presupposes a kind of ?active complicity? on the part of those subjected to it. This power works in such a way that dominated individuals are not like passive bodies to which symbolic power is applied, but that those subjected to it believe in the legitimacy of the power and the legitimacy of those who wield it. I use Bourdieu?s concept of symbolic power to interrogate the idea that women might at times be complicit in their subjection, going along with the oppressors and contributing to their own oppression. Bourdieu?s (1991) approach is useful to my research in that he takes into account the historical conditions of text-production. He observes that it would be futile to analyze political discourses and political speeches in particular without reference to the constitution of the political field and the relation between this field and the broader space of social positions and processes. In dealing with political speeches, his concept of ?professionalization? will help to account for the socio-historical conditions of production within which they are produced, constructed and received. Bourdieu views the social world as a multi-dimensional space differentiated into autonomous fields, where those who occupy dominant positions in the political field will be linked in some way to those who hold positions in the economic field. He views individuals as agents capable of constructing their own agency in mundane daily interactions. I will use these ideas to analyze political discourse in Kenya. For Bourdieu, classes are sets of agents who occupy similar positions in social space and hence possess similar kinds of capital, life chances and dispositions. In other words, they are theoretical constructs which the analyst produces in order to explain or make sense of observable social phenomena. These theoretical groups are not identical with real social groups in that a set of agents can organize themselves into a group, with their own organization, spokesperson and so on by producing and appropriating a certain vision of the social world and of themselves as an identifiable group within this world. This process of representation and the complex symbolic struggles associated with it, which traditional Marxist analysis ignores, is useful in understanding the way women in women?s groups see themselves as well as their ability to take transformative social action. Though Bourdieu has been criticized as giving inadequate attention to other bases of social division, such as gender, one of the key areas in the current research, his ideas as outlined provide a 79 significant model for integration with CDA in the discussion of the representation of women?s interests and needs. 3.7.2 Michel Foucault Foucault?s work is relevant to my research particularly on the theme of power. His writings on power are useful in my research in that I will use them to interrogate power relations in the interaction between politicians and women. For the present study, the expression ?you strike the woman, you strike the rock? a popular expression in South Africa also seems to apply in Kenya. The force of collective power is what the women need to recognize. This position draws on Foucault (1978) who argues that ?power is productive and not solely repressive; power circulates rather than being possessed; in other words, power is neither given nor exchanged, nor recovered, but rather exercised, that it only exists in action? (Foucault, 1980: 89). In Foucaultian thinking, power and social control are exercised not by brute physical force or even economic coercion, but by the activities of experts who are licensed to define, describe and classify things and people, what he calls ?institutions of knowledge?. In this way, Foucault?s concept of power differs from Marxist theories in that for him, discourses are seen as systems of knowledge that inform social and government technologies which constitute power in modern society. For him, power and knowledge are linked through discourse. Through Foucault?s linking of truth, knowledge and power, I have interrogated issues such as the discourses in which women are located as gendered subjects. This theoretical principle is useful in that it provides ways of looking at the data. Power is encoded and instantiated in the minutiae of daily interaction and this validates looking at ?text and talk?, and the events and practices that lie behind them. Though Foucault?s notion of power is different from that of my research (which is domination particularly as seen in social systems like patriarchy), his notion of power being analyzed at points where 'it becomes capillary' (1980: 96) is useful especially in analysis of women's needs in women's groups. In Discipline and Punish (1977) Foucault views discipline as a technique of power that works through hierarchical observation, normalizing judgment and examination. The hierarchical observation and normalizing judgment are relevant to the present research in that they work to produce a continuous disciplinary gaze that subjects internalize. In other words in Foucault?s view, power is a network of interlocking links that penetrates into 80 society in the small apparently insignificant details of daily interaction which work to produce subjects. For example women are constructed in particular ways in Makueni District: due to high illiteracy among these rural women, they are often viewed as un-knowing and ignorant by those in positions of power. Some evidence from Pakistan by Zubair (2003) in a case study of the Siraiki-speaking women shows that education is a marker of literacy and is one of the most significant means of women?s entry into the public sphere. She found that the denial of public voice seems to have led to a denial of a personal voice, especially, for the married women who tend to lose whatever little room they had created for themselves in their youth. 3.7.3 John Thompson Thompson?s work (1990) on ideology is useful to my research. Following Janks (1998), I will employ Thomson?s modes of operation on ideology. Thompson argues that the study of ideology requires us to investigate the ways in which meaning is constructed and conveyed by symbolic forms (systems of belief) of various kinds in every day life (1990: 7). I will also combine Thompson?s ideas with those of Van Dijk (1998) who argues for the inclusion of a cognitive component in the theory of ideology, what he calls ?the shared mental representations of language users as members of groups, organizations or cultures? (1998:5), what Gramsci calls ?commonsense?. Van Dijk (1998) represents social cognition in three ways. The first is, through knowledge from a cultural perspective, that is, the knowledge shared by all competent members of a society, culturally shared knowledge is presupposed in public discourse and is seen as common ground. The second way is through attitudes (the socially shared opinions of a group), as in the opinions which women share as members of women?s groups. The last and most important concept is ideology. According to Van Dijk, ideologies are the basic principles that organize the attitudes shared by the members of a group. For his part, they are used by dominant groups in order to reproduce and legitimize their domination over others. They are mental representations that function on the basis of social cognition i.e. of the shared knowledge and attitudes of a group. They monitor the structure of knowledge and its acquisition. The socio-cognitive component bridges the gap between the macro notions of power and domination and the micro level of discourse and social practices at which the actual study takes place (Van Djik, 2001:115). 81 For Thompson, the interpretation of ideology necessarily involves socio-historical analysis of structural relations of power, within which the role of symbolic forms is often considered. In his view, the interpretation of ideology may serve to stimulate a critical reflection on relations of power and domination, their basis, their grounds and the modes by which they are sustained. I use Thompsons? modes of operation of ideology as a lens to describe the political speech in Kenya. These include: legitimation, dissimulation, unification, fragmentation and reification (explored in more detail in Chapter 4). These three theorists provide a firm basis for the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework used in the study which takes a particular interest in power as constituted via language. Much of the new research in CDA is built on the shared belief that by bringing together social and linguistic theory, the researcher will be endowed with a more comprehensive instrument with which to uncover the ideological work of language in maintaining social hierarchies. In this way, researchers will be better positioned to contribute to the realization of social emancipation. 3.8 Feminist theory In this section, I look at feminist theory for theoretical principles on gender and power. Feminist theory has become a central part of discourse and gender studies to produce a multidisciplinary enquiry involving analysis in the areas of anthropology, literature, linguistics (Adhiambo- Oduol, 2003; Cameron, 1990, 2001; Coates, 1996; Lazar, 2007; Wodak, 1997) politics (Hassim, 2006, Molyneux, 1985, 1998), history, sociology (Cameron and Kulick, 2003), philosophy, speech communication and women in development. Similarly, a wide variety of methods have been used to study feminism especially ethnography, lab experiments, survey questionnaires, philosophical exegeses and analyses of text and talk (Candace and West, 2001: 119-120). All these approaches indicate the complexity of feminism as an interpretive lens. In her book, the Feminist Critique of language, Cameron (1990) explores the all important question: why is language a feminist issue? She identifies two meanings of the word ?critique?: one of reform and complaint which involves the negative assessment of existing linguistic practice, a critical approach to the way language has been used (p, 1). She underscores the way feminists have challenged and, to some extent, altered the conventional usage for instance the 82 generic ?he? and ?man? or titles which indicate women?s marital status. Adhiambo-Oduol (1993) cites the use of the title ?Ms? as the preferred term as opposed to ?Mrs.? The other meaning of ?critique? is a more specialized one and it involves examination of the conditions in which something exists, calling into question the assumptions on which it is based. While these two usages are applicable to the present study, the second one is the more apposite one. In prevailing discourse studies, it is assumed that anything working towards the promotion of agency and taking responsibility of the self is in vogue. However, the question is not whether women are victims or agents but what sort of agents they are despite their subordination. Taking cognizance of this fact, Sangari (1996) wrote: ?we need to explore the distinctive ways and diverse arenas in which women deploy their agency, the different people over whom they may exercise it and the agenda that orient and direct it? (cited in Jeffery, 1998: 223). Cameron argues that it is feminism which has given new urgency to the old debate on ?linguistic determinism? ? the question of how far linguistic structures underpin, as opposed to just reflect our perceptions of the world (1990: 2). Cameron (1990) looks at the theme of silence and exclusion from language and points out the association of what she calls ?private? forms of linguistic activity such as gossip and story telling more among women than men. In her view, such forms particularly gossip have no social import as they are confined to the space of the home or village community and have no currency in public domain. This exposes the paradox women find themselves in particularly because women?s voices are ?silent? as well as ?silenced? in society?s most prestigious linguistic registers notably political rhetoric, legal discourse, science and religious ceremonies. She attributes women being silenced to the fact that it is not that women do not speak; often they are explicitly prevented from speaking, either by social restrictions and taboos or by what she calls the more ?genteel tyrannies of custom and practice?. Even when it seems that women could speak if they chose to, the conditions imposed on their lives by society may make this a difficult or a dangerous choice. Silence can also mean restricting yourself for fear of being ridiculed, attacked or ignored (1990: 4). In the present study, however, I suggest contrary to Cameron?s findings and argue differently; that gossip does have social import as seen in recent gossip research (Waddington and Michelson, 2007; White, 2000). As will be seen in Chapter 8, gossip functions as source of power and a form of policing for the women in women?s groups. 83 The latest advances in CDA indicate a very strong lineage towards an explicit feminist CDA. Lazar (2007) in an article on Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) outlines the basic aim of FCDA as advancing a rich and balanced analysis of the complex workings of power and ideology in discourse in sustaining hierarchically gendered social orders. She acknowledges that operations of gender ideology and institutionalized power asymmetries between groups of men and women are complex, intertwined with other social identities, and are also variables across cultures. She also observes that gender, ideology and power asymmetries have become increasingly more subtle. Noting that a FCDA is motivated by goals of social justice, emancipation and transformation, she brings together CDA and feminist studies, summing up the complex sometimes not so subtle ways in which frequently taken for granted gendered assumptions and hegemonic power relations are discursively produced, sustained negotiated and challenged in different contexts and communities. This interest comes from not only the academic deconstruction of text and talk for its own sake but also from an acknowledgement that the issues dealt with in view of effecting social change have material and phenomenological consequences for groups of men and women in specific communities. The relevance of Lazar?s article for my research is that in being an interdisciplinary approach, FCDA contributes to critical discourse studies, ?a perspective informed by feminist studies and on the other hand suggests the usefulness of language and discourse studies? for the investigation of feminist issues in gender and women?s studies (2007: 142). In the next section Critical Discourse Analysis is considered. 3.9 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) CDA is a multidisciplinary approach drawing from critical theory, semiotics and socio- psychology and borrows its conceptual and analytic apparatus from structural linguistics and critical theory. From a CDA perspective, social reality is constructed in and through discourse with language viewed as a means of control and communication (Chilton and Schaffner, 1997; Fairclough, 1995; Fairclough and Wodak 1997; Van Dijk 1997; Wodak, 2001). CDA is underpinned by the view that discourse is ideological where ideology is seen as ?a systematic body of ideas organized from a particular point of view? (Hodge and Kress, 1993:6). 84 According to Meyer (2001: 28) CDA, is a pragmatic problem-oriented approach where the first step is to identify and describe the social problem to be analysed. For Fairclough (1989), CDA is an approach that advocates increased awareness in the use of language to promote the welfare of marginalized groups (Fairclough, 1989). It is critical in the sense that ?it aims to show non- obvious ways in which language is involved in social relations of power, domination and ideology? (Fairclough; 2001: 229), what Cameron (2001) calls ?the hidden agenda of discourse?. Fairclough and Kress, (1993:2ff) characterize the critical nature of CDA thus: ?CDA focuses not only on texts, spoken or written as objects of inquiry. A fully ?critical? account of discourse would thus require a theorization and description of both the social processes and structures which give rise to the production of a text, and of the social structures and processes within which individuals or groups as social historical subjects create meanings in their interaction with texts? (cited in Wodak 2001:2-3). There are three main approaches to CDA in the literature 1) language as social practice (Gee, 1992: Fairclough, 1989; 1992; 1995; 2001); 2) the socio- cognitive approach Van Dijk (1997; 1995); and 3) the discourse ? historical approach (Kress, 1985; Van Leeuwen and Wodak, 1999; Wodak 2001). . This thesis favours the first approach. How it is applied is discussed in the Chapter 4. 3.9.1 Criticism of CDA Various criticisms have been levelled against CDA. Studies by Blommaert and Bulcaen (2000) and Meyer (2001) point out Widdowson?s (1998) key criticism of CDA that most of the concepts in CDA are vague e.g. discourse, text, practice and mode, ?discourse is something which everybody is talking about but without knowing with any certainty just what it is: in vogue and vague? (Widdowson, 1995: 158, cited in Meyer, 2001: 17). He also criticizes the lack of clear demarcation between ?text? and ?discourse?. According to Meyer, this criticism approaches that of Schegloff (1998) that CDA is an ideological interpretation, not an analysis. Widdowson believes that CDA is biased interpretation in two ways; first in that it is prejudiced on the basis of some ideological commitment; and, secondly, it selects for analysis the texts that support an intended interpretation. Blommaert and Bulcaen (2000) also critique CDA arguing that it does not explain how a text can be read in many ways or under what social circumstances it is produced. Texts are found to have a certain ideological meaning that is forced on the reader. In their view, Schegloff?s 85 criticism is that analysts project their own political biases and prejudices onto their data and analyze them. In defence of CDA, Fairclough (1996) points out that unlike other approaches, CDA is clear about its position and commitment. Central to this debate is that CDA overemphasizes the role of language in representing the social in a relationship that is mutually constitutive. 3.10 Chapter summary This chapter has examined the key terms and concepts relevant for this study, provides the theoretical framework with specific emphasis on key theorists in social theory, (Critical) Discourse Analysis, and feminist theory. Lastly, it has also looked at women?s political participation particularly their agency in the light of social change, and empirical studies on the representation of women?s issues in order to surface the gap that motivates looking at the role language plays in the representation of women?s interests and needs in Kenya. 86 CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY Chapter outline 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Location of study 4.3 Research Design 4.3.1 Case study 4.3.2 Pilot study 4.4 Data collection techniques 4.4.1 Tape-recording 4.4.2 Interviews 4.4.3 Focus groups 4.5 Data analysis and interpretation 4.5.1 The data 4.5.2 Transcription 4.5.3 Translation 4.5.4 Thematic Content Analysis 4.5.5 Critical Discourse Analysis 4.6 Thompson?s modes of ideology 4.6.1 Legitimation 4.6.2 Dissimulation 4.6.3 Unification/fragmentation 4.6.4 Reification 4.7 Ethical considerations 4.8 Summary 4.9 Profiles of politicians, other community leaders and women?s groups 4.9.1 Description of the women?s groups 4.10 The Merry-Go-Round as a basis for the collective 4.11Profile of the women?s groups 4.12 Summary 4.1 Introduction This chapter is divided into two main sections. The first part examines the research design as well as the methods of data collection; tape-recording, interviewing and focus group discussions. The chapter also looks at transcription and translation as preliminary processes of data analysis and interpretation. This is followed by an explanation of thematic content analysis as a basis for the determination of themes in the current study. Further, an explanation of Critical Discourse Analysis as a method of data analysis and interpretation is given. The second part of this chapter provides the profiles of the politicians, other community leaders and women in women?s groups. This is based on the biographic questions completed by the research participants including the politicians in terms of the following variables; age, educational level, occupation and marital status (See the biographic questionnaire on page 302). I assisted some of 87 the women to answer the questions for the biographic questionnaire at the beginning of the focus group discussion, as some of them were illiterate-in the conventional sense. In this section, I argue that a study of women?s interests would be incomplete without an understanding of these variables as they are useful in understanding the kind of needs that women identify. Having made a distinction between women?s groups and feminist groups in Chapter 2, this section explains how women?s groups are fundamental to the sustainability of rural communities. In the face of socio-cultural changes, as men migrate to towns in search of work, women are left with more responsibilities. This results in changes in the division of labour. The women form self-help groups in which members combine their resources. Given the fact that education has been found to be a very useful tool in enhancing women?s agency (Zubair, 2003), special attention is given to the patterns that emerge in relation to levels of schooling. In a sense therefore, this chapter is partly about methods and partly data analysis. 4.2 Location of study Kenya has 71 districts. The study was carried out in Kenya, specifically in Makueni District in the Eastern Province. Makueni District has five constituencies: Makueni, Kilome, Mbooni, Kibwezi and Kaiti. The study focused on Mbitini Division, one out of a total of 5 Divisions in Makueni Constituency. Having grown up in the constituency, I have witnessed first hand that women appear to be faced with unique problems. The case of one division is used to show the issues concerning women in this rural division. These issues are specific to this section of the population, but are certainly similar to issues facing rural women in the whole district and possibly other rural districts in Kenya. Figure 4.1: Map of Makueni Constituency 88 Figure 4.1: Map of Makueni Constituency 89 4.3 Research Design 4.3.1 Case study The research uses a case study approach. It is appropriate for the current study that seeks to understand how women?s interests and needs are constructed by women, politicians and other community leaders. According to Robson (1989: 146), a case study is ?a strategy for doing research, which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, using multiple sources of evidence?. Following the principle of triangulation which involves approaching the same question from different data sources (Gillham, 2000: 13), the research employed methodological triangulation which involved combining various sources of evidence notably political speeches, interviews with politicians and other community leaders and focus groups with women. According to Lemke (1998), case studies are also well-suited for discourse analysis methods due to the fact that discourse analysis produces its greatest insights when rich contextual information can be factored into the analysis of each text or episode. Each kind of evidence has its own strengths and weaknesses as no one kind or source is likely to be sufficiently valid on its own. A variety of research methods also worked to produce a fuller understanding of the political issues as they relate to women. The research relied mainly on qualitative approaches. To some degree, I also combined with the quantitative approach in the presentation of the data. Silverman in his book Doing Qualitative Research (2005) argues that a combination of both approaches is useful as it presents a richer representation of reality. Qualitative research is concerned with how people understand themselves, or their setting ? what lies behind the more objective evidence (Gillham, 2000: 7, Silverman, 1993; Flick, 1998). Qualitative research9 in developing countries has been poorly understood but is slowly gaining acceptance among scholars in Africa (Mugenda and Mugenda, 1999). The case study researcher works inductively from what is there in the research setting to develop grounded theory (explanations). Following Gillham (2000: 12), the actual data that you find are specific to a particular context but your theory (rooted in what you find) may be useable 9 Mugenda and Mugenda (1999: 197) observe that qualitative research is increasingly getting popular in Africa because of its effectiveness in addressing social issues. The basic argument is that studying social systems and problems should include giving voice to those who are being studied as a way of empowering them (Verma, 2001). Qualitative research is arguably one of the avenues to transform information about the lived experiences of local women into action and thereby recognize the everyday activities of the local women and highlight hegemonic discourses that portray women in the South as oppressed, powerless, suffering, unknowledgeable, illiterate etc. 90 by other people and help them to understand women?s political issues in similar contexts. Thus, ?although case studies provide little basis for scientific generalization, they are generalizable in terms of theoretical propositions and not in terms of populations or universes? (Yin, 1994: 100). They involve building knowledge case by case. Concerns raised about the different experiences of women in the political process in this case may, therefore, be key to understanding what needs to be done to change things for rural women more generally. 4.4 Data collection techniques 4.4.1 Tape-recording I tape-recorded four political speeches (20-40 minutes) from 4 different political rallies held in the constituency in 2002. As already explained in the introduction, the focus of this study is the 2002 civic (local) elections in Kenya where councillors feature as the key politicians. The political rallies were chosen on the basis that they were from each of the main political parties: i.e. The National Rainbow Coalition (NARC, then the opposition coalition) and Kenya African National Union (KANU, then the ruling party). The choice of these rallies is based on the idea that they provide a basis for seeing how councillors and other community leaders use rhetoric in political speeches. Further, based on the idea that councillors are elected by popular vote they are, therefore, able to provide insights into how local politicians construct women?s interests and needs. They often speak the local language and may often know the women individually. The 4 rallies comprise 1 pro-government rally and 3 anti-government rallies. A detailed analysis of two political rallies was done out of a total of four political rallies. Though four rallies were tape-recorded, I am satisfied two of them are fairly typical of the baraza and therefore representative of the same. The area in which these rallies were tape-recorded was considered as an opposition zone during the 2002 elections so the choice of the first speech is based on the fact this it is an opposition rally held by the NARC coalition. Since the majority of the rallies were NARC rallies, they might actually be said to be repeats of this one rally. The second rally is chosen as a pro-government rally held by the KANU political party. Further, the rallies represent a mix of the Urban and the County councils, which is further representative of the two different types of councils in Makueni Constituency. Gender was also a consideration as one of the councillors was a woman while the rest were men. Additionally, 91 because they were in the area at the time of data collection, their speeches could be recorded. The purpose of CDA was to look at the selection and representation of women?s interests and needs in these speeches (in form and content) as well as how they portray women. Given the ?labour intensive? nature of CDA, only two political speeches were analysed. The representations of women?s interests and needs in the political speeches were subsequently compared with the representation of these issues in interviews with the politicians and in women?s focus groups. 4.4.2 Interviews The strength of face- to- face interviews is the richness of the communication that is possible in the interaction. The semi-structured interview is important in case study research as it allows for initial content analysis preceding CDA. The interview also allows for probes and prompts to clarify and deal with issues exhaustively (Gillham, 2000: 64; Boyatzis, 1998). These researchers see interviews as indispensable in case study research. Abell and Myers (2008: 150-151) identify and summarise 4 different contexts for the discourse analysis of research interviews thus; Study of the co-text involves relating each utterance to what comes after it, and to other utterances in the interview transcript. Intertextual and interdiscursive relationships include links between the talk in an interview and other talk, as in the use of key words or topoi. The context of situation concerns the frame participants have for this kind of interaction such as their expectations of the role of the interviewer or facilitator. The study of socio-political and historical contexts raises the question of how this kind of interview is possible (or impossible) and what sorts of knowledge and power relations it presupposes. These levels of context will be important in analysis of interview transcripts in chapters 6 and 7. The leaders were interviewed in order to determine the way they construct women?s interests and needs. In view of this, I interviewed four politicians and six other community leaders. Due to the time-consuming nature of interviews in terms of transcription and data analysis, only ten interviews of 30 to 80 minutes each were conducted, one with each of the leaders. One hour of tape-recorded interview is ten hours of transcription and more hours for analysis (See Appendix V for the interview guide questions). Oakley (1982) has been particularly influential in the area of feminist methodology especially to highlight the problematics of interviews as a data-collection technique. She characterises the 92 mismatch between theory and practice in interviews with regard to; (a) its status as a mechanical instrument of data collection; (b) its function as a specialised form of conversation in which one person asks the questions and another gives the answers; (c) its characterisation of interviewees as essentially passive individuals, and (d) its reduction of interviewers to a question-asking and rapport-promoting role (p.48). In her view, both the interviewer and interviewee are thus depersonalised participants in the research process, which she attributes to the interviewer?s relationship to the interviewee being hierarchical. This kind of relationship also leads to the interviewee asking too many questions (p.52) In view of these, she puts forward three arguments: (1) use of prescribed interviewing practice is morally indefensible; general and irreconcilable contradictions at the heart of the textbook paradigm are exposed; and (3) it becomes clear that, in most cases, the goal of finding out about people through interviewing is best achieved when the relationship of the interviewer and interviewee is non-hierarchical and when the interviewer is prepared to invest his or her own personal identity in the relationship (1982:51). This kind of non-hierarchical relationship is best seen in focus groups in the next section. 4.4.3 Focus groups Focus groups are a qualitative research method aimed at gathering data through group discussion (Morgan, 1998: 29). Puchta and Potter (2004), drawing on Vaughn and colleagues (1996), note that a focus group usually contains two elements: one, a trained moderator who sets the stage with prepared questions or an interview guide and two, the goal of eliciting participants? feelings, attitudes and perceptions about a selected topic. Women?s groups in Kenya are a key means of voicing women?s concerns as they speak to issues that affect women more directly than they affect men. The advantage of focus groups over individual interviews is that they allow participants to interact with one another. Focus groups are also one of the ways through which to minimize the control the researcher has during the data gathering by decreasing the power of the researcher over the research participants. Although ultimately, an unequal power relationship obtains between the researcher and the participants, because as Rose (2001: 23) observes, ?the researcher initiates the procedure, selects the participants and sets the agenda at least to some extent?. Feminist research views focus groups as particularly suited for uncovering women?s daily experiences (especially 93 women of lower socio-economic status) through collective stories ? that are filled with cultural symbols, words, signs and ideological representations that reflect the different dimensions of power and domination that frame women?s experiences (Madriz, 2000: 836-839). The importance of sharing ideas for women through conversation has been clearly documented (Coates, 1998). I am aware of the ?insider/outsider? debate in feminist research that has moved from the argument that, in studying a group to which one belongs, one can use one?s knowledge of that group to gain deeper insights into their opinions and experiences. Overtime, the debate has moved on from this essentialist view of ?insider? to a more critical and nuanced view in which the intermediate categories are intersposed between ?outsider? and ?insider? in order to cover situations where the researcher?s position is more fluid and ambiguous such as the ?outsider within? (Collins, 1991; Acker 2000, cited in Rose (2001: 24) who comes from the group being studied but has had experiences which set her apart from it in certain ways. This succinctly captures my position both as a rural born woman and now an urban researcher, presenting multiple identities which worked as a good vantage point for the critical perspective of the current research. My ability to speak very fluent Kikamba was admirable to the participants, one of the reasons they agreed to open up to me. In other words, I used my ethnicity and gender as a point of entry into the discussions. However, I first had to defend my position as a young female university researcher interested in studying the needs of rural women. This is not always easy to do as Bourke, Butcher, Chisonga, Clarke, Davies & Thorn (2001) show when giving accounts of their fieldwork experiences. Clarke had to demonstrate his ?Zambian-ness by speaking ?Chinyanja? while Chisonga did his fieldwork in a neighbourhood where he attended primary and secondary school yet participants questioned his ?insider? status. Bourke et al (2001) contend that ?whether situated in ?home? country or in a place one was not born, our position as researchers automatically calls into question our authentic and personal knowledge of place? (p.5). As an ?insider? I was able to identify with the needs of women in rural women?s groups and at the same time critique these as a researcher, the ?outsider?. As part of the research process, I had to make sure that I did not allow my concerns on going in to influence what the women chose to talk about. For example my concern when going in was about abuse of women and children. I expected these to come up but it remained a silence which related to some of my own concerns. 94 At the time of the study, Mbitini Division had 66 women?s groups10. Out of the total of 66 and based on the types of activities the groups engage in, I selected 11 focus groups such that a women?s group corresponded to a focus group. I then held focus group discussions of 30-60 minutes with each of the 11 women?s groups. Following Morgan?s observation that in focus groups, the researcher uses his or her judgment to select ?purposive samples? of participants who meet the needs of a particular project (1998: 30), I purposely selected participants from eleven out of the total 66 women?s groups from Mbitini Division. The selection of the eleven focus groups was determined by how organized the women?s group is for example whether it kept records. I obtained records of the women?s groups indicating how many meetings a group held in a month and what activities they engaged in from the Divisional Office. Another important consideration made in interviewing is not just the time that is given to the interview itself but the time involved in transcription and analysis. As a result, there was a need to control the number of interviews and their length - a critical factor in the number of interviews for a case study (Gillham, 2000: 62). The choice of 11 focus groups was based on this observation. The dynamic social negotiation of individual views in focus groups is seen as an essential element of the social constructionist theoretical approach to social reality (Flick, 1999: 121). The selection of a women?s group as the basis for the focus groups is in line with the principle of homogeneity since the interaction in focus groups allows women as peers to share a forum for expressing their views (Krueger, 1993). According to Rose (2001), focus groups uncover a group?s viewpoint, and therefore homogeneity is crucial in terms of the factors that the researcher considers as likely to affect the types of experiences recounted. This was particularly useful for women in women?s groups. In her view, homogeneity is important because participants are more likely to feel comfortable expressing their opinions and confident that other members will understand each other at a basic level and not shoot down their ideas, as might be the case in a one-one interview setting. The focus group therefore gave confidence to the women to express their ideas on the sensitive issue of politics. As a researcher, I was careful to avoid what she calls ?artificial consensus and silencing? which becomes more serious when members of the group know one another well, as they did in the women?s groups. 10 This figure was obtained from an informal interview with the Community Development Assistant (CDA) during the data collection exercise. 95 The strength of focus groups is that they involve guided group discussions to generate a rich understanding of participants? experiences and beliefs drawn from the strengths of qualitative research methods in three ways: first, exploration and discovery to learn about topics or groups of people that are poorly understood, then context and depth to understand the background (history) behind peoples? thoughts and experiences, and lastly interpretation to understand why things are the way they are and how they got to be that way. As Morgan (1998: 9) points out, the main motivation of focus groups is listening and learning. As such, I tried to avoid being excessively controlling since as a researcher I understand every group has its own dynamics. In order to capture the views of the women, focus group interview questions were generated. I also used a brief questionnaire to gather biographic details about each of the women in terms of age, occupation, marital status and level of education. Wodak (2001) sees biographic information as crucial to understanding women?s interests. For Rose (2001) these aspects help focus groups to explore collective and not individual experiences in that they allow for the sharing of individual experiences as represented in the group setting; ?members arrive at collective rationalizations for their beliefs or their actions through the process of observing and commenting on their similarities and differences? (p.17). This was particularly suitable for the women?s groups whose focal point is the collective It was initially hard to select a sample of about 8 to 10 participants because all the members of the women?s groups would come particularly to see and hear for themselves what I had in store for them. I thought this was a good thing because it helped to break the ice and helped them understand what my research was all about. They would then agree among themselves who would remain behind for the focus group discussion. This provided a transparent way of selecting the participants and it left them assured that all was well; otherwise lack of involvement from all the members of the women?s group might have brought about discontent in the group. Fortunately this did not happen. Those who did not participate in the discussion went away contented. Qualitative feminist researchers with a transformation agenda, are often drawn to focus group methods because they believe that if feminist research is to be change- oriented, it must not only offer a critique of aspects of society but also help women to collectively change their consciousness by fostering collective identities and solidarities (Rose: 2001: 22). She points out 96 the recent and significant strand of thought among feminist researchers about the appropriacy of the focus groups method due to its ?empowering possibilities?. First because the power relationship in having an expert is mitigated with the focus group creating a possibility for dialogue among equals. The participants regarded me as one of their ?own? and often started by asking me the question ?where do you come from?? to which I often responded that I was the daughter of ?so and so?. Most of the participants explicitly expressed their joy at seeing ?an expert? interested in their interests and needs. They regarded me as ?the one who knows? to which I always responded that I was actually seeking their opinions. I tried to maintain an interaction where I showed an avid interest to learn from them. For Rose (2001), the focus group is empowering in a number of cases; where people come to commonality of a shared experience; if people are encouraged to participate in building their future (as in being involved in the present research for greater political participation); where people recount difficult experiences and therefore derive collective support from the focus group (as in the case of women?s discourse of suffering) and finally depending on how often a group meets. All these possibilities present feminist research as borrowing heavily from ?participatory research? or ?participatory action research? that ?honours the principles of respecting, valuing, and foregrounding the lived experience and indigenous knowledge of those being researched? (Rose: 2001: 27). 4.5 Data analysis and interpretation 4.5.1 The Data Tables 4.1 - 4.3 show the full set of data that I collected. All the data was transcribed and translated by the researcher as a way of facilitating data analysis and interpretation. 97 Table 4.1 Interviews with politicians and other community leaders Data type Gender Type of leader Time Interview 1 female Politician 1 hour Interview 2 male Politician 1 hour 20 mins Interview 3 Male Politician/traditional leader 50 mins Interview 4 Male Community leader 55 mins Interview 5 Male Community leader 52 mins Interview 6 female Community leader 40 mins Interview 7 Male Politician/traditional leader 1 hour 10 mins Interview 8 female Community leader 45mins Interview 9 female Community leader 1 hour Interview 10 female Community leader 30 mins Table 4.2: Political speeches Political speeches Speech Political party Time Speech 1 NARC 30 mins Speech 2 NARC 35 mins Speech 3 NARC 40 mins Speech 4 KANU 1 hour The table that follows, Table 4.3 provides an overview of the women who formed the focus group discussions. It includes the number of members and the total hours and minutes for each focus group discussion as well as the activities that each women?s group engages in. The information was obtained from the questionnaires and was augmented by field notes. Table 4.3 Women?s groups Focus group Focus group Participants Hours of Tape Total hours and minutes Activities 1 13 45 mins 1 hr 10 mins Merry-Go-Round; farming; cultural dance 2 8 45 mins 1 hr 20 mins Merry-Go-Round; farming, HIV support group 3 12 45 mins 1hr 5 mins poultry keeping, kerosene-selling business group 98 4 10 1 hr 1 hr 26 mins Merry-Go-Round; house construction group 5 8 52 mins 1 hr 35 mins Merry-Go-Round; farming group 6 9 51 mins 1 hr 15 mins Merry-go-round; farming widows? group 7 10 42 mins 1 hr 15 mins Merry-Go-Round; caring for orphaned children; Farming 8 10 41 mins 1 hr 15 mins Merry-Go-Round; caring for widows, cotton- growing, widows? group 9 8 1 hr 5 mins 2 hrs 35 mins Merry-Go-Round; adult education; house construction group 10 12 50 mins 1 hr 30 mins Merry-Go-Round; horticultural farming; goat keeping, unity group 11 12 50 mins 1 hr 30 mins Merry-Go-Round; horticultural farming; goat keeping, unity group Source: author?s fieldwork Analysis of the socio-economic activities in Table 4.3: Essentially, all the women?s groups practised small-scale farming, mainly growing maize and beans. Two groups were involved in house construction, while one group was involved in adult education. One group was a dance group and another was an HIV support group. All groups, except one, practised the ?Merry-Go-Round? (MGR) (often referred to as nzangule in Kikamba), and it would appear that the MGR is the basis of what defines a group. Members of the group provide practical support and care for one another to form an extended family where people pool resources in terms of labour, literacy support and emotional support. Each group becomes a collective in which members fend for one another. The MGR is at the heart of the collective. Within it, people generate income through the sale of their farm produce and the small-scale business enterprises that they run. The women?s group might also be said to be a kind of adaptation to a new economic order but it retains the collective notion, a kind of extended family based on ?ubuntu? which is fundamental to African philosophy. All groups but two were registered with the ministry of Gender, Sports and Social Services. The choice of the unregistered groups is justifiable on the basis that the members were in the process of registration. As already pointed out by Kabira and Nzioki (1997), a significant number of the groups are actually not registered. The choice of the two unregistered groups was considered as a likely source of understanding women?s interests and needs even though they are not registered. Since registration with the government is mandatory, the perspective of groups not registered was considered important. 99 The first step in data analysis was transcription. This involved listening to the tape-recorded cassettes of the political speeches, focus group discussions and interviews in order to establish key components for textual analysis. In data coding and interpretation, I was both the one doing the transcription and translation, i.e. the analyst and this helped me to get an in depth understanding of both ?said? and ?unsaid? issues. In view of the critical role of transcription and translation in this study, a brief overview of the principles which were seen as relevant is given. 4.5.2 Transcription Du Bois, Schuetze-Coburn, Cummning and Danao, (1993) define discourse transcription as the process of creating a written representation of a speech event so as to make it accessible to discourse research. Typically, there are two distinct forms of transcription; broad and narrow transcription. According to these authors, broad transcription includes the most basic transcription information: the words and who they were spoken by, the division of the stream of speech into turns and intonation units (and contours), medium and long pauses, laughter and uncertain hearings or indecipherable words. Narrow transcription on the other hand is more detailed as the transcriber will also include notation of things like accent, tone, breathing and other vocal noises. I use broad transcription for all the three sets of data; interviews, political speeches and focus group discussions (See Transcription Conventions in the Table of Contents). Puchta and Potter (2004: 3) observe that transcribed talk looks messy ?but that is what real talk is all about, speakers hesitate, pause, repeat themselves and correct themselves?. In order to make sense of transcripts, Du Bois et al (1993) propose construction of a coding system for language research for example the use of Capital letters A, B, C and so on to identify the speaker in a given turn. The selection or development of a guiding theory on coding is not easy. For them, whatever theory the researcher chooses is likely to have an influence on the kinds of results that are possible. The most popular transcription system is that which Gail Jefferson developed for Conversation Analysis in the 1960s. Puchta and Potter (2006) support its use in focus group transcription arguing that it has been tried and tested in conversation analysis and discursive psychology, and has been found to capture what is significant in interaction. Unlike in survey research where what is coded is simply the answer; in natural language the researcher must make a deliberate effort to decide what size unit of text should be studied and 100 whether all stretches of this text should be coded. The coding of language therefore begins with the decision of how to divide up texts into bounded segments, with a basic unit of analysis. The only requirements are that ?this unit ought to remain constant throughout all coded texts and that it be consistent with the investigator?s researcher objectives? (Du Bois et al, 1993: 73). In my study I use the turn, defined as ?a string of utterances produced by a single speaker and bounded by other participants? moves? (Gumperz and Berenz, 1993: 95) as the basic unit of analysis. The turn facilitates sequential analysis the detailed examination of the local moves and that constitute speech exchange. For my research this enables distinction of different moves amongst the participants and the interviewer for the interviews. For Gumperz and Berenz (1993), transcription is by its very nature inherently selective. And that what is selected depends in large part on the analysts? background knowledge and theoretical background depending on the context for a particular text. He notes; ?Our main goal is to reveal the functioning of communicative signs in the turn-by-turn interpretation of talk, not to record everything that can be heard or to provide exact measures of duration and pitch? (p, 119). It is in view of this that Edwards (1993) notes that the transcript plays a central role in research on spoken discourse to simplify the complex events and aspects of interaction in categories of interest to the researcher. Transcription is seen as a legitimate working procedure of translation but it is distinct from translation (Gutt, 1993:127). In the next section I briefly examine translation. 4.5.3 Translation Hatim and Mason identify the major principles of translation as communicative, pragmatic and semiotic, all a set of procedures which place the translator at the centre of the communicative process (1990: 3). In creating a new act of communication out of a previously existing one, translators are inevitably acting under the pressure of their own social conditioning while at the same time trying to assist in the negotiation of meaning between the producer of the source language text (ST) and the reader of the target language text (TL) both of whom exist within their own social frameworks. The concept of ?equivalence? is seen to be critical to translation studies because the quality of a translated text is assessed in terms of its equivalence to the original text. Relevance is a term used in a relative sense to refer to the closest possible approximation to ST meaning, as there is no such thing as a formally and dynamically equivalent target language version of a source language (SL) text (Gutt, 1993; Hatim and 101 Mason, 1990). These scholars agree that the demand that a translation be equivalent to a certain original is, however, void without reference to context. Context of the utterance, that is, the environment or setting in which an utterance occurs is crucial. This includes the linguistic context (textual), the situational context (social context which is achieved through situated observation) and lastly the pragmatic context which includes the time, place and culture in which the utterance is made. These different contexts are useful in the interpretation of the utterances of both the women and the leaders (politicians and other community leaders). In cases where the culture of the source language has a distinctively different cultural value from the same thing in the culture of the target language, the translator keeps the original meaning by adjusting the form of the cultural symbol or adding enough background information to indicate to the target language users what the original value was. In this way, the users of the translation will get the intended meaning. Most translation studies agree that the preservation of the original is the highest goal for the translator (Hatim and Mason, 1990; Gutt, 1993; Shaffner, 1998). This is particularly important in relation to metaphors. The general view is that they cannot be translated literally because if they are, the figurative meaning, the original author?s intended meaning is lost. This interesting feature about metaphors motivates looking at the use of Kamba metaphors in political speeches in Section 7.3.1. Sell-Hornby (1988) argues that metaphors have a cumulative effect which suggests a particular perception of reality and it is this which the translator seeks to capture. In this research, working with the original text (Kamba metaphors) was helped a great deal by the researcher doing all the transcription, as well as being the translator and analyst. 4.5.4 Thematic content analysis The essence of thematic content analysis is to identify recurring topics that really address the women?s needs in the study, that is, the content. However, in order to analyze the interview data from the interviews and focus group discussions, I first transcribed the raw data in Kikamba and provided a translation into English. The original functioned as the primary text. The English translation provided a chronology of the interview in the form of an interview paraphrase taking note of the things that resist paraphrase such as proverbs, metaphors and Kamba idioms. Boyatzis (1998: 36) advocates that translation of the whole transcript should be done at the level of paraphrase i.e. after the initial level of transcription. Then I employed thematic content 102 analysis to locate key women?s interests and needs that cut across the data. For example I identified the terms that emphasize rurality, agency, women as breadwinners, labour, education, literacy, water, roads etc. in the texts after which I tried to establish the relationships among the identified themes. Gee?s notion of discourse provided ways of looking at the data and enabled me to look at their beliefs at to what women need; beliefs about government?s responsibility; beliefs about rural women and their own abilities. Following Gillham (2000: 71), I took each transcript in turn highlighting substantive statements. From these statements, I then derived a set of categories for the responses to each question and gave them themes. This is level one of analysis in the study that deals with what is said. According to Boyatzis, (1998: 53) a ?good? code should have five major elements: a label, a definition of what the theme concerns, a description of how to know when a theme occurs (indicators on how to ?flag? the theme), a description of any qualifications or exclusions to the identification of the theme and lastly, examples, both positive and negative to eliminate the possible confusion when looking for the theme. 4.5.5 Critical Discourse Analysis After thematic content analysis, I employed CDA on key linguistic features and on a principled selection of the transcript data. This is level two of analysis which deals with the representation of the content, ?how it is said?, that is the language used and how this constructs women and their issues. Relevant sections from the three sets of data on each of the issues the women identified were selected for close CDA analysis to compare constructions and representations, for example to arrive at how women? needs are valued whether positively or negatively. These sections were selected on the basis of their relevance to the key issues that the leaders and the women identified. I further evaluated the usefulness of the themes identified in answering the research questions. This involved a discussion of the identified themes from the data with a view to discovering the relationship between the politicians? discourse and the material realities of women?s lives. The analytical framework addressed above is diagrammatically represented in the figure 4.2: 103 Figure 4.2: Model of the study Transcription Transcription Transcription Fairclough?s framework for CDA is based on viewing discourse as a category used by both social theorists (e.g. Foucault, 1979) and linguists such as Halliday (1985) because language use is also social action (1995:131). Fairclough (1992) conceptualizes this relationship using a three dimensional view of discourse analysis that includes analysis of text (spoken or written), discourse practice (processes of text production and interpretation) and social action as instantiated in socio-cultural practices (the conditions of production and interpretation). The full machinery of CDA is demonstrated across the thesis as a whole but in Chapters 5 and 6, I Thematic Content Analysis Women?s interests and needs Political speeches Interviews Focus Groups Women?s interests and needs Women?s interests and needs Relevant sections Relevant sections Relevant sections Textual analysis for key sections Textual analysis and/or CDA for key sections Textual analysis and/or CDA for key sections Translation Translation Translation 104 mainly work with thematic content analysis and text-analysis. My research does not include data that allows for the analysis of the processes of production. My main focus is on textual analysis (Fairclough?s inner box) and the conditions of production and reception (Fairclough?s outer box). Chapter 5 deals with the research sites with a focus on the biographic questionnaires to understand the nature of women?s groups. In Chapters 6 and 7, the analysis focuses on linguistic choices in order to understand the different constructions of women?s needs. These are tied to both the processes and the conditions of their production. This analysis is informed by Fairclough?s approach as represented in his model (See Figure 3.1) but it draws only on aspects from the model as needed. The data does not, for example, include the kind of information such as video that would enable an analysis of the processes of production and reception. CDA is only used in so far as it enables an analysis of representation. CDA as a practice endeavours to explain the relationship between language, ideology and power by analyzing discourse in its material forms. Silences in the text are also important because through them women construct themselves in a particular way. For example if women do not see themselves as responsible for addressing their needs, through silence on their part, they construct themselves as disempowered and without agency. 105 Figure 4.3: A three dimensional view of discourse analysis Description (Text analysis) Interpretation (Processing analysis) Explanation (Social analysis) Dimensions of discourse Dimensions of discourse analysis (Adopted from Fairclough, N. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis, p. 8. London: Longman). Although Halliday does not have a theory of power, his theory of Functional Grammar has been widely used by critical linguists (Fairclough, 1989; Janks; 1997; Kress, 1985) and political discourse analysts (Morrison and Love, 1996; Wodak, 2001; Wodak and Leeuwen, 1999). Halliday?s grammar operates at the level of genre. Fairclough?s model also caters for the utterance as a basic analytical unit in political discourse analysis. At the textual level, I will focus on key linguistic features such as modality, passivization and lexicalization to establish how through them women position themselves and are positioned. I will further try to establish if there are any patterns with regard to these key linguistic features and also seek to establish how the overall construction of the text contributes to the representation of women?s needs. Janks (1997) in her article Critical Discourse Analysis as a Research Tool explains the interaction between the different boxes in Fairclough?s model; i.e. how to get from the textual to the social and vice versa. She does this by arguing that first; the formal properties of the text can be regarded on the one hand as the traces of their productive processes, and, on the other hand, as cues in the process of interpretation (Fairclough, 1989: 24 cited in Janks, 1998: 196). This establishes a link between the text box and the process box. Conditions of production and interpretation Sociocultural practice (Situational; Institutional; Societal) 1 Process of production and interpretation 2 Discourse practice Text 3 106 I establish the processes of production of the texts. For example who is speaking to whom? Where? When and on what occasion? This level deals with the content, which for this study is women?s needs. Further I describe the relations that exist between speakers (women, politicians, and other community leaders) and the hearer (me as the interviewer). Secondly, Janks argues that production and reception are socially governed practices which require social analysis to explain why the texts are the way they are and why they are read in the ways in which they are. Further, this establishes the links between the social conditions and the text as both process and product. These discursive conditions determine the construction and circulation of the texts and help to produce and maintain the social relations of power (Janks, 1997). In the last box, I analyse the socio-historical context and the power relations; the social, institutional (e.g. gender relations) and situational (aspects of the context of situation) which shape the discourse. The broad socio-political context provided in detail in Chapter Two functions as the socio-political context as explicated by CDA theorists. Janks, however, notes that movement between Fairclough?s different dimensions of discourse and the interconnections between the different modes of analysis can never presume a neat correlation between textual realization and social explanation, which is why it is necessary to look for explanatory patterns across related texts so as to form what Fairclough (2003) calls orders of discourse or for discontinuities and hybridity which can signal disorder and social change. Analysis in the outer box will help to establish how this discourse is positioned in relation to reproducing or changing social practice. In this way, I will then be in a position to say whether the discourse works to sustain or transform existing relations of power. Most CDA research (Fairclough, 1989; Morrison and Love, 1996; Wodak, 2001) uses Halliday?s Systemic Functional Grammar (1985) that contemporary discourse studies implicitly draw on (especially the view of ?discourse as social action?). I draw on Halliday?s grammar, at the textual level of Fairclough?s central box, in order to analyze discourse as text. I identify concrete instances of linguistic choices such as lexicalization, metaphor, modality, pronouns and passivization. Halliday stressed the relationship between the grammatical system and meaning in context, distinguishing three meta-functions of language which are continuously interconnected: the ideational (through which language lends structure to experience), the interpersonal (which constitutes relationships between the participants) and the textual (which 107 constitutes coherence and cohesion in texts). As Janks (1998: 196) observes, Halliday?s is the only grammar that attempts systematically to relate linguistic form to meaning in context. Halliday?s grammar is seen as crucial to CDA because it offers clear and rigorous linguistic categories for analyzing the relation between discourse and social meaning. In trying to work with analysis of processes of production and reception, my research was enhanced by Bourdieu?s notion of ?symbolic power? together with Foucault?s notion of ?institutions of knowledge?. Since Foucault rejects the notion of ideology, I use Thompson?s modes of ideology to articulate how language does the social work that it does. This helps me to explain the conditions of reception and interpretation (i.e. Fairclough?s outer box) 4.6 Thompson?s Modes of Ideology I employ Thompson?s modes of ideology: reification, legitimation, dissimulation, unification and fragmentation to analyse the political speeches. As already demonstrated in the theoretical framework, Thomson?s starting point is social theory rather than language, grammar, utterance or discourse (Janks, 1998: 197). I will examine each of these modes in more detail in turn. Thomson?s model is clearly summarized and organized into a table by Janks (1998: 208). 108 Table 4.4 Thompson?s Modes of Ideology R ep re se n ta tio n o f s o m et hi n g as le gi tim at e, w o rt hy o f s u pp o rt LE G IT IM A TI O N RATIONALISATION ? construction of a chain of reasoning (based on the legality of rules, sanctity of traditions) to defend or justify a set of social rules. UNIVERSALISATION ? institutional arrangements which serve individual interests represented as serving the interests of all. NARRATIVISATION ? claims in stories which recount the past and treat the present as part of a timeless and cherished tradition, invention of traditions. R el at io n s o f d o m in at io n co n ce al ed , de n ie d o r o bs cu re d D IS SI M U LA TI O N DISPLACEMENT ? one symbol displaced to symbol associated with it. EUPHEMISM ? redescription for +ve evaluation, naming slippage ? shifting of sense. TROPE - the use of figurative language synecdoche ? whole for part or part for whole metonymy ? attribute or related characteristic of something taken for the thing itself metaphor ? application of term to an object to which it is not literally applicable. Fo rm s o f u n ity w hi ch em br ac e in di v id u al s in co lle ct iv e id en tit y, irr es pe ct iv e o f di ffi cu lti es an d di v isi o n s U N IF IC A TI O N STANDARDISATION Symbolic form adapted to standard framework. SYMBOLISATION OF UNITY Collective identity which overrides differences and divisions. D iv id e an d ru le FR A G M EN TA TI O N DIFFERENTIATION Emphasizing differences ? fragmenting gaps that might unite and mount a challenge. EXPURGATION OF THE OTHER Construction of an enemy with or without which is evil, harmful or threatening, which individuals need collectively to expel or expurgate. Tr an sit o ry st at es pr es en te d as pe rm an en t, n at u ra l o u ts id e o f tim e ? so ci o lo gi ca l a n d hi st o ric al ch ar ac te r ec lip se d R EI FI CA TI O N NATURALISATION ? REIFICATION. Social historical state of affairs presented as natural. EXTERNALISATION ? Social historical phenomena portrayed as permanent and unchanging, ever?recurring customs, traditions, institutions. NOMINALISATION/PASSIVIZATION Focus on particular ?themes? (fronting) at the expense of others, delete actors and agency, processes as things or events, references to time and space (tenseless). Modes of operation of ideology based on Thompson, J.B. (1997: 60 to 67) Ideology and Modern Culture Culture: adapted from Janks, H. (1998) Reading Woman Power. In Pretexts: Studies in Writing and Culture. Vol. 7, no. 2, p. 208. 109 4.6.1 Legitimation This is a process by which relations of domination may be established through legitimation, that is by being presented as being legitimate, i.e. ?as just and worthy of support? (Thompson, 1990: 61). This is usually achieved by three discursive strategies; firstly, rationalization whereby an argument is motivated to justify something depending on a chain of reasoning such as appealing to legality of enacted rules (rational grounds), appealing to sanctity of enacted rules (traditional grounds) and the charismatic (appealing to the exceptional character of the individual person); secondly, universalization; this refers to a universal set of institutional arrangements which priviledge certain groups only and such groups are presented as serving the interests of all. Lastly, narrativization whereby stories are constructed as narratives to portray social relations and to unfold the consequences of actions in ways that serve to justify the exercise of power by those who possess it. According to Thompson, speeches are constructed as narratives which portray social relations and unfold the consequence of action in ways that may establish and sustain relations of power (p, 62). He also places jokes in this category arguing that through laughter we support the apparent order of things. 4.6.2 Dissimulation This is the process by which relations of domination are concealed or obscured. Euphemism is one of the most common ways this is done. Euphemism disguises unpleasant action, events or social relations and re-describes them positively, for example corruption is referred to as ?eating?. This, according to King?ei (2001), is the driving force of Kenyan political discourse. Thompson also identifies another strategy of dissimulation; that of trope; this includes the figurative use of language, the most common form being synecdote, metonymy and metaphor. Synecdote involves the semantic conflation of part and whole. Following Thompson, the term ?women?s movement? in the Kenyan context might dissimulate ?relations between collectivities? for example the feminist movement on the one hand and the women?s self-help movement on the other hand. Thompson (1990:63) defines metaphor as ?the application of a term or phrase to an object or action which is not literally applicable?. In his view metaphor may dissimulate social relations by representing them or the individuals and groups embedded in them as having characteristics they do not literally possess, thereby accentuating certain features at the expense of others, which may result in a positive or negative affirmation. In my case, description of women as the rock of communities accentuates their ability to sustain their communities 110 (positive representation) while negative talk about women dissimulates their collective actions and accentuates deficit discourse. 4.6.3 Unification/fragmentation Unification is often achieved through standardization and symbolization of unity (Thomson, 1990: 64-65). Standardization may be seen in the choice of a national language such as Kiswahili in Kenya. Fragmentation, on the other hand, involves separation of ?us? from ?them? for divide and rule. For example, politicians and women are separated into different groups. Opposition is established between the different groups. The construction of this binary opposition maintains and reproduces the power of the dominant group and portrays the ?other? group as systematically and politically disempowered. Fragmentation is inevitable because it enables politicians to maintain their position of dominance. According to Janks, (1998: 206) the ideological effects of unification function to construct a unity for all. For Thompson (1990), ?symbolization of unity? as seen in symbols like flags, and national anthems works by binding together individuals in a way which overrides differences, and divisions, the symbolisation of unity may in particular circumstances serve to establish and sustain relations of domination. Talking about these two strategies jointly as Janks (1998) does, highlights the opposition between ?collectives? as either unified or differentiated (divided). 4.6.4 Reification This is a process where states of affairs are presented as natural and outside of time (history), space and social processes. Reification works through externalization whereby social rituals, customs, traditions and institutions become fixed and immutable external to the socio-historical conditions of production. The agent for bringing about social change is omitted, for example through naturalization for example the socially instituted sexual division of labour between men and women (Thompson: 1990: 66) Hence reification is used to naturalize the current state of affairs and to maintain the status quo. Reification is often expressed by the common grammatical devices nominalization and passivization. These involve deletion of actors and agency and they tend to represent processes as things or events which take place in the absence of an ?unnamed subject?. These devices are discussed in more detail in the data analysis Chapters 5-7. 111 4.7 Ethical considerations Since the current research deals with human subjects, the researcher conformed to the code of ethics set by the Ethics Committee, University of the Witwatersrand. One of these is informed consent. The informants were informed that their responses are entirely for research purposes and that their participation was voluntary. I explained to them what the research was about and obtained permission from the relevant district authorities. I gave them forms to sign for written consent and assisted the illiterate participants to fill their informed consent forms after obtaining their oral consent. The participants were also assured of anonymity and confidentiality; however, this does not apply to politicians who are public figures. In the actual discussion and analysis, anonymity was assured as no names were mentioned either for the groups or individuals in excerpts in the thesis. The participants were also assured that they can get feedback on the findings of the research once it is completed. After the end of the research, I hope to engage the groups in feedback sessions in order disseminate and share the research findings with the participants11. 4.8 Summary This section has examined the methods used to collect data for the study. It also looks at transcription and translation as methods of pre-liminary data analysis and interpretation. It further explores the methods of data analysis and interpretation. First it summarises thematic content analysis as a basis for establishment of the themes for the study, and then moves on to provide a clear understanding of CDA as method of analysis and interpretation. This chapter makes it clear how the key theorists for the study are integrated into CDA to provide a sophisticated conceptual framework. 11 This is based on the concept of intersubjectivity in the research process Verma (2001). This will also give ownership of the research findings to the participants as part of the growing concern, especially in regard to women in the countries of the South that research findings ought to benefit them directly. 112 4.9 Profiles of politicians, other community leaders and the women?s groups This section provides the profiles for the politicians, other leaders and the women?s groups. The table that follows presents a profile of the politicians and other community leaders. Table 4.5: Profiles of politicians and other community leaders Leader Age Education Occupation Gender 1 57 Std 7 Farmer Female 2 51 Form 4 Politician Male 3 70 Std 4 Farming Female 4 70 Form 2 Farming Female 5 59 Form 2 Farming Female 6 41 Degree Civil servant Male 7 48 Std 7 Business Male 8 50 Form 4 Civil servant Male 9 55 Form 4 Civil servant Male 10 50 Form 4 Politician Female Source: author?s fieldwork Table 4.5 provides a summary of the profile of politicians and other community leaders who participated in the study. As in the case of the women participants in focus group discussions in Chapter 6, the profile is described in terms of the biographic details of age, educational level, occupation and gender (See Appendix iv on page 258 for details of biographic questionnaire and interview guide for the politicians and other community leaders). The sample comprised ten people in total, five males and five females. The oldest leader was 70 years of age while the youngest was 41 years of age. Unlike the women, who had members in their twenties, the leaders were all above forty. In terms of education, the politicians and community leaders are much more highly schooled that the women participants, a factor that might be attributed to the mandatory schooling requirements for particular leaders such as councilors. Membership to women?s groups is open, with no educational requirements. In general, the majority of the leaders have a secondary education. 4.9.1 Description of the women?s groups In order to ensure confidentiality, I use pseudonyms for the different groups. All groups have by-laws that govern their activities in relation to the responsibilities of members, objectives of 113 the group, and administrative procedures. Group leaders typically include a chairperson who is always referred to as a ?chairlady? (Coppock et al. 2006:10), a secretary, an assistant secretary and a treasurer. There is also an advisory committee consisting of older members in the group. Secretaries have the responsibility to take minutes but it was interesting to note that only two women?s groups had their secretaries take minutes during the focus group discussions. Groups meet once a week or twice a month. Most of the participants in the groups were very concerned about the ?political correctness? of what they had to say and I took time to explain that ?political correctness? was not the critical issue but whatever they had to say about their own issues, and this put them at ease. All women belonged to one women?s group, except for one woman who belonged to two different women?s groups in the study sample. The majority of the members reported hardly any inter-group activity confirming Mutugi (2006) whose study found out that women?s groups operated in secrecy and groups had little or no interaction with one another. The women?s groups have criteria for entry into a women?s group. The key factor is proximity resulting from being in the same locality. For example widowed women would have a common ground for the formation of a group and similarly this would apply to those infected by HIV. Proximity means that women in a particular women?s group will be found within the same locality, most probably the same village in the Kenyan context. Such proximity also facilitates meetings, saving time that enables the women still to attend to household chores. If members intend to form a group, they normally complete an application form from the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services (Department of Social Services for a particular District) and pay a registration fee of Ksh. 300 (R 30). This registration (already addressed in Chapter 2) is the government?s way of checking the number and growth of the women?s groups and is a possible way of keeping their activities under control. Upon registration, a group is issued with a certificate which certifies the name of a particular group, where the group will be operating from, the Location, Sub-Location, Division, date of registration and the registration number. The certificate is normally signed by the District Social Development Officer. The certificate is referred to as ?Certificate of Local Registration of Community Development Self-Help Groups/Projects?. I highlight the conditions spelt out in this certificate issued to a women?s group and discuss the implications of these conditions later; 1. The groups are encouraged to open a bank account. 114 2. The tenure of office of the Committee should not exceed 3 years. 3. The group should have a standing committee of not less than seven members. 4. In case of change of office bearers, this office and the bank should be informed. 5. Before the group starts a new project, it should complete the projects indicated in the application form. 6. The Group is expected to seek technical advice from government officers from time to time. 7. The groups should send progress monthly reports to the Social Development Assistant of the area in which it is located. 8. The Group will pay annual affiliation fee of Ksh. 100 (equivalent of R 10) to the District Social Development Committee These conditions are normally followed by a clause which reads: ?Failure to adhere to the above conditions may lead to cancellation of registration of your group with this Department?. This statement gives a kind of warning which has a sense of finality, to encourage members to adhere to these regulations. As seen in the conditions of the certificate of registration, most of the conditions are geared towards ?surveillance? of the group?s activities. Giddens (1993) defines ?surveillance? as the supervision of activities in organizations. He argues that in modern organizations, everyone, even in relatively high positions of authority, is subject to surveillance. For his part, the lowlier the person is, the more his /her behaviour tends to be closely scrutinized. In his view, surveillance takes two forms; the first is the direct supervision of subordinates by superiors. The second type of surveillance is more subtle, it consists in keeping files, records and case histories of individuals, this is the one that is more relevant to the current study. The importance of written records to regulate behaviour applies to the registration of women?s groups. Giddens cites Foucault?s (1977) emphasis on how visibility or lack of it in the structure of modern organizations influences and expresses patterns of authority. Similarly, this applies to women?s groups. Payment of the registration fee is a way for the government to collect funds. It might be interpreted as the women?s licence to ?meet?. The women were often very proud to say that they were registered and brought their certificates to show them off. They believe that registration gives them visibility and makes them possible candidates for funding. This is where 115 Foucault?s (1977) theory of govermentability is helpful in that registration in fact enables the government to manage the populations. Unaware of the technique, the people subject themselves to being counted and managed. 4.10 The Merry-Go-Round as a basis for the collective The Merry-Go-Round is a common form of social network through which women support one another in Kenya. It provides a framework in which women get self-help, similar to the notion of helpmakaar in the South African context. Although the most fundamental activity they engage in is to contribute money for one another, the Merry-Go-Round goes beyond financial support. The findings of this study largely confirm the important role of the MGR as a form of action among the women in women?s groups. The tables that follow are based on the annual reports (2005-2006) documenting the activities of one of the women?s groups as prepared by the group secretary, following condition 7 of the registration which states that the group should send monthly progress reports to the Social Development Assistant of the area in which it is located. The information contained in the tables helps to show that the MGR in practice goes beyond money. Table 4.6: Group Report 2006 Date Attendance (no) Hours worked Cash per hour (Ksh) Total value (Ksh) Cash in hand (Ksh) Activities 7-01-06 18 2 10.00 280.00 360.00 Digging of terraces 21-01-06 15 1 - - 7, 500.00 At a member?s home (Merry-Go- Round) 11-02-06 14 2 10.00 280.00 280.00 At a member?s home (preparing manure Holes) 25-02-06 18 1 - - 9, 000.00 At a member?s home (Merry-Go- Round) 18-03-06 18 1 - - 9, 000.00 At a member?s home (Merry-Go- Round); Table banking Although different activities emerge from Table 4.6, the key activity is contribution of money for one another through the rotating merit system. For example, on the 21st of January, 2006, 15 116 members of the group met at a member?s home where each member contributed 500 to make a total of Ksh. 7,500 (R 750). On the 25 February, 2006, 18 members each contributed Ksh. 500 to make a total of Ksh. 9000. This implies that the higher the attendance to meetings, the greater and more meaningful the contribution. The money collected is then given to the person at whose home the members converge. This contribution is already agreed upon, that is, whenever there is a Merry-Go-Round, each member will contribute Ksh. 500 (R 50), based on the laid down rules and regulations of the group. The amount is also determined by the economic status of the members. On days when the members engage in activities like preparing manure holes for their farms, each member contributes Ksh 10 for every hour worked. The total contribution is determined by the number of members in attendance on that particular day. For example there is a difference in the total value of their labour on the 7th of January (Ksh 280) and the 11th of February (Ksh. 360) because of the difference in attendance: 18 members attended on the former day while 14 members attended on the latter. These differences are also reflected in Table 4.7 of the following year. The important thing here is that attendance of the groups? activities is vital because it shows each member?s commitment to the achievement of the group?s objectives. Table 4.7: Group Report 2005 Date Attendance Hours worked Cash per hour (Ksh) Total value (Ksh) Cash in hand (Ksh) Activities Comments 6-1-05 12 2 10.00 300.00 360.00 Cultivation Attendance poor 20-1-05 14 1 500 7000.00 - At a member?s home, Merry- Go-Round Well paid 10-2-05 18 2 10.00 360.00 360.00 Cultivation 20-2-05 20 1 500.00 10,000.00 10,000.00 Merry-Go- Round Well done 10-3-05 12 2 10.00 240.00 240.00 At a member?s home carrying manure Half- way attended. 24-3-05 18 1 500.00 9, 00.00 - At a member?s home, Merry- Go-round Fairly attended 8-4-05 10 2 10.00 100.00 - Harvesting green peas Attendance not good 22-4-05 20 1 500.00 10,000.00 - Merry-Go- Round (group) Well attended 5-5-05 2 10.00 320.20 320.00 320.00 At a member?s shamba (farm) manure - preparing holes 117 19-5-05 18 1 500.00 9000.00 9000.00 At a member?s home- Merry- Go-Round Fairly attended 9-6-05 24 2 10.00 480.00 480.00 At a member?s home preparing manure holes Well attended As indicated in Tables 4.6 and 4.7 above, in order to form the collective, the women engage in various kinds of social action. The Merry-Go-Round is realized in a variety of activities such as preparation of the holes for manure and cultivation. In other words, it goes beyond money to meet individual and group needs. The ideas of Bourdieu (1990) can provide an interpretive lense for understanding the collective. Bourdieu views individuals as agents capable of constructing their own agency in everyday interaction which is what the women do in the MGR. They manage to contribute to transformation of their conditions of life by working collectively. Attendance at the meetings is critical to the sustainability of the groups, as seen in the comments made by the group?s secretary regarding overall performance of the group. It is important to note the differences in attendance at MGR meetings. The comment serves as a kind of evaluation for the group. For example, if the attendance is poor then it serves as a warning to urge members to attend the group?s meetings more regularly in order to boost their contributions. 4.11 Profile of the women?s groups In this part, I use tables to present the data collected from the different women?s groups. I also discuss the issues that emerge as critical in relation to the women?s biographical information in different women?s groups. 118 Table 4.8: The Dance Group (1) Members Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 50 Std 7 Business Single Member 2 60 4 Farmer Single Member 3 27 5 Housewife Married Member 4 30 7 Farmer Married Member 5 30 8 Casual labourer Married Member 6 50 3 Farmer Widowed Member 7 60 4 Farmer Married Treasurer 8 25 8 Tailor Married Member 9 60 None Farmer Widowed Member 10 34 5 Farmer Married Member 11 29 5 hairdresser Married Member 12 40 4 Farmer Married Chairlady 13 80 None Farmer Widowed committee member Briefly, in terms of age, Group 1 shows an interesting mix, with fairly young members as well as the oldest member in the entire women?s sample at eighty years old. This group stood out because of the members were very lively, being a dance group. Two of the members were illiterate while the majority had basic primary education which, in Kenya, runs from standard 1 to 8. The younger women appear to differ from the older members in having skills like hairdressing and tailoring while the older ones engage in the more conventional occupation, farming. Most of the members over 50 years are either widowed or single while those below thirty are mostly married. It is interesting to note that despite being illiterate (in the conventional sense of the word), a member does not cease to be useful to her group as seen in the case of an 80 year old who is actually a committee member in the group. In other words, lack of formal education does not render members dysfunctional. This trend is seen again in Group 2. Additionally, being advanced in age is seen as an asset since such members have a wealth of experience to provide mentorship to the rest of the members. The Kamba women are famed for their dance and are normally invited to entertain guests during state functions and even local functions. Because they are paid for these services, dancing has taken on an economic function in modern times. Traditional dancing was a pastime for people both men and women in the Kamba community. They often have a soloist known as ?ngi? who 119 composes songs for them particularly on issues that are relevant to the community?s needs. The key theme in their songs often addresses their perception of power. What is significant to this study is that women get a chance to mock those in power in the public arena, during these public performances, which momentarily reverses the direction of power relations. This is the only opportunity women get to question the existing power relations between them and their leaders. Table 4.9: The HIV Support Group (2) Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 32 Std 7 Farmer Married Chairperson 2 36 7 Farmer Widowed Member 3 28 2 Farmer Married Member 4 31 8 Business Single Member 5 42 4 Farmer Single Member 6 52 None Farmer Single Treasurer 7 35 Form 1 Security guard/receptionist Widowed Secretary 8 43 3 Unemployed Single Member 9 38 5 Unemployed Single Member The majority of the members in Group 2 are below 40 years and only two are married, with the rest being single or widowed. Being an HIV support group might explain why two members are unemployed as stigma is still very strong against HIV positive people in the Kamba community. In terms of education, only one member has gone beyond primary level of schooling while one has no formal education and four are housewives. As seen in Group 1 above, it is interesting to note that the treasurer has no formal education; yet the members choose to entrust the management of their finances to her. 120 Table 5.10: Kerosene Selling Group (3) Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 42 Form 4 Typist Married Secretary 2 50 std 7 Catechist Married Treasurer 3 44 Form 4 Teacher Married Member 4 52 Std 7 Farmer Married Member 5 43 Std 7 Housewife married Member 6 50 Form 4 Teacher Widowed Chairperson 7 48 Std 6 Farmer Married Vice- chairperson 8 48 Form 2 Housewife Married Member 9 59 Std 4 Catechist Married Vice- secretary 10 48 Form 2 Catechist Married Member 11 23 Form 4 Housewife Married Member 12 42 Std 6 Housewife Married Member Group 3 is a business group that is very homogeneous in terms of age with most of the members being between 43-48 years of age and with only one member being 23 years of age. Also, half of the members have secondary school education despite most of the women?s group members having extremely low literacy levels. In terms of occupation, three of the members are catechists. It was interesting to hear the women represent themselves as ?housewives? which is often not seen as an empowered label by even women themselves. This might be interpreted as a mark of transformation in family discourses that previously perceived housework as an ordinary job unworthy of mention. The majority of the members are married, probably a reflection of the Christian background of the members who, therefore, live up to Christian values of marriage. This group stood out from the rest of the groups as it is the only one who did everything else but not the Merry-Go-Round. As already noted, this might mean the members are financially secure. In my opinion, this group presents something useful for the other members to emulate. Even in their talk they presented themselves as ?agents?, not as ?victims? in need. Another reason why the other groups might want to emulate this group is that it sold kerosene over and above other activities. This group inhabits the more fertile hilly parts of the study area and distinctively showed themselves as agents capable of social change. This is relevant for the present study because it shows that locality is an important factor to consider in addressing women?s agency. Locality may therefore be seen as facilitating the possibilities of 121 collective action by women?s groups. Such enterpreneuring groups also are better at sustaining their communities. The connection between locality and agency is supported by Haugerud (1995) whose study in rural Embu indicated a connection between people?s agency and locality arguing that rural Embu has favourable climate and this affects the kinds of activities the people in such an area can practice. For example people in Embu engage in more agricultural activities compared to those in Makueni. Table 4.11: Unity Group (4) Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 50 Std 7 Farmer Married Member 2 56 Std 2 Housewife Widowed Committee member 3 54 7 Farmer Married Chairperson 4 50 Form 1 Farmer widowed Member 5 66 None Farmer Married Member 6 55 Std 4 Farmer Married Member 7 70 Std 2 Farmer Married Treasurer 8 55 None Farmer ?iweto? Vice chairperson 9 52 Form 4 Teacher Married Secretary 10 51 Std 7 Housewife Married Member 11 51 Std 3 Farmer married Member 12 63 Std 2 Farmer Married Committee member This group stood out due to its focus on unity and sense of ownership especially with regard to house construction, their main activity. All the members are above fifty. Most members have primary level education, with one member being an adult learner and with two being illiterate. Interestingly, one of the illiterate members is an ?iweto? (a woman married to a woman), In the Kamba community, a woman to woman marriage, mainly serves to cater for those women who are barren. Such a woman ?marries? another woman who is capable of getting children, and who gets children often with a man sanctioned by the community in the neighbourhood. This cultural practice is however rare as this member was the only ?iweto? in the entire sample of about 100 women. The fact that such a woman occupies the position of Vice Chairlady in the women?s group might be interpreted to mean that such a practice is highly respected in the community. Although within elite groups, illiterate women might be marginalised, this woman is recognised 122 for what she can do, not what she cannot do, and is in fact the Vice-Chair because of her leadership abilities. In other words, despite illiteracy, women still manage to exercise agency. Table 4.12: The Farming Group (5) Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 60 Std 7 Tailor Widowed Member 2 60 Std 8 Farmer Married Member 3 58 6 Farmer Married Treasurer 4 60 Form 4 Farmer Married Trustee 5 56 Std 8 Farmer Married Vice- chairperson 6 Doesn?t know None Farmer Married Member 7 28 Std 5 Hair dresser Married Member 8 58 Form 3 Farmer Separated Secretary This group is remarkable in the way they enthusiastically talked about farming, the most common activity. The members were particularly concerned about the prices crops in the market particularly in relation to the crops that they grow such as maize and beans. The majority of members in this group are above 55 years, with one member who did not know her age; this is not uncommon in Kenya. Most of the members are married, except for two who are widowed and one who is separated. Table 4.13: The Widows? Group (6) Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 49 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 2 56 Std 4 Farmer Widowed Member 3 60 None Farmer Widowed Member 4 40 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 5 26 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 6 39 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 7 58 Form 1 Nurse Widowed Committee member 8 70 Std 4 Farmer Widowed Chairlady 9 80 None Farmer Widowed Trustee 123 The members of Group 6 find a commonality of experience in being widowed. All are farmers, except one who is a nurse. Two members have no formal education, one of them being one of the oldest members in the sample at 80 years. The group members are very religious. Table 4.14: The Orphaned Children?s Group (7): Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 41 Std 7 Business Married Member 2 47 Form 4 Housewife Married Secretary 3 40 Form 2 Teacher Married Chairlady 4 28 Std 8 Hairdresser Married Member 5 54 Form 1 Business Married Member 6 59 Form 1 Business Married Treasurer 7 70 None Farmer Widowed Vice chairlady 8 47 Std 5 Farmer Married Member 9 61 None Farmer Married Member 10 30 Std 6 Business Widowed Member Group 7 is concerned with looking after orphans and is still in the process of registration. Most of the women are in small-scale businesses and are married. The group shows a mix of different ages, with at least four of the members having secondary education, four having primary schooling and two with no formal education whatsoever. The group shows a similar trend where people with no formal training hold leadership positions as seen in the Chairlady being the Vice Chairperson. Table 4.15 The Widows? Support Group (8) Age (years) Education Occupation Marital status Position in organization 1 60 None Farmer Widowed Member 2 49 None Farmer Widowed Member 3 51 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 4 54 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 5 31 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 6 39 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Secretary 7 58 Std 3 Farmer Widowed Chairlady 8 53 Std 2 Farmer Widowed committee member 9 48 Std 4 Farmer Widowed Treasurer 10 38 Std 7 Farmer Widowed Member 124 Group 8 is a widows? group, with all members being farmers and all essentially with primary school education except two who have no formal schooling. The sample shows the diversity of widowed women in terms of age ranging from those in their thirties to some in their sixties. The difference between this group with the previous Widow?s Group is that the members of this group stressed the love as show of support for the love they had for one another often using the biblical metaphor of ?cup being full?. The high number of widowed women generally observed in the focus groups raises an important concern regarding the life expectancy rates of men, not just in the Kamba community but generally in Kenya. Demographic surveys have established that women outlive men for several years. The findings of the current study might point to a need for a study on the quality of life for men to better understand and address this inherent gender inequality in terms of life expectancy rates. Table 4.16: The House Construction Group (9) Age (years) Education Marital status Occupation Position in organization 1 30 Form 4 Housewife Married Secretary 2 32 Form 2 Farmer Widowed committee member 3 34 Form 4 Housewife Married Vice-chair 4 40 Std 7 Housewife Married Treasurer 5 20 Std 6 Farmer Married Member 6 23 Std 7 Farmer Married Member 7 45 Form 4 Farmer Married Chairperson 8 61 None Farmer Single committee member 9 56 None Farmer Married Committee member 10 31 Diploma Farmer Single Vice- secretary Unlike all the other groups, Group 9 was the only group that was mainly represented by leaders. This may have prevented the voice of local members of the group from being heard, as the agenda of those at the top does not always neatly map on to that of those at the bottom. However, the group stood out in the way the members have managed to construct houses for one another. Traditionally in the Kamba community, women and men shared work in relation to house construction with the larger share of work being carried out by men. Women only 125 thatched the houses, however with socio-economic changes, women have increasingly single- handedly taken on house construction. Table 4.17: The Farming Group (10) Age (years) Education Marital status Occupation Position in organization 1 Kakti famine None Married Farmer Committee member 2 62 None Married Farmer Member 3 47 Std 4 Married Farmer Member 4 28 Std 8 Married Hairdresser Member 5 32 Std 8 Widowed Business Member 6 41 Std 7 Married Farmer Member 7 26 Form 4 married Farmer Member 8 41 None Married Farmer Chairlady 9 34 From2 Married Farmer Treasurer 10 26 Form 4 Married Farmer Vice- secretary In this group, most of the members are married, their main occupation being farming. The majority of the members have primary schooling, with the exception of three who have secondary schooling and one who has no formal education. The majority of participants in this focus group discussion were mainly local members (not in positions of leadership), which might be interpreted as an indication of how strong their membership is in terms of voicing the local women?s interests. Unlike the previous Farming group (5), which showed a keen interest in prices of the crops, this group appeared to engage in farming to meet everyday needs and not for business purposes. Table 4.18: The House Construction Group (11) Age (years) Education Marital status Occupation Position in organization 1 41 None Married farmer Chairlady 2 40 Std 7 Married farmer Vice- chairlady 3 47 Std 7 Single farmer Member 4 71 None Married farmer Member 5 48 Std 7 Single farmer Member 6 35 Form 3 Separated farmer Committee Member 7 34 Std 8 Married farmer To become a member 8 35 Std 8 Married farmer member 126 Group 11 members are in their thirties and their forties, except one member who is 71 years old. Most members have received primary education; one has no formal schooling while one has secondary education. The majority of the members are married. Two are single while one is separated and all are basically farmers. Given the centrality of formal schooling/education among the women?s needs mentioned in Chapter 7, I have given special focus on it in an attempt to make a link with literacy levels of the women participants. Education levels are a major way in which literacy levels are conceptualised in Kenya. In this way, I hope to assess how the women?s educational levels might impact on their participation in the political process. The table that follows provides a summary of the levels of schooling for all the participants. Table 4.19: Summary of educational levels for participants in women?s groups Group Primary level Secondary Education No formal Education Diploma level Total 1 11 - 2 - 13 2 7 1 1 - 9 3 6 6 - - 12 4 8 2 2 - 12 5 5 2 1 - 8 6 6 1 2 - 9 7 4 4 2 - 10 8 8 None 2 - 10 9 3 4 2 - 10 10 4 3 3 - 10 11 5 1 2 - 8 Totals 57 25 19 1 103 From the table above, the majority of the participants 56 out of 103 had primary level education while the participants with the secondary level schooling constitute 25 out of the total 103 for sample. Then, 19 of the women had no formal schooling whatsoever. The highest schooled participant had diploma qualification, constituting 1 out of the total 103 participants in the sample. These figures depict very low literacy levels among the women research participants, with hardly any of them having tertiary education except for one person. Such low literacy levels confirm Muthwii and Kioko?s (2004) observation that there is a link between low literacy 127 rates and high school drop-out rates, based on a Southern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) study in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Education and Technology, Kenya (2001). These low literacy levels indicate that illiteracy is still a big challenge especially among the older women. The Kenya National Literacy Survey Report (2007) shows that on average, 38.5% of the Kenyan adult population is illiterate. Interestingly, such low levels of literacy did not prevent them from exercising agency in their women?s groups as most of the women who were formally uneducated were in leadership positions and in one case one such woman was the treasurer. What is important for this research however is that such low levels of schooling presume low literacy levels and in this way contribute to women being seen as deficient even when they are agentive in other ways. 4.12 Summary The women?s groups are a crucial site for understanding the centrality of the collective which is at the heart of women?s ability to sustain their existence and that of their communities in Kenya. Although it is women are mainly in charge of domestic labour, they do not seem to recognize this because they do not seem to understand the importance of their achievement in sustaining their communities. Bourdieu?s (1990) notion of ?misrecognition? is useful because women misrecognize their power. This chapter served to demonstrate that women?s activities go beyond their role in the domestic sphere. The Merry-Go-Round is the basis of what defines a group, but the responsibilities of being a member of the MGR goes beyond this. The MGR helps to strengthen the understanding of the collective in women?s groups and in this way provides a lens for understanding how agency and sustainability depend on the collective. 128 CHAPTER FIVE REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN?S INTERESTS AND NEEDS IN POLITICAL SPEECHES Chapter outline: 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 Construction of women?s interests and needs in political speeches 5.2. Analysis of opposition rally 5.3 Style in the political speech 5.3.1 Metaphor 5.3.2 Idiomatic expressions 5.3.3 Use of chants and song 5.4 Analysis of pro-government rally 5.4.1 Metaphors in the political rally 5.4.2 Idiomatic expressions 5.5 Summary 5.1 Introduction In this chapter, I use Thompson?s modes of ideology to analyse two political rallies in order to understand how politicians and community leaders construct women?s interests and needs. Ideology helps us to explain the conditions of reception and interpretation. I mainly use thematic content analysis and textual analysis in this chapter. I argue that the politicians legitimate themselves while women?s interests and needs are dissimulated. The politicians are not focused on the needs of the community. The findings of the study indicate that the politicians on the one hand legitimate themselves; they represent themselves as all-knowing, they are the ones who know and have the answers for the women. They are also dismissive of people?s ability to think things out for themselves. As a result they represent women as powerless, illiterate and ignorant about their own interests. This denies women agency and yet recognition and voice are values that women need, to have the confidence to articulate and represent their concerns. All these leaders are drawing from the discourses about women that circulate in Kenya. Chapter 5 is therefore crucial to the thesis argument because it demonstrates the use of deficit discourses in the representation of women?s interests and needs. 129 5.1.1 Construction of women?s interests and needs in political speeches As already noted in the literature review (See Section 3.3), political speeches in Kenya tend to be held in the form of ?barazas?, which are seen as a revealing point of entry into Kenyan political culture. The baraza thus represents a forum where issues of political concern can be articulated and more importantly, where the abstract relations of power between politicians and people at the grassroots can be played out. 5.2 Analysis of an opposition rally This section applies Thompson?s (1990) modes of ideology (see section 4.6) in the analysis of the political speeches. In Text 5.1, the speaker starts off by asking the people to vote for someone who is not simply a neighbour, but one who will bring about development; Text 1.1: Kla tkwasya at, economy yt nyaanangiwe, tkakwata and masoovya, tond tnasevisye -----, onaku nokwata mbesa mno kawa knd. Tow?o? Crowd: Kwoou ndkanyuve mnd nkwtha n mti. Nyuva mnd aete mawalanio. What we are saying is that our economy has been messed up if we got people to improve it, the way we improved --- you can even get some money to buy something. Crowd: Yes So do not choose someone because they are your neighbour, choose someone to bring about development (Meeting 2, page 308). The speaker in the text above belongs to the NARC coalition and supports voting for NARC as opposed to the ruling party KANU. By urging the people to choose someone who will bring about development, the speaker is situating the upcoming party?s agenda as one that is ?development conscious?. Positioning his party as the preferred choice involves positive ?self representation? while at the same time positioning the other party KANU, i.e. as the ?negative other?. The speaker is aware of the women?s need for development, but unlike the women who describe development using words such as ?enlightenment? and ?upliftment?, in Chapter 7, the speaker does not provide any detail of what development might entail. The lack of such detail might be interpreted as characteristic of the many empty promises politicians make during campaigns. Although the speaker cites a ?messed up? economy, he does not explicitly say what the next government will do to improve the economy. 130 Text 5.2: Ndkakengwe n mnd. Wanengwe mbesa, ya! waetewe jogoo (brand for local maize flour)12, ya! Niweew?a su nsyo mbesa syenyu, n haki yaku ya mbesa isu. Ya jogoo mwait. Na etha ve mnd tanaanengwa, klyai and ma --- ala mananenganae, noketha matwaie msy kwoo, maklyei mnengwe n haki yenyu. Do not be cheated by anybody. If you are given money, eat it! If you are brought jogoo, eat it! Have you heard? That is your money. It is your right. Eat that jogoo, mother. And if there is someone who was not given ask the people of ---, those who were giving may be they took to their homes. Ask them so that you may be given because it is your right (Meeting 2, page 309). The speaker immediately shifts from development to talk about bribery which he dissimulates by use of the euphemistic language of ?eating?. He refers to bribery and even utters the word ?eat? with a much higher ?pitch? than the rest of the words. It is common practice for politicians in Kenya to give handouts (donations) such as packets of flour and other stuff such as building materials and to distribute them to voters during campaigns. Looking closely at the bolded expression in Text 5.2, the speaker ?commands? the voters to literally ?eat? any food they are given as bribes by politicians. He further informs them that it is their money (that is taxes) that has been used to buy the flour. Such ?handouts? often target women because being the basic care?givers for the family, makes them susceptible to handouts of food and an easy target for manipulation through bribery. It comes as no surprise when the speaker interestingly singles out ?mwait? ?mother? at the end of his utterance, constructing women as the only ones who receive donations during campaigns. The term ?mwait? is a term of respect in the Kamba language. The choice of the word ?mwait? may be interpreted as an attempt to appeal to the older constituency of women. The word ?eat? is repeated in order to emphasize the culture of corruption within which both the speaker and the hearer mutually operate and understand. Text 5.2 above may also be said to reify women?s state of ?ignorance? that is presented as natural and outside of history, space and social processes. Women?s position in the political process is presented as normal not as an effect of the political process itself. In other words, the text constructs women as poor. The agent for making the women poor is omitted. Hence reification is used to challenge the current state of affairs and to blame KANU for it. ?Eating? which involves ?taking bribes? in Kenyan political discourse since independence, particularly in the 40 years during which KANU ruled Kenya, has become a normal practice. 12 Jogoo is a Swahili term which means ?a cock?. Jogoo in this case refers to a brand of the local maize flour such as Ace in South Africa. However, as will be seen in other contexts in this chapter, it also refers to KANU?s party symbol, the cock. 131 Being a product of such a system, the speaker, therefore emphasizes the culture of politics in Kenya by telling the people to ?eat? what they are given. According to Berman (1999: 49), the constant analogies and metaphors in political discourse throughout Sub-Saharan Africa referring to politics as ?eating? or ?devouring?, the repeated references to getting one?s share of the state?s resources or ?slice of the national cake? express vividly the personal, materialistic, and opportunistic character of African politics and the relative unimportance, if not irrelevance, of ideology, principle or policy. As pointed out in the literature, it is the women who have had less education than the men especially in terms of civic education. Women?s lack of involvement in the professional and the political life in Kenya is perpetuated because few women are aware of their civic, social and economic rights (Khasiani, 2001). By addressing women exclusively in the text, the speaker?s choice of the term ?mwait? at the end of the utterance in a sense therefore dissimulates issues of gender inequality. Men are absent from the text and appear to have no part to play in receiving the hand-outs. The choice of women and the non-mention of men might also be interpreted as silence on the issue of men as recipients of bribery. Women?s illiteracy, which is the government?s responsibility, is omitted. As a result, one has to use the social context to elicit the opinion that it is women that the text aims to encourage to vote wisely; issues of gendered domination are hidden. Text 5.2 also illustrates use of the baraza for the purpose of ?educating? the electorate on how to make informed choices during elections. Within the political speech, the greeting serves certain functions such that, for example every time a new speaker gets to the podium, he/she has to use it to introduce himself/herself, and to create rapport with the audience. The adjacency pair is often repeated every time a new speaker is invited to address the crowd. The following is an extract from the political speech selected for analysis: Text 5.3: A: Eka nalke rafiki wakwa vaa oke amkethye naysyo kyo. B mbait mwaseo? Crowd:  twiaseo. B: Nyie kwa isyitwa nitawa ----- kwitu ni vaya-----. A: Let me invite my friend here to come and greet you and to say something. B: My people are you well? Crowd: Yes we are well. Speaker: My name is --- and and I come from --- (Meeting 2, page 309). 132 Text 5.3 shows that greeting functions as a form of salutation to the crowd. The greeting is followed by an introduction by the speaker. In this instance, the speaker invites his friend to ?greet? the people. In other words, a speaker in the context of the political speech has to be nominated. This might be interpreted as a way of maintaining order in a political rally. One?s name is ?given? along with information that tells people where one comes from, and is crucial to the reception the speaker receives. In addition to creating a sense of solidarity with the crowd, that is, telling them ?we are together?, it also creates a point of connection for the speaker, and thereby forming a ?common point of departure? with the crowd. It is from such a ?common point of departure? that the speaker is content enough to talk about his intentions to the crowd, as the texts below illustrate; Text 5.4: shindi wa NARC nwavtkie. Kwoou ksupport NARC nkwthwa tw kata serikali ula wi serikalini la w kite.Makanzeti nmatesawa ovaa nmnoonie opinion polls. Nmnoonie kana - --- ekya fifty something, ona Moi akoya kula isu ndavikya, nnd atiwa na matambia maasa vi. Kwoou nyie nvaa ndvoya kula tknie NARC ni. The NARC victory is long overdue. To support NARC is to support the government that is coming. Newspapers are sold here you saw the opinion polls. You saw that ---- is at fifty something even if Moi stole those votes he would not reach that target because he would be left very far behind. So I am here asking for votes. Let us vote for NARC (Meeting 2, page 309). Text 5.5: Vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. Ona ala me KANU, vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. ONA ala me KANUn vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. Elewai ou. Onola wi KANUn vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. Na nmoonie and onthe kla vand and mait meenda Change. Change kla kkwendeka ethwa --- ndaneenyuvwa MP wsa mnyuva president saa siana? There is no one who has not been troubled by KANU. Even those in KANU, there is no one who has not been troubled by KANU. Understand that. Even the one in KANU, there is no one who has no been troubled by KANU. And you have seen every one of our people everywhere wants change. Given the kind of change wanted, if someone was not elected as an MP, how can you choose such a person as a president? (Meeting 2, pages 2-3) Text 5.6: Kwoou serikali la wkite n serikali wa NARC, ---- nethi kwthwa mnd mnene. --- ataa KANUi mwait wvaa na nau? Wkata KANUn, kuma kya ndsoma --- e KANUn, wkata KANUn? So the government that is coming is the NARC government, --- is going to be a senior person there. --- used to stay in KANU, mother and father present here, what are you doing in KANU? (Meeting 2, page 310). 133 After a brief introduction, the speaker in Text 5.4 proceeds to articulate the purpose of his speech. He explains that to vote for NARC would in essence mean being in the next government. He legitimates voting for NARC using the example of opinion polls that were carried out before the elections and which showed that Mwai Kibaki, the NARC presidential candidate, was then at over 5 per cent above Moi, the incumbent president. It is this higher rating for Kibaki in the opinion polls that motivates him to point out that even if Moi stole the votes in order to win, he would not manage to catch up with Kibaki. In code switching from Kikamba to English, the talk of how newspapers show the ?opinion polls? might be have various interpretations; either the speaker wants to be seen as ?elite? by switching to ?the language of power?, (Haugerud, 1995) or it could be seen as a form of exclusion particularly for the women whose literacy levels are lower than those of the men. This might be an instance of what Ndung?o (2004) sees as civic education that excludes those who do not understand the language of political communication. Women?s ability to speak mainly in their mother tongue Kikamba excludes them because, according to Bourdieu (1991) all linguistic practices are measured against the legitimate practices i.e. the practices of those who are dominant (p, 53). Speakers lacking the legitimate competence are de facto excluded from the social domains in which this competence is required, or are condemned to silence. The leader in this speech excludes those who do not understand English. In Text 5.5, the speaker uses anti-KANU discourse to legitimate voting for NARC. He repeatedly says that every one, including those in KANU, had been troubled by KANU. The speaker then continues to use the discourse of change as the main legitimating argument whereby change for the better is implied, but not specified. The absence of detail renders the promise of change literally empty. The speaker achieves legitimation to vote for a new government through rationalizing that unless one has been a Member of Parliament (MP), he surely cannot make it as a President in Kenya. The speaker was alluding to the choice of Uhuru Kenyatta who in the 2002 was nominated by the ruling government for the presidency yet he had never previously served as a Member of Parliament. This choice was referred to as the ?Uhuru project? in Kenyan politics. In text 5.6, the speaker continues to argue that NARC is the coming government and that the parliamentary aspirant he was campaigning for would be a senior person in this new government. In Text 5.6, he argues that if a prominent member of the KANU government had left the political party why would anyone else remain in the party? The 134 speaker is very careful to use words of respect in the Kamba language; ?mwait? na ?nau? ?mother? and ?father? in order to endear the crowd to his ideas and particularly to urge them to leave the ruling party KANU and join the NARC coalition. He might have chosen to say ?women and men? but the choice of ?mothers? and ?fathers? positions him as one who holds his audience in high esteem in order to win votes from them. What is remarkable in the text is the silence on women?s interests and the legitimation of the speakers. Further on in the speech, the speaker continues the discourse of change, as seen in the text that follows; Text 5.7: Speaker: Mkamba akengiwe, kw? ksle vaa Emali nmwakyonie, kng?ithasya malaa Athiriver, nngkengana? Crowd: Aiee, now?o Speaker: Kw? kyumte Kilimanjaro kung?ithya malaa navaa now?o kw? kyaaie! Speaker: The Mkamba has been cheated about the water that passes here at Emali. You have seen it water the flowers in Athi river. Am I lying? Crowd: No, it is true Speaker: Water comes from Kilimanjaro to water flowers and the way there is shortage of water! (meeting 2, page 310). Text 5.8: Twenda serikali la nkwenda ktethya wananchi, matwke kw?.----niwaweta vaa asya vaingwa msyi te na kana kasomete lakini kaitwe wia. Mawia asu mate n kwtia Moi aetie and atndu nmo mekalaa kaliv nake. Vatingwa mkamba waanengwa kvla serikalini ateo Mulu Mutisya. We want a government that wants to help the citizens, put water for us. ----has mentioned here that there is no home without a child who has gone to school and lacked a job. Those jobs are lacking because Moi has brought foolish people: they are the ones who stay close to him. There is no Mkamba who was given a job in government except Mlu Mtisya (Meeting 2, page 311). In Text 5.7, the speaker uses the idea of water by-passing Emali (part of the research area) and being used at Athiriver (a place near Nairobi) to water flowers as part of the justification to urge the audience to vote for NARC. The text forms part of the identity politics focused on in the previous section, as seen in the speaker?s argument that the Kamba have been cheated This implies that the Kamba community has been sidelined as regards water, since the Kilimanjaro water project then was not serving the local people but benefiting other people far away in Athiriver. This text entrenches the discourse of ethnic identity and especially the idea that the KANU era served to alienate and ignore the Kamba community, prior to the 2002 elections. On 135 the basis of this, the people from the Kamba community became part of the opposition in the 2002 elections. There is hardly any mention of women as the key people affected by the provision of water. All the speeches are in Kikamba. In this way, local elections are different from national elections which are conducted in the national (Kiswahili) and official (English), languages of power, that exclude rural women who do not speak these languages. 5.3 Style in the political speech Several stylistic devices emerge as very popular in Kenyan political speech. These include figurative language (metaphors, similes, euphemism, irony, and sarcasm), idiomatic expressions, proverbs and the use of song. 5.3.1 Euphemism and Metaphor In order to make voter bribery not sound like a bad practice, the speaker uses euphemism for bribery and dissimulates the negative aspects of corruption. Instead of being described as a ?negative thing? the people are actually being encouraged to go ahead and ?eat? the jogoo whenever it is given. Appropriating ?eating? to refer to bribery and corruption, might be interpreted as showing the dynamic aspect of language where people coin new terms to explain complex social phenomena. This finding confirms King?ei?s (2001) study that Kenyan political speech and text is marked by use of euphemistic language and which is mainly designed to shroud and gloss over the issues while justifying the position of the speaker(s). In this case, Kenyans have coined the term to refer to corruption which for many years was seen as normal practice. However, with the formation of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission whose key objective is to achieve zero tolerance for corruption in Kenya, the social construction of corruption is slowly changing to that of an offence punishable by law. The metaphor of ?eating? is an extremely interesting and multi-faceted. It serves to illustrate the explanatory power of CDA and how it functions particularly to show how lexical choices are indicative of broader, complex social relations and discourses. In terms of Fairclough?s box, the textual therefore links to the other boxes i.e. the conditions of text production and reception as well as the wider Kenyan social context. In other words, the speaker is positioning the NARC coalition positively while at the same time positioning KANU negatively since the latter was alleged to be giving bribes during campaigns 136 in the 2002 elections. The speaker thus adopts a positive self-representation while positioning the ?other?, the one who is giving the bribe, as the ?negative other?. He even becomes sarcastic at the end of his speech and encourages people to accept bribes when given as seen in text 8 below; The speaker ironically seems to be praising the idea of giving ?handouts? to the voters but is actually condemning it. He intends to ?shame? those who give out ?food stuff? to lure voters. Again the speech hardly refers to women?s interests and needs but focuses instead of positioning NARC and KANU. Metaphor emerges as dominant stylistic device in this political speech. The use of the metaphor of ?eating? in Kenyan political discourse has already been analyzed in the previous section. In the speech, the speaker ?switches? to the term ?kind? an extended metaphor for bribery in Kenya; Text 5.9: Kwoou and oonthe menda tvndue twambe serikali nza na kla mnd akavaitka. Nyie tayunkite vaa, vai kndu nnengetwe n mnd, na ndkambtye knd nnd serikali n twenda vetanga. Twenda serikali la nkwenda ktethya wananchi, matwke kw?. So all people want us to change and start a new government and every one will benefit. Like now the way I have come here no one has given me anything because we want to get rid of this government. We want a government that wants to help the local people (Meeting 2: page311). In Text 5.9, the speaker claims his party wants a government that wishes to help its citizens, implying that by giving bribes the government does not help its people but instead confuses them and blinds them to problems such as the lack of water. Another popular metaphor that emerges from the speech is that of ?blood?. The speaker uses this metaphor to stand for commitment showed by previous KANU supporters to the single party system, especially in urging the people to leave KANU, to embrace commitment to the multiparty system, which the NARC coalition in the 2002 elections in Kenya, stood for. For example; Text 5.10: Yu wkata KANUn? e? Ala manataa KANUn damu nmaumie KANU. Kwoou we wkata KANU etha ene nmaumie? Those who used to be in KANU have left, what are you still doing? e? Those who used to be KANU blood have left what are you still doing in KANU? So what are you still doing in KANU when the owners have left? (Meeting 2, page 310). 137 The speaker talks about how those who used to be ?die-hard? supporters of KANU have abandoned it and challenges any one still in the party to leave. In terms of style, this text has a lot of rhetorical use of repetition for emphasis. Then he goes on to say: Text 5.11: Look, nkalaa vala ve mauw? mbwaa kasll. Nnziaisye neetha kasll kaa nnatiie vala ka nkatwwe ku nsembe nende vaa ve kasll kang, (laughter). Look I like to stay where there are wasps; I?m like a ?kasilili? (a bird that likes to stay where there are wasps). I looked and saw this bird has left its home, let me also run so that I go to this other bird? (Meeting 2: page 314) The speaker in text 5.11 talks about the way many people abandoned KANU and joined NARC, in the run-up to the 2002 elections. The text also implies that the speaker left KANU because it no longer had the desired party appeal, and therefore security for its members. He moves to another political party (the NARC coalition) which was perceived to be more secure. The speaker then goes on to support voting for a new government by drawing a contrast between the current government and the next government Text 5.12: Serikali la kte wthwa w serikali wa enenth ndwthwa serikali wa mkola. Serikalila kite wthwa wwa w?o nnd and ala mokte serikali wa NARC nmeyavite ya kana nmekwenda change. The next government will be one of the local people, it will not be a government of thugs. The next government will be one of truth, because the people coming in NARC have vowed that they want change (Meeting 2: page 315). In Text 5.12, by claiming that the next government will be ?one of truth not one of thugs?, the speaker implies that the previous one was dishonest, thus creating sufficient reason to encourage the audience to leave KANU ?because the people of NARC have vowed that they want change?. Also, in claiming that NARC will be a government of truth, the speaker draws attention to the contrast between NARC and KANU. In using the metaphor of thugs, the speaker suggests that KANU is either ?criminal? or ?a bully?. Metaphor emerges as the most common way through which the ?us? versus ?them? discourse is maintained. For example, a member of the NARC coalition sells the idea of people leaving KANU by using the metaphor of the ?cock?, KANU?s party symbol; Text 5.13: Na mbait wakengwa we, wathi kuna serikali wa KANU kula, nenda ktavya wtha wakna kla tesi nnd kula su yaku nykwaa. KANU n nzoloko, nnnaye viu  nyama nnatia tvnd. 138 And my people, if you are cheated, you go and vote for the government, I want to tell you that you will have voted for what you do not know because your vote will be lost. KANU is a cock; I ate the meat and left only the bones? (meeting 2: page 315). In Text 5.13, the speaker equates the KANU party to the ?cock?, whose flesh he claims to have ?eaten? and left only the bones. In other words, the speaker implies that KANU is no longer active but is dead, only the ?skeleton? is remains. Such an allegory, which is persuasive, is aimed at persuading the crowd to leave the KANU party for NARC because they would have no reason to remain in such a party. It may also be argued that women?s interests are dissimulated for example the idea that women hardly participate in party politics, while what is legitimated is NARC as the better party compared to KANU. In an attempt to sustain and capture the attention of the crowd, the speaker then punctuates his speech with calls for the NARC party symbol and its slogan of the ?rainbow?; Text 5.14: S: Rainbow! Crowd: Rainbow! Speaker: Rainbow! Crowd: Rainbow! (meeting 2: page 315). The term for ?a rainbow?, is ?tathi? in the Kamba language. Rainbow is a metaphor for strength for the NARC coalition and that is the reason the speaker keeps on repeating it. The repetition also serves to remind the crowd of NARC?s ideology which was based on change, that is change from a ?dead cock? to a party with life that comes with the ?rainbow?, often associated with rain. 5.3.2 Idiomatic expressions In order to justify voting for NARC, the speaker uses the discursive strategy of rationalization whereby he argues that the voters should vote for a particular candidate by appealing to the charisma of the individual person. He uses the Kamba idiom ?nmsomu mbiti kaakaa?. This is an example of what translation studies describe as ?resisting paraphrase? (Hatim and Mason, 1990; Snell-Hornby, 1988). However, the closest approximation in meaning is ?the candidate of choice is learned to the highest level? and hence the people should have good reasons to elect him. The expression also draws attention to one?s level of education as crucial to one?s chances of being elected as a representative of the people. Members contesting at different levels of elections, parliamentary, municipal and civil have different academic requirements. All the 139 elected members are supposed to meet these requirements. In summary, this speech is silent on women?s interests and needs, the speaker does not consider what might be important and therefore of value to the women. The leaders are silent on their beliefs as to what women need and government?s responsibility in addressing these needs. 5.3.3 Use of song This particular rally was continuously punctuated by the famous ?Yote Yanawezekana? ?Anything is possible? song, whose chorus goes like this; Text 5.15: Soloist: Yote yawezekana Crowd: Bila Moi, Soloist: Yote yawezekana Crowd: Bila Moi (Meeting 2, page 315) The words in Text 5.15 represent the refrain in a Swahili song whose words mean ?anything is possible without Moi?. Whenever and wherever this song was sung during the campaign prior to the 2002 elections, it reminded people of Moi?s twenty six year rule. The song drew attention to the length of time that Moi stayed in power and worked to raise awareness to the need for change in leadership. Findings of this study confirm the power of chants and song as strategic functions for resistance and opposition. Chilton and Schaffner (1996) confirm chants and songs as specific forms of discourse characteristic of the powerless embedded within the rally genre and which present a case of intertextuality. The use of chant and song is evident in all the political rallies where the speakers? speeches were intermittently interrupted by the chant of ?Rainbow, Rainbow?, NARC?s slogan, which as we shall see in the next section on the analysis of a pro-government rally was used against the NARC coalition. The use of song was particularly instrumental in NARC?s 2002 election victory. This is a situation comparable to that of the African National Congress party in South Africa, with regard to Jacob Zuma?s trademark song ?mshni wami? (my machine gun), in the 2009 elections. 5.4 Analysis of a pro-government rally This rally begins with the announcement of the arrival of the guest of honour as the ?one you have decided to give your vote to?. Because it is not possible to replicate the whole speech here, I summarize the main events in the plot of the speech as I go along. The speech begins with the 140 Master or Ceremony drawing attention to the presence of the politician who is campaigning to get to parliament. Straight away the speaker goes on to support the giving of votes to this aspiring MP, arguing that ?he is an able man?. Unlike the previous rally that was punctuated by the NARC symbol ?rainbow? this rally is punctuated by the use of the KANU symbol, ?jogoo?. He talks of the charisma of the man as ?an able man? as reason enough to woo voters to vote for him. Unlike in the previous rally where the mood was extremely lively, this one started on an almost apologetic note. Surprisingly, the speaker intimates that some of the people in the crowd have never set eyes on the candidate. It was on the eve of the elections and they had come to introduce the aspiring MP. The reason the speaker gives for this late introduction in the campaign process is that people should not fail to vote for him and say that ?they had never seen him?. It was common practice during elections prior to 2002 for some people not to campaign, and get to know the people early. Instead they would simply go and give them money and the people would vote for them. In other words, the candidate?s appearance on the day before the elections may have been seen as sufficient to make the people vote for him. The silence in this text is that some politicians often thought that appearing to the electorate just before the election and giving bribes would suffice to get them votes. In this rally, a woman is invited to speak. As an invited guest, she starts her speech in the unmarked way, with a greeting, as seen in the text that follows; Text 5.16: Speaker: 1 Eka mtumwe ni chairlady wa Divison  wa KANU nothwa mtaamwona  nwe Chairlady wa division nu yoonthe mbaka ---- na kwake n ----. K nkwo kwoo, Na  kveti ktembeu mno k, nnd already kendaa kkaiusyokea India. Speaker 2: Asante sana, asante sana, kanzala la wamina neena na ngasyokeaa. Na and ma-- -atumia ala mevo, aeni ma ndaia aa mwait, aa nau, mwaseo? Crowd:  twiaseo speaker: mwaseo yng? crowd: y twaseo? Speaker: na ve knd kmwe ngwenda kwamba mtavya ndanesa kka lika siasan. Ila kukwtwa kula na kukwthwa kndu kmwe kkwtwa ?mwenge?, mwenge onekaa nd, na atethasya kya? Speaker 1: Let the Chairlady of the division in charge of KANU, may be you have never seen her. This is the chairlady of the entire this division up to ---and the place is -----. This is her place and she is already a very widely traveled woman who goes even up to India. Speaker 2: Thank you very much, thank you very much. The councillor who has just finished speaking and the people of ----the men present here, guests, the mothers, the fathers are you well? Crowd: yes we are well. Speaker 2: Are you well once more? crowd: Yes we are well. 141 Speaker 2: And there is one thing that I want to tell you before I get to politics... there is one thing being called ?lightning? when is ?lightning seen and how does it help? (Meeting 3: page 317). In Text 5.16, introducing the woman as ?widely travelled? implies that a public figure has to be unique and different particularly if she is a woman. This might be interpreted to mean that unlike other women, this woman is therefore worth listening to when she stands on the podium. After the greeting in the text above, the speaker cautions the people that she would like to speak to them about something before she moves on to ?politics?. Haugerud (1995), in her analysis of the Kenyan baraza observes that such a caution is useful as it delimits what is argumentative and might bring about conflict as opposed to what might be seen as non controversial. This distinction is therefore very typical of Kenyan political speech where speakers often want to position themselves as non-political and therefore non-controversial. A few lines down the text, it becomes clear what she wants to caution the crowd about, ?one thing being called lightning? to which she poses the question, mwenge wonekaa nd na tethasya kya? (when does lightning appear and what purpose does it serve??. In this rhetorical question, the speaker wants to make the crowd aware of the danger signaled by ?lightning? (metaphor for NARC) to events that were happening along with the formation of NARC and to caution them to be careful with this new party. ?Mwenge? is the Kiswahili term for ?lightning? and the Kamba term for this is ?tisi?. In other words, reference to NARC as ?lightning? is negative ?othering? to portray the opposition in a negative way. She tries to convince the people of the negative effects of lightning. She positively positions herself by saying that she cannot manage the work of abusing people or throwing stones, and negatively positioning the members of the NARC coalition as the people who are going about doing these bad things. In this way she supports voting for KANU which apparently is doing ?good things?. All this is said in the speech after Text 5.16. The speaker then moves on to exclusively address the women; Text 5.17: kwoou ekai nmtavye ndeto il, maalika na maangi, iveti----sisyai mnenge ---- kul, wenmtonyana? Na ngi ya klika ktuoni, na nnd mwana waku nwa NARC, ayamba kkwa ete mwait ngwonie, nvng iveti nsyasomie. Lika ktuon na wasisya weetha nvuvunwa, yasya wenda ----kw masaa. Eka savu ya kwtwa nzama. Nzama tikwenda. Nzama tikwenda, yasya wenda ----. Let me tell you two words, women make sure you give your vote to ---, will you really manage each other? And the jokes of going into the voting area and because your child belongs to 142 NARC, he/she stars telling you let me show you mother, that is a lie women have become educated. Get into the voting area and when you see you are being confused, say you want ---- immediately (Meeting 3, page 317) In Text 5.17, the speaker explicitly addresses the women in the crowd from the ideological position that rural women in the Kamba community are not well exposed and informed about the electoral process. As a result, they may be easily confused and cheated with regard to their candidate of choice at the polling station. This is the reason the speaker cautions them to steer clear of being cheated and to vote for the person (name represented by the dash). The speaker, however, goes on to claim that women are now educated and know their rights which is a contradiction in itself because if they are educated, why does she appear to be enlightening them on what to do? In a sense, the leader constructs women as uneducated creating an ?us? (I am educated) versus ?them? (uneducated) distinction. This might be interpreted to mean that the speaker?s attempt at defending women?s ignorance as a show of ?togetherness?. It might also be interpreted as an expression of solidarity, a typical case of an elite woman co-opting rural women so as to further her agenda. Claiming women are educated on the one hand, and on the other hand giving them instruction on how to vote isolates them as ?ignorant?. Further on in the text, she cites another case of women?s perceived ignorance; Text 5.18: -- -aendie vaa kwa ---- athi akenga iveti sya ---- ksemba kineenene, iveti isu itindaa vaa ite lu vaa ----ka we ndamaa, mwtinda mivotow?a n ?aimwa ata wetha ntonya kenga kveti ndiwa? ---- and cheated the widowed women those women stay here ---waiting for food, he does not farm. Why do you keep on being cheated by ---- what does he tell you if he can even cheat widowed women? (Meeting 3, page 319). Again women are being seen as non-agentive because they are ?cheated?. The use of the passive constructs women as done-tos through the process of reification. The person the speaker is talking about is in NARC and supposedly cheated the widowed women to go and wait for food the whole day. He did not turn up and neither was any food delivered. The speaker mentions handouts but does not say more about it. This differs from the mention of handouts in the opposition rally where the speaker asked the crowd probing questions such as what three kilos of maize would do for them. Such a question might be said to provoke the audience to interrogate the idea of handouts as opposed to the cursory treatment that this speaker gives it. In addition, Text 5.18 is a clear indication of the use of deficit discourses to construct women?s 143 needs, in this case the need for food, by politicians and other community leaders. This language reflects and reproduces the exclusion of women in the political process because it is hard for women to believe that they have a contribution to make if they are interpellated by these discourses. This is particularly so when these deficit discourses come from fellow women. The women continue to be portrayed negatively yet in the analysis of profiles of women?s groups in Chapter five, the three widows? groups are agentive in the way they engage in self-help and support one another. Use of deficit discourses by women leaders might be explained by Bourdieu?s notion of ?symbolic power? where women might at times be seen as complicit in their own subjection. The speaker then asks the question, ?will you really manage?, which might be interpreted as doubt and concern for the performance of the uneducated women during the election process. She even likens her area to another constituency, telling the voters that if they vote for KANU the people of Makueni will be as happy as the people of this other place. Then she tells the story of how they went to the home of Presidential aspirant and it was all good stuff; Text 5.19: Speaker: nuka vaa kwa Uhuru. Uhuru ndetisya kvla thna nyie nnakwo naya mkate nnd nyie wa wakwa nokya, Crowd: (Laughter) Naya mkate mthenya, yanata? I will come here at Uhuru?s. Uhuru is not asking for the seat because of problems, I was there and ate bread because my work is entirely to eat Crowd: (laughter) I ate bread with Blue band (Meeting 3: page 319). She then tells them about the food they ate ?We ate bread with blue band (margarine), you know my work is to eat? after which the people laugh. In comparison to the previous speech, this speech appears focused on non-issues while the other speech was more concerned with the people?s needs like water and healthcare. In fact it is surprising that the crowd laughs at the speaker?s mention of literal eating, but do not laugh when the metaphorical meaning is alluded to, an indication that both the speaker and the hearer have a shared understanding of the serious issue of corruption that the metaphor of ?eating? refers to. Text 5.19 also represents the role of class in Kenya when the speaker says that Uhuru is not asking for a seat because of problems, the implication is that he is asking for the seat because he belongs to the ?royal? family 144 (Kenyatta family), being the son of the late Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya. Changing trends as seen in the election of President Obama in the United States of America and Jacob Zuma in South Africa challenge the nature of class politics by demonstrating that increasingly, people who do not necessarily belong to an elite class can be presidents. 5.4.1 Metaphors in the political rally There is as vivid a use of metaphors in the pro-government speech as was the case in the previous opposition speech. One of these was the metaphor of the ?old? tree and ?young? tree referring to the current President, Kibaki and the aspiring president Uhuru respectively. She says; Text 5.20: Speaker: Nota kt k k wendo nkkwka nd ng, kewa kt i kthunguue vaaya ul, nayu mwa Kibaki atongosye vayu? Kana mwasya ata? Mwasisya Uhuru mwona ata? Tomwthuksyaa maretio, tomkww?a nd nguruma vaa kmi na ii? Ttekwananga wa sisyai. Crowd: Uhuru! Uhuru! Speaker: ?If this tree were to get buds at the top where are you telling Kibaki to lead? or what do you say? When you look at Uhuru what do you say? You listen to the radio, don?t you hear the way he roars in the morning?? Crowd: Uhuru! Uhuru! (Meeting 3: page 320) To show their support, she completes her speech by citing the manner in which the aspiring MP arrived in style, ?you saw the way he arrived with escorts, in --- people wondered ?Has Moi come?? contrasting it with the way NARC, having no state resources like KANU, used a small pick?up. She ends her speech in the unmarked way; by thanking the people ?if you have listened to me, we are together, thank you?. After the woman?s speech, the master of ceremony advises the Guest of Honour to make sure he addresses the questions which she has addressed ?so what you plan to do for them please ensure you have done it?. Then he intervenes to point out on behalf of the people that; Text 5.21: Mainatavya mathna maing nasu ma sukulu na sivital, kwoou ka masavu neenin waku, tie wamatavya na nd tie wamatavya. The problems they have are only those that you have heard mentioned. They have not told you the most serious problems are that of a school and the hospital. So plan in your speech leave them assured. Now, I invite you to address the people (meeting 3: page 321). 145 It is particularly interesting to note the patronizing way in which the councillor says that the needs mentioned (a school and a hospital) are the ?only? ones that the people of this locality face. Hardly is a problem like water and other problems brought up. So unlike the women who cite several problems, the speaker chooses only two problems as worthy of attention. This might be interpreted to mean the politician?s construction of himself as the ?all- knowing? because he claims to know the needs of the people here as being a school and a hospital, yet in reality a variety of needs are mentioned in the women?s groups in Chapter 7. This ?know-it all attitude? was also very similar to the construction of women?s interests by women in the anti-government rally. Such a condescending attitude as the one adopted by the speaker in the text above might be interpreted as a mismatch between politicians? and women?s constructions of their own issues. Probably he had not even consulted the people on their most urgent needs. His speech therefore sets the stage for what issues the Guest of Honour (aspiring MP) would address. The Kamba idiom, ?ka masavu? literally means ?do your mathematics? represents advice to the Guest of Honour to be ?calculating? in his speech when he addresses the audience. The next speaker to address the gathering is the Guest of Honour (the aspiring KANU MP). He starts off with the usual unmarked way by greeting the crowd; Text 5.22: Speaker: Mbait ma ----, enenthi, aka na ame mwaseo? Crowd: I twaseo. Speaker: Mwaseo ng, Crowd: I twaseo. S: Onakwa n mseo. Kala kang, andu ma--- nngwtya pole mndekee nnd wakwtha tnaanwa.Iyoo nomwmbeteele twooka twaselewaa vika ta saa nyanya okla mnd mnd aumte ondni kwoou mbait nmklya mtekee, nnd yoo ntwkwatante nzan, nmwatekea? Crowd: ii Speaker: Nmtekea? Crowd: Speaker: Asante Speaker: Our people of --- citizens, women and men, are you well? Crowd: Yes we are well. Speaker: I am also well. The other thing people of---is I want to apologize. Please forgive me because we have been apart. Yesterday you were waiting for me and we got. I arrived at almost 2 o?clock (2.00am) everyone was coming from doing something useful. So my people I ask you to forgive us because yesterday we tried our best to come but we got held up on the way. Have forgiven us? Crowd: Yes. Speaker: Will you forgive us? Crowd: yes Speaker: Thank you (Meeting 3: pages 321-322). 146 After establishing rapport with the crowd he apologizes to the people for not having come the previous day even though the people had been waiting for him. He explains that everyone was doing something useful. He repeatedly asks them, ?Have you forgiven us?? to which the crowd unanimously respond ?yes?. Within the context of the baraza, the monologue nature of the rally does not allow for interaction and it is no wonder that the crowd admits they have forgiven him. In other words, the speaker?s question is rhetorical, to establish a common ground with the audience. It is, however, surprising that this was the first time the politician was visiting this area. In order to endear himself and assuage the anger that the people might have had towards him for not turning up the day before, he continuously uses the strategy of politeness, as found in the repeated use of the term ?mbait? ?our people? both as he greets the crowd and when he asks for forgiveness. The use of this term in the Kamba language invokes an image of integrity by the speaker, particularly important for identity of a politician, the kind that Maynard (1994) identified in an analysis of the political speeches of Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita in Japan. Thus, the aspiring MP above is aware that he has lost his integrity by not appearing the day before and, therefore, employs a strategy of humbling himself to save face and to convince the audience that he is sincere and honest and more importantly that he is in solidarity with the electorate. After the crowd accept that they have forgiven him, the politician then asks the people in earnest to vote for him, asserting, ?I am sure they will forgive me?, ?nns nmndekea?. He gives a rather lengthy account of why he should be voted for, punctuating his speech with the politeness marker ?mbait?. In the expression ?nasya tw ame thanthat ala tkwtya kula vaa Makueni?, ?I think we are six men who are asking for votes here in Makueni?, the speaker acknowledges that politics is actually a male domain. He punctuates his speech with rhetorical questions to affirm his stand with the crowd, praising the voters as good people and wondering if they are going to vote for him, as seen the Text that follows; Text 5.23: Speaker: Nakwa ninyie  vaa ngvoya kula. Bwana?la n Chairman wa KANU nwaneena vaa aasya nmneenanisye nake mkaeleanwa mkaasya nmknia---kula, isu n ndeto nzeo sya ?wo mbait n ndeto sya w?o? Crowd: N sya?wo! Speaker: Asante 147 Speaker: I am also here asking for votes. The KANU chairman has spoken here and said that you have dialogued. You have agreed and understood one another, that you are going to vote for ----, those are good words my people, words of truth, are they words of truth my people? Crowd: They are true! Speaker: Thank you (meeting 3: page 323). The politician?s search for assurance from the crowd that they will vote for him is important in the political speech but the truth of this assurance is not guaranteed. The reason for this observation is that in the 2002 elections, although the voters all the time assured the politician that they would vote for him, they hardly did so as the results of the ECK (2002) parliamentary election results showed an overwhelming win for the NARC candidate and an astounding defeat for the KANU candidate. This confirms Orwell?s (1995) finding that political language is dishonest in his famous article ?Politics and the English Language?. In other words, political discourse is a site where both the politician and the voter act it out and no one ever really knows who is telling the truth till the outcome of the elections is announced. For example in spite of the politician?s praises from the people in Text 5.23, they appear not to have voted for him. The ideological reason as to why the speaker chooses the word ?Chairman? to refer to the previous speaker, who is female, is an indicator of language that is not gender sensitive and that suggests that positions of power in political parties are presumed to be the reserve of men. He moves to defend KANU and, unlike in the previous rally where speakers argue against its re- election, the speaker here legitimates voting for KANU and defends the party against accusations that it is a dead party. Thus, in terms of metaphors, this speaker uses the metaphor of ?death? to depict that KANU is active and not inactive, as many had alleged in the run up to the 2002 elections in Makueni. Let us look at the text below; Text 5.24: And aing nmanaasyaa KANU ymakoosa, KANU y makoosa. Ang mayasya KANU nyakwie Makuen. Ind mbaitKANU ykwo nanmmionete na nn, vaa ve NARC ---yvaa. Nand nd and amwe mait mana kyaman kya KANU, matna aseo maneekaa mand mathku mate masevya mand mand tenyu k Kenya. Naithy enenth tyendeeya na kma nnd wa meka maand mate na wendi wakwka nesa.Aing mamo nmanasembie mathi kyaman kya NARC. Many people were saying that KANU is on the wrong; KANU is full of mistakes, and other say that KANU died in Makueni. But our people KANU is there and you have seen it. But our people KANU is there and you have seen it. Now NARC is here?is the one here. And some people who were in the KANU party were not good people. They used to do bad things which could not make things better in Kenya. And us the citizens go on suffering because of people 148 with actions stemming from bad intentions. Most of them ran away to join NARC (meeting 3: page 323). After drawing the people?s attention to the allegations made about KANU as ?wrong, bad and dead? the speaker moves to discredit NARC as not worthy of votes arguing that most of the people who supposedly made KANU bad had actually run away to form NARC. The text above, therefore, constructs an ?us? versus ?them? discourse with KANU being positively represented (with the generic pronoun they) while NARC is negatively represented (with the plural pronoun ?us?). To justify his words, he even tells the electorate that as common people they are actually suffering because of the actions of these people who have now formed NARC. It would appear the speaker?s speech is in opposition to the words of one of the speakers in the earlier NARC rally who described KANU as a ?cock? whom he had eaten and finished. As with the opposition speech, this speech also looks at how KANU and NARC are constructed in order to legitimate his own party paying no attention to women?s interests and community needs and what policies might be put in place to address them. Then he moves to tell them why they should not under any circumstances vote for NARC: Text 5.25: Kyama k kkwtwa NARC na ithy ame tttya kula na kyama ku.Na nkyama knaseviwe matuk matale. N kyama knekallwe nth n ame manasevya, manasevya mvango yoo ttams manandkana na ndi yu manooka maytya kula. Yu amwemekwasya nmesemba malike Statehouse Masindwa. Veang maneksye kanzala mavia ovaa oma NARC ona NARC su okutwa makwata kvla nmevuta Asili, nmevuta Chief, nimevuta DO, na DC, na PC na nd mavuta ame asu, mayittavya, makeekaa ata? And this party called NARC, and we men ask for votes with that party, and the party was formed a few days ago, it is a party that men sat down and formed. They made their plans which we do not know about, they agreed to some things and then came looking for votes. Some say they will rush to State House, others threw stones at the Councillor, here belonging to KANU, and NARC tells us that when they get leadership they will do away with Assistant Chiefs, Chiefs, DOs, DCs and even PCs, and when they sack those men, they will tell us what they will do then. When things get out of hand here in the homes, they are not telling us what they will be doing (Meeting 3: page 324). In citing men?s involvement at the party he hopes to convince the men in the crowd against NARC. In other words, he is pointing to the ?dogged? nature of men as actors in the political process, yet he is a man himself. He is, however, silent on the active role women played in the formation of the NARC coalition, notably the work of Charity Ngilu who was among the first five key members of the NARC coalition. Such silences on women are a core feature of Kenyan politics. In order to further convince the crowd, the speaker cites NARC?s symbol ?Rainbow? as 149 a symbol of fire, meaning that it would be a destructive party and therefore discourages voting for it. Text 5.26: Speaker: Na nd ame asu maisyoka matthwa na kyama kkwtwa NARC, kna alama ya nyiau, ya mwaki, mekumia musilii, chief, na mena alama ya kya? Mwaki. Kwoou tusyaanie na syind imwe iteelea mand amwe matetelea noketha mavangte tukwatia mwaki, notitha vatingwa vand tsemba tkeinia nnd chief ndevo, na musili ndevo.I wsemba va la kthuka? Na maisyoka mena alama ng ya rainbow, yo rainbow n nyam mia? Crowd: tathi S: Utathi, naw?o tathi wikaa ata? Crowd: Uvingaa mbua. S:  vingaa mbua, nayo mbua nyo tkwenda. Speaker: And again these men have a party called NARC which has the symbol of fire, they will get rid of the assistant chief, the chief and they have the symbol of what? Fire. Let us watch out for things we do not understand; may be they are planning to burn us, but there is nowhere we can run away to because the chief is not there, and the assistant chief is not there, where will you run away to when things go bad? And again they have the symbol of the rainbow, what animal is the rainbow? Crowd: Rainbow. Speaker: Rainbow and what does the rainbow do? Crowd: It thwarts rain. Speaker: Yes it thwarts the rain and it is the rain that we want (Meeting 3: page 324). The idea of getting rid of the provincial administration, under which the DCs, PCs and Chiefs fall, has been an issue in the Constitutional Review process for the last 6 years in Kenya and no agreement has been reached as yet. From Text 5.26, the speaker portrays his fears and apprehension regarding the possibility of NARC as the next government after 40 years under KANU, particularly the idea of getting rid of the DCs and PCs. In other words, he prefers the status quo when he poses the question, ?How will they survive without the provincial administration when NARC gets rid of it?? Unlike NARC for whom ?Rainbow? is a symbol of strength, the speaker uses the strategy of dissimulation such that rainbow now shifts from having positive attributes to a ?negative monster which will prevent rain? and which in the speaker?s view might have negative consequences for Kenya as a country. The use of metaphor in this rally confirms Zinken?s view already cited in the literature that the metaphors are often used by speakers in an attempt to get a grip of new events are motivated by their personal experience as members of a cultural group (2003: 508). The speaker thus uses the metaphor of the ?rainbow? in an attempt to contain his apprehension regarding a new NARC coalition and the consequences this might have for the Kenyan people and the country. 150 5.4.2 Idiomatic expressions Just as the opposition rally used idiomatic expression, so too does the pro-government rally. Let us look at a text where the speaker urges the people to keep their eyes open so that they are not cheated, doing so in a very interesting way as the text below shows; Text 5.27: Mand maing twale kwtha tw metho tkese kkengwa tkanw?e kwas na walku tyasya a KANU yilyi, KANU yilyi, KANU yilyata na KANU ttindaa nayo miaka mongo na nattaakita? KANU ttaa nayo miaka su na mand moonthe ma nth nu, kwaka masivital, kwaka sukulu, syana ki sukulu, kuvika (pause) valavala syit isevtwe, n serikali ya KANU na valavala nvikie Wote. On many things we should have our eyes open so that we are not cheated ?natkanw?e kwas na walku?. Saying that KANU is like this or that and yet we have lived with KANU for 40 years and we have never fought? We stay with KANU and all the things of this world like building hospitals, building schools, children going to school, till these roads are made by the KANU government and the road has reached Wote (Meeting 3: page 325). From Text 5.27, the use of the expression ?natkanw?e kwas na walku? literally means ?we might get a sweet potato in exchange for a crack,? meaning that if the people are not careful, they might be quick to vote in NARC (which is likened to a crack) which might even be worse off than KANU (a sweet potato) in the sense that it may have nothing to offer the people. The comparison of KANU to ?a sweet potato? creates an image of security because the sweet potato is a staple food among the Kamba as opposed to the comparison of NARC to ?a crack? which creates an image of ?division? ?fracture? and ?emptiness?, and which on the other hand represents insecurity to people who were used to a one party system for forty years. Use of the metaphor of ?crack? again might be said to reveal the speaker?s apprehension about the new NARC coalition. Overall, however, there is nothing mentioned about women?s interests and needs. The only time this speaker mentions some of the community needs women mentioned in Chapter 6 is when he says ?We stay with KANU and all the things of this world like building hospitals, building schools, children going to school...these roads are made by the KANU government and the road has reached Wote?. This reference is very generic with hardly any details. The only detail concerns the building of the road, which was a white lie at that time. An all-weather road to connect Emali town to Wote, the Makueni District head quarters, to-date remains a dream. In fact, to get to the venue of this particular rally for the researcher was 151 difficult, as the road was really bad in the rainy weather. Sensing that the crowd knows that this is a white lie, he pauses before saying that these roads were made by the KANU government. On the other hand, the opposition rallies castigate KANU?s forty-year rule as having been characterized by decay in infrastructure notably the roads, schools and hospitals. Essentially, this speaker?s speech is an antithesis of the opposition speaker?s. Roads continue to be bad as politicians in Makueni continue to use them as part of what the women considered as ?false promises? every election year (See section 7.3.8). As in the opposition rally, as the speaker draws to the end of his speech, he presents the line?up of candidates for the coming election and advises them to vote for them, giving them the following promise if they vote for the return of the KANU government; Text 5.28: Natithkma, ttate na vinya wit w?onthe tsevangie maisha menyu monthe, natisevangia synd ila ttmaa kwa maisha maitu masivital, masukulu, makanisa, na nd mabarabara mait tisevangya. Thank you. N mvea mno. We will try with all our energy to make your life better and to make the things that we use in our life better, like hospitals, schools, and churches, and then we make our roads better. Thank you.Thank you very much (meeting 3: page 326). Again, the text above simply mentions schools, hospitals and churches as projects which will make life better? without saying how. In other words, these issues represent the list that most politicians mention during campaigns. He further donates 20 bags of cement to build a hospital and a primary school. One wonders how far 20 bags of cement can assist in the construction of a school and a hospital, and more importantly, why make the donation during the campaign period? This finding regarding the donation of building materials in campaigns as a common practice in Kenya, receives support from Grignon (2001: 317), who maintains that in the semi- capitalist environment of rural Ukambani, the moral economy of political leadership is still often based on the provision of food, welfare, and good reputation. In Kenya, a good politician is often rated according to the amount of money he or she delivers during meetings and the number of jobs made accessible to the constituents. If these goods are not delivered, one?s chance of re-election is jeopardized. However with the NARC party there was no such donation, as part of their campaign strategy was based on changing such old practices that were entrenched in the KANU government. Increasingly, the Kenyan political landscape is slowly changing to indicate a scenario where the voter is more informed probably explaining why in the opposition rally the speakers urged voters to simply ?eat? what they are given but to vote for NARC. In other words, bribing constituents does not necessarily guarantee their support. 152 Finally, the Master of Ceremonies advises the people to ?respect? KANU for the forty-year rule, and warns them against those politicking and running about shouting ?rainbow, rainbow?, characterizing it as empty talk. He even warns the crowd that if they vote for NARC Kenya might be like Somalia. Ironically, despite the positive self representation of KANU and the negative othering for the new coalition NARC, the latter subsequently won the 2002 election. 5.5 Summary In summary, the texts in this political speech augment an ?us? versus ?them? discourse, the texts separate politicians and women into different groups through the process of fragmentation. Opposition is thus established between the politicians ?us? and women ?them? to produce the following dichotomy; Representations of politicians versus women: Politicians women voters Knowledgeable (intelligent) unknowledgeable (unintelligent) in charge of civic education in need of civic education rich ? contented poor ? in need the power to transform need to be transformed. The construction of this binary opposition maintains and reproduces the power of the politicians who belong to the dominant group. Going by Thompson?s (1997) description of ideology, fragmentation enables the politicians to maintain their position of dominance. In the current study, this applies to the councillors as the privileged elite who are used as the disseminators of the party?s propaganda since they are in control and therefore supreme at the civic level. This finding also gains support from studies on political discourse (Haugerud, 1995) and more generally on power (Kitetu, 1988), where the exercise of power basically involves focusing on kinds of interaction in which participants are positioned asymmetrically. One party has the responsibility for the conduct of talk while the other has less control over it, as in the case of the politician and the voter. Thompson?s model provides us with a useful tool for the discursive construction of women and their issues in political speeches in the 2002 elections in Kenya. Thompson?s modes of ideology; legitimation, dissimulation, universalization, fragmentation and reification provide a mirror through which to analyze politicians and other leaders? representation of women?s interests and needs. The surprising thing, however, is that, there is 153 hardly any mention of women?s interests such as increasing the number of women politicians. The speakers talk mainly about negative comments about the opposition and pay little attention to their own policies or the needs of the people. There are hardly any promises and the ones that are there lack any detail. The next chapter also focuses on representations by politicians but here the context of production is different. In this chapter the data was drawn from political speeches, in the next chapter the data is drawn from interviews. Some of the interview questions invite politicians to talk about women?s interests and needs which forces politicians to apply their minds to the issues absent from their political speeches. In addition, Chapter 6 focuses on the ways in which community leaders see these issues. 154 CHAPTER SIX REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN?S INTERESTS AND NEEDS BY POLITICIANS AND OTHER COMMUNITY LEADERS Chapter outline: 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Construction of women?s interests and needs by politicians and other community leaders 6.2.1 Formal education 6.2.2 Water 6.2.3 Support 6.2.4 The burden of household chores 6.2.5 Leadership 6.2.6 Unity 6.2.7 False Promises and the role of NGOs 6.2.8 Patriarchy 6.2.9 Healthcare 6.2.10 Land 6.2.11 Human rights 6.2.12 Youth 6.2.13 Food 6.3 Silences 6.4 Frequency count of pronoun and modality choices 6.4.1 Pronouns 6.4.2 Modality 6.5 Who should address the needs mentioned in 6.2? 6.6 Politicians and other community leaders? dreams and fears on women?s needs 6.7 Summary 6.1 Introduction In this chapter, I use CDA analytic tools to analyse ten interviews in order to understand how politicians and community leaders construct women and their issues. These two groups are discussed together because while Chapter 7 focuses on how women talk about themselves and their issues, this chapter focuses on how these two groups talk about women?s interests and needs. This chapter therefore addresses the question: how do politicians and other community leaders represent women?s interests and needs? The main finding in political speeches is that politicians and other community leaders have little to say about what they perceive to be women?s needs and the role of government in addressing these needs. In effect, women continue to be seen as non-agentive because as will be argued in Chapter 7, such omissions fail to acknowledge the power of the collective. The politicians and other community leaders 155 represent women as having a diminished sense of agency in their construction of women as uneducated, ignorant and in need, perpetuating the use of deficit discourses to describe them. The way politicians represent women?s interests and needs might provide insights towards understanding the participation or non-participation of women in politics. 6.2 Construction of women?s interests and needs by politicians and other community leaders in interviews This section analyses politicians? construction of women?s interests and needs in interviews. Table 6.1 below summarizes women?s needs as expressed by politicians and other community leaders in interviews. The leaders mentioned a variety of needs notably poverty, money, education, leadership, water, the burden of household chores, prostitution, unemployment and domestic violence. Table 6.1 also shows these needs together with their frequency of occurrence in the interviews. Table 6.1: Women?s needs as identified by politicians and other community leaders L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L 7 L8 L9 L10 Total 1. Money 7 51 2 - 12 6 18 18 16 1 231 2. Poverty 5 68 10 14 5 19 14 46 33 1 215 3. Education 3 26 15 9 12 12 4 5 8 5 99 4. leadership 2 12 10 16 4 9 18 2 14 4 90 5. Water 13 5 1 1 9 - 10 - 13 2 54 6. Support 2 3 9 3 4 7 5 1 10 8 52 7. Healthcare - 12 1 - 9 12 - 1 3 - 38 8. Youth - 6 6 2 - 9 12 - - - 34 9. Food 3 3 4 - 6 3 1 2 1 - 24 10. Property Rights - 3 3 2 10 - 3 2 - - 21 11. Burden of household chores - 6 - 3 3 3 - 3 - - 18 12. Land 3 1 3 2 3 1 - - - - 13 13. Drug abuse - - - - - - - - 2 2 4 14. Electricity - - - 4 - - - - - - 4 15. False promises - - 1 1 1 1 - - - - 4 16. Unemployment 1 1 1 - - - - - - - 3 17. Shelter - - 3 - - - - - - - 3 18. Corruption 1 1 - - - - - - - - 2 N ee ds by Fr eq u en cy o f o cc u rr en ce 19. Domestic violence - 1 - - - - - - - - 1 Source: author?s fieldwork on interview transcripts 156 Analysis of Table 6.1: Poverty, money, education, leadership and water emerge as the most frequently mentioned needs among the politicians and leaders. Four out of ten leaders mention poverty as the most commonly occurring need, two leaders mention money, two mention education, two mention healthcare, and one mentions water. Four leaders mention poverty as the second most frequently occurring need, three mention education, two mention water, one mentions healthcare, and one mentions leadership. Though this kind of presentation is in terms of how frequently a particular need is mentioned is useful in giving an account of women?s needs which are also community needs, it conceals important information in the politicians? and other leaders? construction of women?s needs. For example, over-mention of an issue by a particular leader produces an inflated total count as in the case of poverty by leader 2. Such a total count does not show the relative importance of a particular need to each leader. Ranking the needs in terms of frequency of occurrence however makes it clear what the leaders consider as most important and least important for the women. Hierarchical ranking, also serves as a basis for comparison of the different needs. Further, this comparison provides a basis for finding out whether there is a match or mismatch between the women?s and the politicians? constructions of women?s interests and needs. In the next section, the texts that I include for discussion are selected on the basis of their relevance to the discussion. Other similar texts will be found in the appendices. 6.2.1 Formal Education Formal education is mentioned by all the leaders, pointing to the importance the community leaders attach to this need. In the Kamba community, this significance is seen in the popular saying that ?moi la mnene n msomi? (the greatest witchdoctor is an educated person). A witchdoctor is perceived to possess some kind of ?super power? and by implication; education is seen as a means to empowering communities by enhancing the value and quality of their life. This is often used by politicians to campaign against their opponents13. Politicians and other leaders see education as one of the most important needs for women. However, unlike the leaders, especially the women community leaders, who view education in terms of sustainable development as benefiting their children, the politicians view it especially in the form of political education at barazas (political rallies) and as partisan as seen in texts that follow; 13 I came across the use of this expression during a community function in Mbitini Division where a politician was campaigning in the run-up to the 2007 election. 157 Text 6.1: I was addressing a baraza, and one of the people referred to CDF as msaada [donation] so I had to take a lot of time to tell them that really CDF is your right?if you are going for a loan you have to negotiate on an equal footing (leader 5: page 5, lines 27-33). Text 6.2: Resp: nnd vatingwa serikali kokla nth no t, vatingwa nth kokla, vat msy kokla vate ksomo. Nyie nwish kla mnd mka ekiite bidii ona wetha ataasoma, takwa tond ndaasoma ksomo kk tusomethye syana wethwa nsyavta. Because there is no government that can come up in our country, no country can come up, no home can come up without education. I wish every woman would put in a lot of effort even if they have no formal education, like I do not have much education, we educate the children especially if they pass well, I try as much as possible (leader 8, page 4, lines 4-10). Text 6.3: Resp: Ithy tketha ttonya kwona and matonya tetee mand kwa mfano ta ksomo, ksomethya makatetee mand ketha nmeka kyaa kyoo yu ndonya kwakya ou, nmeka kyaa kyoo. Us, if we could see people who could bring things like education, to educate, to bring us things so that they put their own finger in it (leader 9, page 4, lines 10-15). The leader in Text 6.1 cites a case where a person in a baraza meeting referred to the Constituency Development Fund as a ?donation?. He takes the opportunity at the baraza to explain that CDF constitutes the constituents? taxes and is, therefore, their right to benefit from it. The politicians believe civic education ought to be in the context of the baraza. Unlike the politicians who advocate the use of barazas to provide education to the grassroots, women however appear to prefer polytechnics. The power disparity in barazas between the leaders and the led is great. In barazas, only leaders address the people, with no space for negotiation between the speaker and the audience. The leaders? position (both physically as in standing on the podium, and ideologically) in the baraza might be explained by Thompson?s notion of ?fragmentation?. Following Thompson (1990), Janks (1998) defines fragmentation as a process that seeks to split people from one another for ideological purposes. Through the process of fragmentation, women and politicians are separated through an ?us? versus ?them? distinction. This enables politicians to maintain their position of dominance and the subsequent asymmetrical power relations, achieving divide and rule, and in this way women are systematically disempowered politically. In Text 6.2, one of the women community leaders points out the predominance of education in the institutions of government, the nation and the family. In hoping that every woman can work hard, she constructs women?s action in the possible mode because as will be seen in Chapter 7, women ?do? work hard. She is also constructing herself as aware that although some women 158 have no formal education, they are agentive in their communities. This action is expressed both collectively and individually as seen in her combination of both ?we? and ?I?. In Text 6.3, the leader constructs women in deficit discourses which are reproduced in focus group discussions in Chapter 7. In other words, despite women being agentive with regard to education as seen in Text 6.2, the speaker constructs them as in need a of a leader to give them education. More examples (Texts 6.4-6.6) on education can be found Appendix xi (a). 6.2.2 Water Water is mentioned by eight leaders out of the total ten. The term for water in the Kamba language is ?kiw?u?. Politicians and other community leaders in the current research largely depict women as powerless and voiceless with regard to water despite the work they do in reality towards the provision of water, both for themselves and their communities. Let us look at the texts that follow; Text 6.7: Resp: Y mavata ala methaa mathimte aka muno muno k kat ka division yait kuu Mbitini Inter: eh Resp: N aka aing nmakothaa thnua mno n kw? Inter: eh Resp: Kyaktmi nymba na kla kw kva nga na kuwi?a syana. Resp: Yes the most common need for women here in our Division, Mbitini, is Inter: Eh Resp: Many women are troubled by water problems. Inter: Eh Resp: For use in the house and for washing clothes and cooking for the children (leader 7: page 1, lines 6-14). Text 6.8: Inter: Taketha ntkwatana ng na nkwona ta borehole, kyokie msy, kw? kiu kyokie nnd wa kwyumia kwit na kthkma kwit. And again if we could unite, like you see the borehole in our home, that water came because of our sacrifice and our work (leader 10, page 5, lines 17- 20). Text 6.9: Resp: Na serikal yamina tnenge mbesa manya ndtnenge mavia kiw' na ndthi mbania kthangath I mm Resp: Nithy twaile thi vu ithyonthe, na and ala me vinya n ma mika. And when the government finishes giving us money, it will not give us stones, water and sand M We are the ones that are supposed to all go there and the strong people are the youth (leader 7, page 5, lines 6-11). 159 In Text 6.7, the leader constructs water within a traditional discourse as entirely a woman?s issue. His construction confirms research by Khasiani (2000) who established that water is a major problem in Makueni District. The speaker does not talk at all about any efforts by the government to provide water for the community. Instead, he talks about it casually yet as seen in the generalising off in one mention, provision of water is part of the promises that most politicians use to campaign in Makueni, telling the people that if they vote for them, they will have water in their homes. The text shows a general lack of concern for the needs of the community from the leaders. In Texts 6.8 and 6.9, both leaders underscore the role of sacrifice and work that must accompany any effort at improved access to water in the community. The leader in Text 6.8 explains that the borehole in her home is the result of the collective effort of the family. In Text 9, the speaker implies that after the government gives project money, the community especially the youth, who he perceives as stronger than other community members, should be available to provide the labour. See texts 6.10-6.11 in Appendix x (b) where specifically in Text 6.10, the speakers make demands about reduction of the price of water to an affordable price for the community members, as will be seen in section 7.3.7, where women also make similar demands. Text 6.11 highlights an interesting trend that I noticed across the data set; the tendency to believe that visitors will act as change agents and bring change to existing community problems. This expectation of a solution to the community?s needs underlies why the speaker tells the researcher to ensure she ?comes back?. What is surprising in the leaders? talk about water is their lack of focus on the management of water resources specifically in Mbitini and more generally in Makueni as an ASAL area. Despite the prevailing discourse of water resource management as an aspect of environmental conservation both locally and internationally, the leaders depict a lack of awareness which is reproduced by the women as will be seen in the women?s talk about water Section 7.3.7. 6.2.3 Support Support is mentioned by all the ten leaders. Politicians and other community leaders construct support for women?s groups in terms of support from donors and NGOs. An interesting development, however, is the way in which the leaders see support in the form of ?relief food? as entrenching a culture of dependency and as a shameful practice, yet in political speeches relief food was talked of as ?bribes?. Let us look at Text 12; 160 Text 6.12 The best thing is to stop the exercise of relief food. Mnenge two kilos na wetha nkwona nde knd eya Inter: m Resp: eka akwe, let him go and work, Na ndona matenda kwthukuma, you see la wathukuma, la wathi mndan kwaku, wavanda mbemba na mbua tua yla wasua mbemba isu iya wthawa w so proud, na vai mnd ekwenda kwia?lakini ila wathi kwosa mwolyo, kathi kwtha inyaaku ayoso mwolo e, wth.a ve abusive words, mockery The best thing is to stop relief food. Give him two kilos and if you see that he/she has nothing to eat, let him die, let him go and work. And I see women want to want to work for themselves. You see when you go to your farm and plant maize with the rain, when you harvest that maize and are eating it you are so proud. And there is nobody who wants to tell you?but when you go to get relief food. You go find your mother there also getting relief food. You find there is abusive words and mockery (leader 1, page 6, lines 1-7). For the leader in the Text 6.12, saying ?the best thing is to stop the exercise of relief food?, implies he views relief food as dependency that takes away respect and a sense of pride in one?s labour, replacing these attributes with shame for the recipient. This totally contrasts women?s positive talk about handouts in Chapter 7. There emerges a mismatch in the way the leader constructs support, in the form of relief food negatively, and the use of food as election bribes. The reason why women construct themselves in terms of dependency perhaps confirms the generally held view that poverty is an intrinsic characteristic of the rural woman?s condition. This disjuncture confirms findings by Kisese (2000) whose study showed that there are factors and processes which affect women exclusively, aggravating their poverty. These include various social, cultural, and economic factors which affect their reproductive and productive roles. In other words, the politicians and community leaders draw on the prevailing deficit discourses in their community and reproduce them. For instance the women are often constructed as being poor and in need, and in need of relief food. Let us look at more constructions of support; Text 6.13; Kwoou isam ii sya happenie nkwtha our government is not focused on the common woman, that Wanjiku, Wanjiku anawachwa tu. Anazurura kwa soko, anafanya nini anatafuta takataka anakula, yetu, na si makosa ya Wanjiku, ni makosa ya system. These things are happening because our government is not focused on the common woman Wanjiku. Wanjiku is just being ignored.She is loitering in the market. She is looking for left overs to eat, ours, and it not the fault of Wanjiku but the fault of the system (Leader 1: page 18, 16-21) 161 In Text 6.13 this leader acknowledges government?s failure to support ?Wanjiku? a term for the common woman despite being in government himself. His talk about women as ?loitering in the street? might devalues women?s work, confirming King?e?s (2001) finding regarding dishonesty in politicians? utterances that may not reflect the reality on the ground. This might also imply that this particular leader constructs women as ?mad?, as often, it is people who are ?mad? that roam the streets, part of the deficit constructions that prevail in the Kenyan society about women. It is true the women in the nearby town of Emali are busy the whole day in an attempt to sell their farm produce; bananas, onions, oranges etc to travellers. It would not be far-fetched to say that this leader devalues the work women do to meet practical needs, work which in turn ensures sustainability of the community. My experience is that it is the men who loiter aimlessly as confirmed by Ndung?o (2004). Mukabi-Kabira?s (2003) attributes the loitering of men in local towns and market centers to alienation resulting from socialization in the context of changing gender relations. (See Appendix x (c) for Texts 6.14-6.16 for more constructions of support by the leaders). 6.2.4 The burden of household chores Five of the ten leaders mention household chores as a basic concern for women. In general, politicians and community leaders construct women?s condition as one of possibility in their use of modality. The leaders agree to a large extent that women have been overburdened by household duties, a finding supported strongly in the literature and as seen in Appendix x (d) where one can find Texts 6.17-6.21 for some of the responses from the leaders. Let us look at text 6.17 closely; Text: 6.17 Kla kmavinye muno, mm generally and aka mavinyawa n syndu sya msy. Mnd mka nkaa kethia ona ntonya thkma noythia ndenawa mseo wa kthkma. What is pressing them much is generally things to do with the home household chores, it is as if a woman might do work (household chore but may not have a good job) (leader 2, page 1, lines 20-26). The leaders appear to be in agreement with the women (see section 7.3.9) that women have truly been overburdened by household chores. In the use of the modal ?kethia?, the leader in Text 6.17 modalises women?s condition and yet in reality, women are the ones who take the larger proportion of household chores. The leader in the first part of the utterance acknowledges 162 women as being overburdened by household chores but does not do so in a categorical manner in the second part of the same utterance where he goes on to say that, ?it is as if a woman might do household work?. Women are constructed within a patriarchal traditional discourse of women?s responsibility. This traditional discourse is, however, not valued as seen in the way the leader says she may not have a good job, implying that household chores are not considered as a ?valuable job?. As will be seen in chapter 7, the difference between this leader?s construction of household chores and the rural women in women?s groups is that, being more educated than these women, she uses a discourse of rights amenable to discourses produced by elite women. In other words, there is a clash of discourses to produce what sounds like the women?s movement discourse. Household chores are naturalized in traditional discourse and related to women?s sense of achievement for the sustainability of their communities. Text 6.18: Resp: Men look at it as if it is a very dirty thing, so most of the women are now taking up that responsibility (leader 5, page 2, lines 21-23). Text 6.19: Resp: Mavata ala makonetye aka mno mno n mavata ma msy Inter :mm Resp: Yu ta mnd mka mno mno nwthawa akwetwe n mavata ma musy Inter:Uh Resp: Na nthn wa mavata asu ma msyi nwkaa nwkaa ketha mnd mka msy kwake ntatwe n mandu oonthe ma msy niwe wthawa akwete na yla wooka wetha akwete mavata asu wkaa ketha msy su wonthe nta w ylu wa mndu mka su Resp: The most important needs for women are household needs Inter: mm Resp: Now a woman is normally ensnared by household needs. Inter: Uh Resp: And in those needs, you find that a woman is tied down by a the household needs, she is the one who is in charge and as a result of being in charge of those needs, it is as if the whole home is the responsibility of that woman (leader 8, page 1, lines 7-19). Text 6.18 might be interpreted as resistance by the men in view of the fact that in terms of the division of labour, child rearing was mainly a responsibility for the women in the Kamba community and continues to be so. Hence the use of the expression that ?most of the women are now taking up that responsibility? constructs women as just starting to recognize their work, yet they have done so since time immemorial. In view of changing conditions of production, this study recommends focus on this area to enlighten both genders about the importance of involvement in childcare for the good of the community. This is because this practice appears to be unique to the Kamba community as one of the participants who is from a different rural 163 community expressed surprise that men in the Kamba community are largely uninvolved in child care. The current study confirms the findings of Kisese (2000), who established that the division of labour leaves women with a disproportionably large share of domestic and agricultural work. This is in addition to traditional practices that sanction land ownership where women till the land but do not own it. This situation is exacerbated by the increase in female-headed rural households and vulnerability of women with regard to the AIDS pandemic. All these factors limit the participation of women in the political process, confining women to the home domain as they continue to be tied down by household chores; yet, independence to engage in activities outside the home has been established as one of the most important ways to enhance women?s action (Sen, 1999). By looking at women?s needs, this study hopes to open up possibilities for addressing women?s needs, by recommending more government intervention than is presently the case to support women financially. This would enable them to run businesses both within and outside the home to support themselves and their families. Similarly, Text 6.19 succinctly captures the way household chores occupy so much of women?s time that it ensnares them, implying that women are trapped in the daily chores, leaving no time for political issues. (See more of these texts in Appendix x (d) for Texts 6.20-6.22) where household chores are constructed as a burden. The fact that the leaders generally construct household chores as a burden might be explained by Tamale?s (1999: 9) view that women were (and are in some cases) ?not paid for their productive and reproductive labour?. In her view, such exploitation of women?s labour markedly lowered (and in my view continues to lower) their status relative to that of men. This represents women?s work in deficit. In this study I argue for women?s labour to be seen differently, as agentive, since this is how they assume agency in relation to their lives and those of their communities. 6.2.5 Leadership Leadership emerges as a key theme whereby the leaders raise an important concern regarding women?s leadership in politics. As already pointed out in Section 1.1, the silence on women?s interests and needs particularly in the political sphere is critical given that the women are the 164 majority of the voters in Kenya. The majority of the leaders agree that women are inherently good leaders, but not in politics. In other words, there is silence on both women?s leadership in Kenya and women?s leadership role in the political sphere. On the whole, the politicians appear to perpetuate the use of deficit discourses, to talk about women?s action in relation to leadership. Text 6.23 provides an example. Text 6.23: Resp: Mostly women are not very good in politics. They are not very good. Uangalie kama mama Ndetei, (like when you look at mother Ndetei), I would like to give you that example. Alikuja akawa mbunge (she became an MP) and we had a lot of backing for that lady. Na siasa yake ilikuwa nzuri sana (And her politics was very good). Lakini you can be played. Politics can be played on you. Inter: you mean on women? Resp: Politics are played on women, unaona (you see) ? Lakini (but) women, you see the other time there was this funny story about women. Unaona ooka (you see she came) her the other day there was this funny story about Ngilu, na ni siasa anafanyiwa, siasa. (And it is politics being played on her). In Text 6.23, the use of the plural form of the third person pronoun ?they? constructs women in generic terms as collectively ?not good in politics?. The claim that ?women are not very good in politics? represents the feeling of most male politicians and leaders that women are deficient in politics as a male domain. The text constructs women as ?done-tos? as seen in the expression ?politics are played on them?. Similarly, the speaker constructs women as ?done-tos? in the use of the pronoun ?her? in object position. The two examples, ?Mama Ndetei? and ?Ngilu? cited in the text, refer to two women parliamentarians who were involved in scandals. The respondent chooses to omit the scandals by referring to them as the ?funny? story. The two women had allegedly been involved in sex scandals. ?Sexualization? of scandals involving women is common in politics and often seeks to discredit female politicians, generally portraying them an unfit for public office. Often, there is silence on men?s sexual exploits. Let us look at the following texts for more constructions on leadership; Text 6.24: Resp: Woklavaa wamantha atongoi ma iveti wthaa o kla chairman wawetwa wa sukulu no mndme. O chairman awetwa n wa kya no mndme, wa kya no mndme Inter: Nk? Resp: Iveti ii nikothete lea kwata ivla, na ikothete lea kwata ivla n klea kelewa nakyo yo mwene kw y ignore nnd yla na k ignore nnd n kveti ndalte kngama new?a tumwa nakwa ngakuma? If you get up here and look for leaders, you will find that every school chairman talked about is a man. Every chairman mentioned for everything is a man. For everything is a man. Inter: Why? 165 Resp: Because these women, do not normally get seats they do not normally get seats because because of failure to understand and because of ignoring themselves. ?Because I am a woman I should not stand for election and when I hear you being abused I should also abuse you? (leader 9, page 7) Text 6.25: Nnd la tw klasin tisoma, tyasyaa aka makusye, ame methwe mbee, kyongo kla kyaku nkyo ktwaa tina. Waziri wa sheria, Martha Karua infact we are very proud of her, na twna Ngilu, Ngilu twasisya nd  performite waziri wa Afya, ntkwona a performiite na n mnd mka. When we are learnng in class we do not say that women (should) be last and men (should) be first. Your brain is the one that takes you behind, The minister for Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua, in fact we are very proud of her, and we have Ngilu, when we look at how Ngilu has performed, the Minister for Health we can see that she has performed and she is a woman (leader 2: page 35, lines 11-18). In Text 6.24 the speaker is surprised that in spite of the 50: 50 representation proposed for all community committees, all boards and other committees still remain largely dominated by men. She attributes this to women downgrading themselves and lack of confidence in themselves as leaders. The use of direct speech emphasizes that women draw on prevailing discourses in their communities in their construction of women?s needs. For example, they abuse fellow women who contest in elections when they hear others abusing them. For the speaker in Text 6.28, citing Charity Ngilu (former Minister of Health and currently Minister for Water) and Martha Karua (former Minister of Constitutional Affairs) legitimates the argument that these two perform their leadership duties on par with men despite being women. The commonality between these two women is that Charity Ngilu contested for presidency in the 1997 elections while Martha Karua has declared her interest in presidency in the 2012 elections. More texts (6.26-6.28) can be found in Appendix x (e). These focus on how women are objects of gossip, while male leaders are spared (gossip is dealt with in more detail in Chapter 8) and how elected leaders normally forget those who voted for them; a finding confirmed in Section 6.3.5 on women?s constructions of leadership. 6.2.6 Unity The politicians and other community leaders construct unity in the form of collective action in the Merry-Go-Round, as an important need for the women as seen in the text that follows; Text 6.29: Women are pro-unity. Yes eh women are more pro-unity than men. A good example is majority of the self-help groups I have are of women. And you cannot have these Merry-Go-Rounds; in fact majority of them 99% of them are women. It is just in few cases, it?s just a rare case that you find a Merry-Go-Gound for men where you find a Merry-Go-Round for men, but when we come 166 to trust not with men. Not with men at all at all. In fact majority of the women?s groups, all the women?s groups in general, people feel more comfortable when the treasurer is a woman. In Text 6.29, the repeated naming of ?women? by the speaker (a male politician) is recognition of women?s collective. The distinction appears between the politicians who in their talk, recognize and appear to support the women?s collective and the politicians who are aware of the danger posed by women?s collective power. It is markedly the community leaders, particularly the women, who strongly support women?s collectives. For example the speaker in Text 6.30, being a woman community leader, finds the need to identify with the other women when she talks of ?we? in her talk about the support women find in the collective;. Text 6.30: Resp: Ttetheanganisye k nzangle ttsa kwamba mandu ang o manene tsa kwthw?a ntwamantha ma plot nkana un na ake syana situ sykaaone mathna ala tnokie mona. We normaly support one another through the Merry-Go-Round before we begin other bigger things like getting commercial plots so that in future children do not face the same problems that we have faced (leader 8, page 5, lines, 2-6) In this text, her talk implies that the Merry-Go-Round is the starting point to meet the practical needs before moving on to what Maslow (1968) refers to as higher order needs, which in the context of this study might be seen in the buying of commercial plots. A potential threat to women?s collectives is seen in the way Text 31 identifies the speaker?s perception of women?s dislike for one another when it comes to politics; Text 6.31: The nasty thing is that when we come to politics, it is also a fault of women, they do not like each other, when it comes to politics, they don?t like each other, why? I don?t know that needs to be researched. The text raises a very important concern that consistently emerged in the data: that women do not like to support other women in politics. This is interesting, given that in reality, through the Merry-Go-Round women have continuously supported one another. This highlights the view that individuals are separate form the collective. Support for this argument is seen in the way Makueni Constituency has not had a female Member of Parliament since independence but has had other kinds of leaders at other levels of governance such as councillors. In terms of representation, women are constructed as non-agents as seen in Text 6.32, 167 Text 6.32: I think so far ladies have not woken up to realize that they can represent themselves. Two, ladies do suffer most of the ladies suffer most because they do not know their rights and three, they do suffer because they are not properly represented and four because of shyness and shyness is brought about by lack of education, lack of exposure, and many other aspects (leader 3, page 8, lines 7-13). Inter: Can you please explain those points especially on representation? Resp: One representation, let?s come down to the women?s groups. Inter: m Resp: when they happen to come and they want to forward their needs, they feel more comfortable when sending a man than when sending their fellow ladies (leader 3, page 14, lines 1-4) (speaker?s original text was in English). However, the choice of the term ?ladies?, instead of women might be interpreted as an indication of the speaker?s attempt to dissimulate women?s agency. The implication here is that there is potential for women to get out of deficit constructions in the realization that women can represent themselves politically. For this speaker, the hindrance to this realization is ignorance of their rights. Although this leader would have us believe he is committed to changing the negative discourse in which women are often constructed, in essence, he talks about them as ignorant. Being a leader, he is only too aware that politics is a male domain with structures that keep women out. Further, use of the first person pronoun by the speaker ?I? reflects an individualistic representation of politicians as social actors. It gives them a sense of ?power and ownership? over the women. The politicians produce an ?us? versus ?them? discourse, a binary opposition in which politicians are constructed as educated, intelligent and all-knowing, while the women are constructed as poorly informed, uneducated and poor. All these discourses maintain and reproduce deficit discourses that continue to present women as ?non-agentive? in the political process. Given the influential role of leaders particularly the politicians in the community, their views are bound to affect the decisions women make when choosing political leaders. When leaders talk about women in deficit terms, it becomes so naturalized that it looks like the truth. What text suggests is that enhancing women?s political participation involves focus on a discursive construction of their needs, what the speaker in Text 6.32 talks about; women getting appropriate education, exposure and an awareness of their rights. 168 6.2.7 Politicians? false promises and the role of NGOs There is a perception among Kenyans that politicians make false promises. These were identified as a key issue especially by the community leaders such as a School Board Chairperson and women leaders. Let us see text 6.33: Text 6.33: Lakini ntwthaa yu ta vinda y tweteele campaign. Nmokaa makatwa nmettetheesya, natilea kwsa kwona nd metwka. Inter.uh Resp: Y mekaa neena na mnyuka. Resp: But like at this time when we are waiting for the campaign. They come and tell us that they are going to support us but we never see what they do for us. Inter: uh Resp: Yes they just talk with their mouths (leader 6, page 2, lines 21-26). From Text 6.33, the choice of the expression ?talking with the mouth? implies politicians? lack of commitment in their empty promises. Politicians? talk has been widely researched. Findings by political discourse analysts have established that politicians use persuasion to make convince voters to vote for them (Chilton and Schaffner, 1997). In Kenya, voters characterize this persuasion in terms of ?false promises?. As already seen in the analysis of political speeches, the majority of the politicians always promise that if they are voted for, they will provide water and roads for the people, but, the roads in the study area are some of the worst in Kenya. For example Text 6.34; Text 34: Resp: Y nnd la tnana last year but one twana mheshimiwa waziri Ngil na n watwie sivital ya Mwanyan nkmpromote twke dispensary yke health centre na bado yi namba kwkwa ou nnd wa thna wa iveti vand mund tonya thiusyaa. Yes, because when we had?last year but one, we had the Honourable Minister Ngilu, she told us that she would promote Mwanyani to a health center but this has not yet happened so women still have problems with delivery (leader 2, page 5, lines 6-12). shows the women?s negative perception of Charity Ngilu in relation to a promise she made in the campaigns, to promote Mwanyani from the status of a health center to that of a hospital. Here, this community leader is a woman, and is actually blaming the politicians, being one herself. The implication here is that women politicians understand the interests and needs of women and identify more with them than the men politicians do. 169 The other concern raised by one of the leaders was in connection with the NGOs such as the national women?s organization, Maendeloeo Ya Wanawake (MYWO) in the area; Text 6.35: Maendeleo ya Wanawake yaanangiwe n atongoi, the national leaders?na n kyo ktumi Kitonyi waemie novisi nkenda aye mbesa, nng mbesa na vay knd kendaa nnd mavisi ala mak Divisional level, District level nmanengiwe na and aka manamo ma Maendeleo ya Wananawake nimaekie kvya na nmatungie mavuku. Resp: Kwoou, yna mtongoi, yina future, kana tingwa future. Yu tww?aa ve mbesa syendaa kvika level ya location eka ngtavye syo mbesa isu, ithelelaa Ilovi iivika kla kwi mwananchi wa kawaida. Niwisi mbesa isu n syit ala twethiwe twi members, mbesa isu nisyit nd itvikaa ene nth. Na ta n mtongoi, mbesa isu ittethasya mwene nth wa kawada, mnd mka la wa kawaida hasaidiwi na hiyo pesa. Resp: The MYWO has been messed up by the leaders, the national leaders. And that is why Kitonyi has refused with money so that she could eat it. None of the money goes because the offices here at the Division levels, the District levels, have been given out and the women MYOW women who had them have stopped paying (for them) and have returned the books. So it does not have a leader, in other words, it does not have a future. Now we hear there is money that goes to the location level, let me tell you, that moneys gets finished in Nairobi, it does not reach the grassroots person. You know that is our money those of us who were members, that money does not reach the grassroots person and as a leader, that money does not help the local woman, the local woman is not helped by that money (leader 2: page 10, lines 6-25). In Text 6.35, this woman politician summarized the organization?s problems thus; ?money does not reach the grassroots person and as a leader, that money does not help the local woman, the local woman is not helped by that money?, again invoking the metaphor of ?eating?. For the speaker, MYWO the national women?s organization has been spoilt by the national leaders who misappropriate the funds. These funds are collected from the grassroots women, but it appears that the money is misappropriated and does not in any way appear to benefit the local woman. The grassroots women therefore feel that they no longer have a leader. The text above confirms findings by Amutabi (2006), whose study indicates that most NGOs are in reality not what is seen on paper, and Aubrey (1997) who uses the case of MYWO to highlight the problems the NGO has experienced. Aubrey?s study indicated that the organization serves the interests of the elite women, and not necessarily the needs of grassroots women. In turning to Kiswahili at the end of her utterance, in the bolded section, the speaker evokes a national ?ethos?. Understanding women?s views such as those of the grassroots women as voiced in this leader?s view might provide alternative means of understanding women?s non-participation in the political process. Text 6.36 can be found in Appendix x (g). 170 6.2.8 Patriarchy In the present study, patriarchal discourses emerge as one of the greatest misrepresentations of women?s actionThe findings on politicians and community leaders in interviews are similar to those in political speeches especially regarding how these leaders represent themselves as the all-knowing. Text 6.37: Resp: Maktaa kwawa nd mekwka yu tayu mikopo tnengawe k no Kenya Women Finance Trust, na synd mbing, ko tcompanies twing tnengane mkovo. Na mikovo n ve iveti itonya kwosa ikeka nesa mno. Ikaola mathna maing mno ma msy. Ona thna  wa kua ndoo kilometer na knd kuite Emali, akaola na akeka kawla vu soko la vu thome kwake, lakini tthwa ndaaalloiwa n mme kwosa mkopo. Ewa ?Osa mukopo, mikopo tosawa n aka? ttha ntvinykka vau. They only do not know what to do because the loans we are given here by the Kenya Women Finance Trust and many other things, like there are other companies giving loans. And with these loans, there are women who can get them and do very well and reduce many problems in the home. Even reduce this problem of carrying a bucket for about a kilometer and a half to Emali when it is raining and instead start a business nearby at the market centre. But she cannot be allowed to get the loan by her husband. If she is told to get a loan, ?loans are not gotten by women? we are pressed there (leader 2, page 12, lines 1-13). In Text 6.37, politicians represent women as constrained by patriarchal practices, as seen in the expression ?she cannot be allowed to get a loan by her husband?. In other words, through passivization women are constructed as non-agents and victims which subjugates them to patriarchy, limiting their action as social actors. In this text, the current research also confirms similar hegemonic discourses of ?development? which stereotypically present women as poor, powerless, backwards, illiterate, suffering; a discourse that constructs the Third World generally in similar ways (Verma, 2001). Let us look at another text; Text 6.38: Mndme asya na kanzala nwaneena yu nwaelewa knd kla kyaneenwa noyw?a ?yu kwanza ona mnd mka ndombtwe mnd mka, ndabelieveiaa kana aka me knd mauma kseo, tw?a kana  ndoombtwe mnd mka. You even hear a man say ?and the Councillor has really spoken? and then you even hear them say ?this woman was not created a woman? he never believed that women can be of any good, you hear ?or this one was not created as a woman? (leader 2, page 25). In the use of direct speech by a woman leader in Text 6.38, this text provides some of the verbatim patriarchal expressions from men who are not used to female leadership particularly 171 seen in their conviction that this woman leader ?was not created a man? because in the men?s view, the woman speaks like a ?man?. The use of direct speech also draws attention to the men as actors in patriarchy. The implication for women leaders here is that one of the ways to survive in leadership dominated by men is to adopt strategies that keep them at the ?top? especially in the way they talk. A lot of times, this is the only way women are normally judged. For more extracts from some of the leaders, see texts 6.39-6.40 in Appendix x (h). 6.2.9 Healthcare Healthcare emerges as a key need. The leaders talk about healthcare in terms of hospitals and diseases as seen in Texts 6.41; Text 6.41: R:Kwoou ntonya vika vau leln wa lami atwawe Maknd mwana ntonya kkwa nda na result inya kkwa. Uw?o ki ksyaa n twthawa na problem. Inter: ooo R: Nnd ttna maternity sy vakuv. Nyo especially k vaa nyo nnd la ng y Wote. Ila sy Mbitin n health centres na dispensaries. So she might be brought to the main road to Makindu and she might have a still birth, and this results in the mother?s death. Truly in terms of maternity services we have a problem. Ok Because we do not have maternity services nearby, it is the only one especially around here because the other one is in Wote. The ones in Mbitini are health centres and dispensaries (leader 2, page 5, lines 1-8). This text highlights this leader?s concern for a hospital that can provide pre-natal and ante-natal services (maternity). In addition to drawing attention to the need for hospitals as opposed to dispensaries, pointed out by women in women?s groups in section 7.3.6, this leader being a woman identifies with the women?s need in talking about the need for maternity services. Describing the conditions women experience; like being carried to the road in order to get transport to the hospitals that offer these services, and some women even delivering by the roadside, while in unfortunate cases, some women die, the speaker shows the seriousness of the need for ante-natal care within Mbitini Division. The one District Hospital women have to travel to is many kilometers away in Wote (the District headquarters). This need for a hospital is echoed by other leaders in texts 6.42-6.43 in Appendix x (i). What is remarkable in the leaders? talk is that women politicians and community leaders appear to be more in touch with the community needs. What they highlight are their values and the beliefs they attach to those needs, for example women understand about maternity services because as women they use 172 them. The deficit is that nobody does anything about these needs, they only talk about hospitals, they focus on being visible not about hygiene. This distinction between male and female leaders might be read through the lenses of Thompson?s (1990) ?us? versus ?them? distinction. 6.2.10 Land The fact that half of the leaders talk about land as a basic need for women makes it worth focusing on. Unlike the women who mainly talk about the need for a piece of land, the leaders are more concerned about land rights as property rights. The reasoning is that mostly, land in Kenya is registered in the man?s name, and sometimes he may sell it off without the knowledge of his wife. The leaders also talk about land in relation to giving land to those who do not have. Let us look at the texts below; Text 6.44: matrimonial property like land, because both parents contribute, there should be a legal backing to support the registration of both parties because you realize that land is registered in the man?s name and they can do anything they want with it and whenever they sell, the law recognizes him alone as the owner there is nowhere that the law that recognizes the other people. A man can sell the whole property and that?s it (leader 5, page 19, lines 4-13). Text 6.45 In this area one, in this area nita address land issues, Inter: m Resp: na tondu nguneenaa ulu wa land la wooka Inter:  Resp: nasya twna 1000 acres  twaneene na ----mindoni, we want these people to be compensated. Kndu kya mbee etha wna acre umwe, serikali yke assessment. Eka mwe n mbesa siana? N ngli kmi, newe ngili syaku kmi na ethiwa ntonya newa plot, newa plot wake. Nnd what is going on in the long run, twale ntetea and mait maikavenwe plot, na and, and kuma Ilovii, and kuma anywhere nnd this is a very growing town, na y growing town, and mena interest na basi twalea kwonea and maitu, engama, nnd mewa eka ikmi miongo ili, nnd ewa ktheka tikyaakuu, naivenwaa nkethia, kwoou the best thing nkucompesate and aa wetha ve kndu mnd tonya kwaka kwake, twamnenga plot, nnd vetha vate kwaku twamina compesate (leader 1, page 6, lines 1-19). Land issues continue to play a central role in defining relations among the Kenyan people. The speaker in Text 6.44 talks about the need for legal means of showing that both parties in a marriage have ownership to matrimonial property, particularly land. Lack of such legal backing has led to bad consequences for women when men sell the property registered in their name and there is no legal redress for the women who have no documents as evidence of ownership of the same. Text 6.45 on the other hand focuses on the need to compensate those who do not have land especially those whose land may have been taken away through historical injustices. Land issues have been found to have contributed to conflict in Kenya notably the post election 173 violence (Waki Report, 2009). As a result, the text constructs land issues as a need that ought to be handled carefully to avert similar occurrences in future. 6.2.11 Women?s rights: Politicians and other community leaders see women?s rights as human rights seen in the following extracts; Text 6.46: Resp: Nonginya aka masomethwe rights syoo. Women must be educated about their rights (leader 2, page 6, line 22). Text 6.47: Resp: mavata ma ka, nale kwasya aka nmaileunewa mikopo na aka maithkma na nth kavindka mno. Na aka maitavwa rights syoo, na aka maitavwa ona ivla sya President nmatonya. Women?s needs, I should say that women should be given loans and women should work and the world will change a lot. And women should be told their rights and also be told that they can manage even the president?s seat (leader 2, page 35, lines 4-8). Text 6.48: Resp: And then in other situations if it is unfortunate that the man passes away, the family members want to chase the wife away and they inherit the property, so there will be those squabbles and apart from the law of succession which obviously supports the, but most of our ignorant ladies, so they will go by what the clan has decided, the government decides for them, and the now when we own property as a family that gives us equal rights (leader 5, page 16, lines 15-25). The speaker in Text 6.46 constructs women?s interests within a feminist movement discourse by saying that ?women can be educated about their rights?, although she does not say who is supposed to provide this education. Being a woman politician, she also constructs women as ?done-tos?, on whom the action of educating will be carried. In Text 6.47, she talks about the need for women to be given loans to enable women to do work to that in turn helps them to meet their practical needs. Being a woman leader, she is well placed to advocate that women should be told about their rights. In general, the leaders, both male and female, construct women as uninformed about their rights to many issues. Text 6.48 represents women as ignorant about property rights; a situation that often comes up when their husbands pass on. The leaders foreground the issue of property rights. The text also portrays conflict between tradition (as in the decisions the clan might take under such circumstances), and the law of succession which the majority of women are unaware of (especially due to low literacy levels). What is clear from the leaders is that they shift responsibility from the government to the women themselves. None says what policies they have put in place to address these issues. It is 174 not surprising therefore, that women as will be seen in Chapter Seven have used their collective resources to fill this gap. 6.2.12 Youth: The term for ?youth? in the Kamba language is ?muika?. The youth emerges as a constituency that leaders recognize as seen in texts 6.49-6.52 in Appendix x (l) (some of these texts are long). In Text 6.49, the leader is concerned about the lack of unity among the youth as compared to that seen among the older members of the community. In the run-up to the 2002 elections, the idea that the youth had been ignored in Kenya for a long time was very common. This is typical of the discourse within which the youth have been constructed in Kenya and is part of the reason politicians targeted youth in the 2002 election, a situation similar to the South African context where youth formed a large constituency of the voters in the just concluded election. Text 6.50 focuses on being brought a school (from an unnamed source) that can be used to teach the youth about behaviour within the women?s groups. On one side it might seem strange to ask for a school to teach the youth about behaviour, but on the other hand it might be taken as a need for the recognition of the unique needs of the youth. Although she claims that as they unite in women?s groups, they should similarly co-opt the youth; this is similar to the situation in Chapter 2, where feminist groups co-opt feminist groups in order to bring them into their agenda. In his talk, this leader fails to recognize that the youth?s agenda might be very different from that of self?help, the underlying principle in women?s groups. In a capitalist economy, the youth want money as pointed out in Text 6.51. The leader in Text 6.49 recognizes this and this probably is the reason why she wants the money that has been set aside by the government (through the Youth Development Fund) gets to the youth and helps them to meet their needs. In talking about it as a condition of possibility, ?if this money is genuine? might be interpreted as the leader?s background knowledge given the culture of ?eating? that this money might not benefit the youth. Text 6.52 talks about the fear this leader has regarding the youth, especially those who get children while still in school (primary and high school), the way they spend little time with their children because of commitments in education. As we will see in the next chapter, this concern is also raised by the women in women?s groups. This text draws attention to the question of the importance that is attached to formal education by all the groups involved in this research. It would appear that too much time 175 is allocated to formal education yet there are many ways of achieving education. For example concern has been raised by stakeholders in education about the concentration on mainly the passing of exams at the expense of other ways of getting education for students. This concern was particularly prominent in the 2009 Annual Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KSSHA) Conference held in Mombasa. Such a narrow view of education might also explain the violence that has characterised schools in Kenya over the years as the youth finish school and are frustrated because they cannot get the white-collar jobs that formal education promises them. 6.2.13 Food Food emerges as a major need from the leaders? talk; Text 6.53: Ukamba thina la tvinyiiaa mno ni wa liu. (In) Ukambani, the most pressing problem is that of food (leader 2, page 6, lines 24-25). Text 6.54: Resp: kwoou etha n kind n knd tkwenda lu wa iveti, lu wa aka, Inter: e Resp: leave alone kmanenga liu, kmeka, tmanenge mbesa makne faita la matonya kna. Na ndekwikala nth, she works many hours kuma saa kmi na il kkovika saa kmi na il asembete kma vaaya na ku, akaalka ng Resp: So if we want anything regarding wives, if we want anything regarding women, Inter: e Leave alone giving them food, doing this for them, let us give them money to do the businesses they can manage. And she does not sit down, she works many hours from 6am to 6 pm, running from there to here, and then she comes back (leader 1, page 11, lines 15-22). Text 6.55: When it comes to relief food, those who come for it, about 90 to 95% are women, those are the ones who normally come for the relief food, you really do not see a man, and when you see them may be they are the ones who normally come to play that role of distributing because the want to feel that they are the ones who are doing the distribution, but the people who really come for the food to transport it to their homes are the women (leader 5, page lines 27-36). Text 56: Resp: Mno mno n ksomo. Inter: uh Resp: na ta vindan y kwna thna mwing mno nndu mbee kw nzaa, tti tethyo twonaa ona mwe. Resp: Mostly it is education Inter: Uh And like now there has been a lot of suffering because there has been hunger there is no support we get, none at all (leader, 6, page 1, lines 4-8). 176 Text 6.53 constructs food as one of the most pressing needs for women in Mbitini, constructing women within a discourse of poverty as it implies they cannot afford food which according to Maslow (1968), is one of the lower needs and which, must be satisfied for higher needs to be achieved. Instead of advocating for food to be given to the respondents, the speaker in Text 6.54 chooses money over food, because if given money, the women would enhance their action whereas food would only relieve hunger for a while and keep them going back for more. This view differs from the majority of the women respondents in 6.3.4 who persistently ask for food donations. The speaker in Text 6.55 confirms the deficit discourse within which women are constructed as recipients of food donations, while Text 6.56 constructs lack of food as a major need after education. The speaker in Text 6.57 (see Appendix x (m) provides the socio- historical context of the study area by explaining that Makueni is a drought prone area and that the community generally sees women as providers), although as will be seen in Chapter 7, it does not appear to value this by the way they talk about women. 6.3 Silences The most remarkable silence is that politicians and other community leaders do not talk about policies regarding possible solutions to the community?s needs. There is also minimal reference to drug abuse, corruption, shelter, electricity, domestic violence, violence against women during elections (see Appendices x (n) and x (o) for transcripts on drug abuse and corruption respectively. The leaders? mention (though little) of violence against women during campaigns marks a mismatch between the women?s position of silence on the same (see chapter 7). Only one leader talked of domestic violence. This is surprising given that this is a common occurrence in many households, as indicated in the high statistics on domestic violence in Kenya (KGDS, 2005). Also women prefer to remain silent with very minimal reference to rape as an aspect of domestic violence in the entire study. During the data collection exercise, a group of leaders remained silent and refused to answer all the research questions. This was interpreted as silence which generally appears to characterize certain issues especially sexuality matters particularly, rape in the Kamba community. This is ironical, given that Kenya stands tall in the global map regarding legislation for domestic violence. The key issue emerging in the current research is that more research is needed especially into the socio-cultural aspects of domestic violence particularly rape and violence against women during campaigns in order to address these issues, both by the leaders and the women. Violence against women has been the 177 most dominant means used to intimidate and keep women away form politics, particularly during campaigns. 6.4 A frequency count of pronoun and modality choices In order to get an in depth understanding of the politicians and other community leaders? construction of women?s interests and needs, this section provides a frequency analysis of their pronoun and modality choices. These choices are some of the ways in which agency is exercised (Fairclough, 2003; Ndambuki and Janks, 2008). In this section, pronouns and modality are analyzed to give the politicians? and leaders? sense of women?s agency with regard to women?s interests and needs. The table that follows contains the number of occurrences and their totals in the corpus for the personal pronouns ?nyie? (I), plural ?ithy? (we) and the possessive pronoun realized by the Kamba variants ?mait/sytu? ?our?. These pronouns were chosen because use of these pronouns is one of the most important ways agency is expressed. Lastly, the modal ?ketha? (if) is also analyzed in order to compare the leaders? and the women?s degrees of certainty. An analysis of modality is useful as it is an important part of how people identify themselves (Fairclough, 2003); the question of what people commit themselves to when they make statements, ask questions make demands or offers is crucial to the construction of agency. Table 6.2: A frequency count of pronoun and modality choices in the corpus From the table above, the politicians? and other leaders? construction of women?s agency indicates a high frequency of occurrence for the term ?ketha?. This might indicate that both women on the one hand, and the politicians and other community leaders on the other hand perpetuate the use of deficit discourses in the representation of women?s interests and needs. They both describe women?s issues in the possible mode implying no likelihood of transforming women?s conditions of possibility into reality. I briefly look at each of these linguistic features. Term Number of occurrences Nyie (I) 126 Ithy (we) 14 Mait/sytu (our) 29 ?Uketha? 161 178 6.4.1 The pronouns: Nyie (I) Analysis of the personal pronoun nyie (I) indicates a much higher frequency for the leaders than that for the women in the focus group discussions. This is not surprising and may be interpreted to mean that the leaders have a greater sense of agency as individual actors in the political process as compared to the women. The possible explanation for this is also that politicians have greater access to resources as they are some of the best paid civil servants in Kenya. It might also be seen as an indication of their authority as leaders which gives them a greater platform for exercising power over the grassroots women. Ithy: We and mait/syt our The minimal frequency of occurrence for the use of the plural pronoun ?ithy? (we) relative to the other pronouns indicates a minimal sense of ?collectiveness? with most instances of the pronoun being used by the women (Estes, 1985) leaders. This confirms studies on gender differences between men and women that indicate that women have a greater sense of the collective than men. Similarly, there is little use of the possessive pronoun ?our?, again an indication of the little sense of the collective amongst the leaders. This represents a mismatch in the way the leaders and women in women?s groups represent themselves. 6.4.2 Modality Uketha (Ethwa) ?if it were possible?: In terms of modality, the frequency of the modal ketha ?if it were possible? is high and the possible explanation for this is the uncertainty with which the leaders talk about women?s interests and needs. This further serves to support the view expressed in Chapters Five and Six that the leaders have little to say about community needs and what policies should be put in place to address them these needs. 6.5 Who should address the needs mentioned in 6.2? Table 6.3 that follows represents the leaders? responses to the research question, Who should address the needs mentioned in 6.2? 179 Table 6.3: Who should address women?s needs? L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L 7 L8 L9 L10 Government Women Women Government Individual Government The people Politicians Women MP Village elders Men Politicians Councillor Government District Officer Government Councillor PC Councillor Head-men Government MP MP Community leaders Women?s organization leader Chiefs MP Chief Ministry of Social Services Politicians Community Development Assistant (CDA) Youth Government Sub-chief Churches Change agents Assistant Chiefs Individual Women Donors Women?s groups Church NGOs Promises explicitly mentioned Water Unity for recognition To stop relief food Basket- making Land compensation Plot Problems encountered Finance Leader ignored by men 1/3 rule Political interference Women?s focus on practical needs Bursary allocation No unity Gossip No water tools Tradition Patriarchy Lack of focus on political aspect Empty promises Hatred No loans for women Women?s enmity Women?s enmity Political interference Gap between rich and poor Gossip Gossip 1/3 rule Discussion of Table 6.3: From the table above, all the leaders mention government as responsible for addressing the people?s needs. By government they mean the provincial administration that starts from the Assistant Chief to the Provincial Commissioner. Hence, even if a leader does not explicitly mention government, but mentions the PC, the implication is that it is government because the Provincial Commissioner is in charge of provincial government. The responses in this table augment the idea that despite being aware that they have a responsibility to address the community needs, they do nothing in terms of policy on the same. Four leaders mention women themselves as responsible for addressing their own needs. On the one hand, this could be interpreted to mean that the leaders see women as agentive. On the other hand, this could partly 180 explain the failure of government to take action on women?s needs. The key problems encountered in their leadership are gossip, women?s enmity, political interference and the one third-rule on women?s political representation. The one-third rule is a rule regarding the representation of women in all kinds of community committees that stipulates that one third of those in positions of power must be women. Two of the leaders however expressed the view that this rule is not a good one and suggest 50-50 rule arguing that the one-third rule means men would continue to dominate leadership positions while the 50-50 rule meant that half of the positions would go to the men and the other half to women. From the table above, women?s enmity undercuts women?s progress in politics, confirming Estes (1985) who argues that women?s collectives sometimes experience hostility from within. From table 6.3, in addition to talking about who should address women?s needs, leader 1 and leader 9 explicitly talk about the promises they made to the people. Leader 1 promises water, to stop relief food, and compensation of land to those without. Out of these promises this leader says he has achieved the construction of water gabions (to stop soil erosion) on Muooni River. Leader 9 promises unity for recognition, basket-making and acquisition of a plot for the women. Asked which of these promises she had delivered, her response indicated none. 6.6 Politicians and other leaders? dreams and fears on women?s needs The dreams and fears of these two groups of leaders regarding women?s needs are summarized in Table 6.4; 181 Table 6.4: Politicians? and other leaders? dreams and fears for women?s interests and needs L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L 7 L8 L9 L10 Governm- ment support Women?s rights 50-50 women?s representation Support for ?Wanjiku? women?s rights Children?s education Education Support for women Women?s action Education Support for children Party unity Government address women?s interests and needs Government follow-up on women?s needs Recog- nition of social change especially single motherhood School for adult learners Women leaders Unity Govern- ment support Unity Better salaries for local council politicians Clear policies interests Education Women?s economic power Youth in development End traditional discriminatory practices Education Female leaders Family An office No corruption Gender awareness on inheritance rights for boy and girl children Donor support Gender awareness Water Loans for women Educate men Community paid work Youth in development Pay for local women leaders Government to address women?s interests Unity Government support Support for HIV orphaned children Govern ment support for rural areas Hospital FEARS Violence on children Diseases Failure to address historical injustices Silence on important issues Women?s enmity Youth unity Burden of household chores Women?s inaction Political interfer- ance Poverty Youth No quota for women leaders Gossip Prostitution Words not matching action Sexualization of women?s action in the public sphere Patriarchy Gossip Corruption in leadership Family No implementation of research findings No financial support No women leaders Aging problems Politics of dress Silence on women?s nterests No pay for local women leaders Death Teenage pregnancy Women?s talk gossip Corruption in use of HIV funds Drug abuse Drug abuse Youth school drop out Poor leadership Poverty 182 Discussion of Table 6.4 In Table 6.4, the leaders mention a variety of dreams. These might be interpreted as their vision for addressing women?s issues. The dreams which constitute their vision for women?s concerns include government support in addressing women?s needs. In other words, they articulate the need for a clear policy on how to address women?s needs. Both men and women leaders talk about women?s rights which is part of the feminist movement discourse while others talk about the 50-50 women?s representation in leadership positions. They identify women?s education and improvement of their economic base as key to achieving this vision. This confirms Sen (1999) and Molyneux (1982) whose research in India and Nicaragua respectively demonstrate these as key components of enhancing women?s agency. Only one politician talks about party unity as important, confirming Nasong?o and Ayot (2007) observation that women?s involvement in party politics is a critical factor in increasing women?s political participation. The leaders also identify their fears (threats to agency) which may be interpreted as what they see as hindrances to addressing women?s needs. These include poverty, lack of financial resources, low salaries for local leaders and lack of women quotas (affirmative action), unity with regard to the youth, corruption, women?s enmity and women?s talk as key threats to women?s action. Underlying all these fears is an ideological deficit construction of women?s needs. In Chapter 8, I explore the issue of women?s talk, which has been identified by both the leaders and the women as a major hindrance to addressing women?s needs. This will be subsequently important in understanding the construction of their agency. 6.7 Summary The analysis in this section reveals that politicians and other leaders in the community say little about women?s needs and more importantly, provide little in terms of policy on how to address these needs. In some cases, they use deficit discourses in the construction of women?s needs. Women are represented against a backdrop of discourses of patriarchy, rurality and poverty that construct them as poor, ignorant and illiterate; constructions which seem to perpetuate inequalities in the way women, politicians and other community leaders talk about women and their concerns. The silences and euphemisms are dissimulating. It is remarkable that the politicians (especially in speeches) make little mention of their policies, or what they prioritize 183 or even what they have already achieved or hope to achieve in relation to their discussion of needs. The speeches are characterised by the absence of policies that explicitly show what the politicians and other community leaders can do for the people. The leaders? responses in interviews seem to confirm what NARC and KANU appear to be doing is criticizing the women but giving no indication of what they are going to do or what they have done or achieved. It was apparent in Chapter Five that neither party talks about its vision for the next term, nor outlines policies and how such policies would be implemented. In this way, the leaders in their talk position women as in deficit. This also constructs them as placing little value on women?s interests and needs particularly the male politicians. Criticizing someone else in the speeches is an instance of laying blame elsewhere, which works to legitimize the politicians. Community leaders are the spokespeople for the community. One would expect them for example to talk about free education for the youth and to give a five year plan about delivery of services such as water, or even talk about legislation against gossip. Despite all leaders in interviews identifying government as responsible for addressing women?s needs, they do not give correspondingly clear policies on how this would be achieved. Part of the reason why Barack Obama won the elections in the US was because he had clear policies, outlined in his book, The Audacity of Hope (2008), particularly regarding what the government would do for the people. It would appear from the texts that the way women are usually portrayed by politicians (who often times are men) denies them agency. The politicians, for instance, appear to dissimulate the conditions that have led to women?s illiteracy. Politicians produce an ?us? versus ?them? discourse, a binary opposition in which politicians construct women as the ?negative other?; poor, ignorant and illiterate; they construct themselves positively as contented, all-knowing, and educated. All these discourses maintain and reproduce deficit discourses that continue to present women as ?non-agentive? in the political process. On the flip side of things these deficit discourses invalidate the agency which the women show when they work collectively to meet their basic needs and those of their communities. This study would recommend a different approach to women?s needs where women are not described as non-agents, since in reality; women do a lot of things for the society. This is demonstrated in the next chapter, which is Chapter 7. 184 CHAPTER SEVEN REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN?S INTERESTS AND NEEDS IN WOMEN?S GROUPS Chapter outline 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Key themes in women?s construction of their needs 7.3 Women?s construction of their own needs 7.3.1 Money 7.3.2 Unity 7.3.3 Formal education 7.3.4 Support 7.3.5 Leadership 7.3.6 Healthcare 7.3.7 Water 7.3.8 Roads 7.3.9 The burden of household chores 7.3.10 Land 7.4 Sustainability modes for women?s groups 7.5 Dreams, hopes, and aspirations 7.6 Ways of maintaining enthusiasm and optimism 7.7 Threats to agency 7.8 Women?s construction of their agency 7.8.1 A frequency analysis of pronoun and modality choices 7.8.1.1 Pronoun use in relation to agency 7.8.1.2 Modality choices in relation to agency 7.9 Silences in the text 7.10 Summary 7.1 Introduction This chapter addresses the question; how do women articulate their own needs? In particular, the chapter focuses on women?s use of language in order to understand their constructions of their own needs. The chapter uses focus group discussions as data and deals with the selection and construction of women?s needs by women in women?s groups. Here, the focus is on women?s needs together with a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of their talk to show the subtle ways in which language is used to reveal issues of power. Further, women?s constructions of threats to the achievement of their needs are considered. Sustainability is a function of their ability to counter these threats in order to meet their needs. On the global map, Kenya has made a mark in issues of socio-political importance particularly in the areas of 185 environmental sustainability and legislation surrounding sexuality issues. It would be expected that the same would apply to the issue of women?s political representation and participation in the political process. However, this is not the case. The argument in this chapter is that women construct themselves in deficit discourses, despite all that they do for themselves and their communities. Women?s sense of disempowerment as found in negative discourses is located in community needs discourse. Looking at how they construct themselves and their issues enables us to understand their sustainability and agency with regard to their involvement in both the political process and social action. 7.2 Key themes in women?s construction of their needs This section analyses transcripts of the qualitative group interviews (focus groups) conducted with the women?s groups. Table 7.1 is based on an analysis of the groups? answers to the first focus group discussion question which is also the first research question; what interests and needs do women identify in this Division? The key issues that emerge with regard to needs are money, water, support, unity, formal education, and leadership. Women see support, particularly unity, and finances, as critical to their sustainability. They construct development, using such words as ?enlightenment? and ?upliftment?. Further, women consider education to be a tool for enhancing their agency. They talk about basic needs such as money, water, food and shelter as key needs and construct themselves as being in need of a leader. That women are overburdened by household chores also emerges as a major concern, especially, given the patriarchal nature of the Kamba community. Women?s needs manifest their every day problems (their practical needs and interests), which inhibit the development of their political interests (their strategic needs). Table 7.1 that follows summarizes the needs mentioned by each of the women?s groups during focus group discussions in order of frequency of occurrence. 186 Table 7.1: Women?s needs as identified by women in focus group discussions FG 1 FG 2 FG 3 FG 4 FG 5 FG 6 FG 7 FG 8 FG 9 FG 10 FG 11 Total 1. Money 3 6 6 29 6 15 13 11 24 6 10 139 2. Unity 3 2 13 6 5 2 6 3 24 9 16 89 3. Education 5 1 1 10 6 6 10 25 6 6 16 85 4. Support 8 4 6 5 6 8 4 12 3 8 1 66 5. Leadership 4 2 6 2 3 12 15 2 6 1 1 53 6. Healthcare 1 5 - - 10 6 6 6 1 - 6 42 7. Water 5 0 3 1 6 6 5 1 4 21 - 38 8. Roads - - 3 - - - - - 10 - - 13 9. Development - - 2 5 3 - - - - - 10 10. Burden of household Chores - - 1 1 - - - 3 - - - 5 11. Electricity - - - - - - - - - 4 - 4 12. Unemployment - - 1 1 1 1 - - - - - 4 13. Negative cultural practices (dowry) - 4 - - - - - - - - - 4 14. Property Rights - - - - - - 4 - - - - 4 15. Lack of Recognition - - - - 1 1 2 - - - 4 16. Land - 3 - - - - -- - - - - 3 17. Shelter - 2 - 1 - - - - - - - 3 18. Stigma - 3 - - - - - - - - - 3 19. Family conflict - - - - - 2 1 - - - - 3 20. Corruption - - - - 1 1 - - - - - 2 21. Domestic violence - - 1 - - - 1 - - N ee ds by Fr eq u en cy o f o cc u rr en ce 22. Follow-up on Women?s needs - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1 Source: author?s fieldwork From Table 7.1, all the eleven groups mention money, unity, education and support as needs; ten groups out of eleven mentioned leadership; nine out of eleven mentioned water; eight talked about healthcare; four groups out of eleven mentioned unemployment; three mentioned women as overburdened by household chores and development. Only two groups talked of domestic violence, roads, corruption, land and shelter, and only one mentioned property rights, electricity, negative cultural practices, stigma, and follow-up on women?s needs. From Table 7.1, money ranks as the most frequently mentioned need followed by unity then education, and in fourth place is support. However, working with the total number of responses ignores the fact that the numbers are skewed by some groups talking a lot about an issue, as in the case of money for focus group 4, thus inflating totals. Thus, the next section provides a nuanced analysis of the numbers. The table above reveals very little mention of corruption, stigma and domestic violence with only two mentions. This sparse mention of these needs is interpreted as a silence. 187 As was seen in the discussion of Chapter 6, silences in text are just as important as what is actually said; these will be analysed at the end of the chapter. Overall the table reveals a diversity of needs among the women in Mbitini Division. 7.3 Women?s construction of their interests and needs Here, the most commonly mentioned needs will first be discussed in relation to how they are represented by the women?s choice of language, using a CDA perspective. The extracts chosen for analysis cover the needs that the women want addressed and are representative of the data set for the focus groups as a whole. Next will be an analysis of silences in the texts. 7.3.1 Money All groups mention money and it has the highest number of occurrences in the data. Four groups out of eleven mention it most frequently while three groups mention it as the second highest. This might be interpreted in several ways, but the most likely interpretation is that the need for money confirms development discourse studies that have shown rural people particularly the women as ?stuck? in poverty. The term for money in the Kamba language is ?mbesa?. Let us look at what some of the participants said: Text 7.1: Resp: Mavatamwe totwendaa wthe ithy twnokwati wanite wthie wthe tyuthna ni fees, wthe voo nd ttonya kwka twnakwati ttonya kkwata mbesa tkawa o mny, sukal na tyva o fees. Natyka onesa, nottha notwaya onesa, nottha notwaya onesa. Some of the needs ?we like to have enough so that we do not lack fees, so that there is something we can do...so as to have money to buy salt, and pay fees and so that we also eat well, so that we also eat well (Group 3, page 1, lines 9-15). Text 7.1 is in response to the initial question of the research ?What are your needs as women in this Division?? In this text, from the Kerosene Selling Group, the speaker constructs women as being in need of a source of income to enable them to get money to pay school fees, and to buy basic needs like salt and sugar, and to enable them to eat well. Generally, in this text and in Texts 7.2-7.8 in Appendix xi (a), (because these texts are long, I have left them in the appendix), money reflects other needs that cost money. Money means development and progress for them and with it, they can do things that add value to their lives. Repetition in the last line of the excerpt ?so that we also eat well, so that we also eat well? might be interpreted to indicate women?s collective responsibility for their communities with regard to feeding them 188 through their income generation efforts. This group stood out as being much more agentive than other groups in running a kerosene-selling business and it was also the only group that did not need to practise the Merry-Go-Round. As seen in Text 7.2, from the House Construction Group, the money most women generate for contribution to their group?s Merry-Go-Round comes from members? sale of farm produce. In other words, it is money that they have worked for. Each member in this particular group contributes Ksh. 20 (R 2) every time the group goes to work at a member?s farm. From this text, looking at the remarkably little money they contribute for one another, one can make a link between women being confined to subsistence farming that in a sense makes women remain trapped in poverty. Nasong?o and Ayot (2007: 189) argue that women and men are differentially affected by the levels of poverty in Kenya as revealed by economic statistics; a process they refer to as the ?feminization of poverty?, the implication being that women become more concerned with struggling for daily bread than following any specific political development. This study confirms their finding that given their economically disempowered position; women as compared to men are unable to participate effectively in electoral politics which requires enormous resources. The speaker from Text 7.3, The Widows? Group demands a hospital to be built in the village by the government to treat diseases like brucellosis and typhoid. She cites two problems as hindering her travel to this hospital; money is unavailable and she is alone (a widow). She then goes on to add that anything available that may get her money has been sold to buy food in the face of hunger. This text paints a picture typical of the poor status of most rural women, poor and unable to afford medical care. Like previous texts, Text 7.4 highlights the need for money. In addition, this text also highlights unemployment as a cause of financial problems. As Khasiani (1993) argues, low-paying casual agricultural labour is the main employment option for the majority of Kenyan rural women, the reason for this being that in rural areas, most women are self-employed and work on their own farms. Additionally, traditional Kenyan society was polygamous. When women were married they moved away from their own families to join their husband?s families. Each man had a compound for his own extended family that would be situated close to his brothers? compounds. These kinship patterns created large extended families that could pool their efforts to collectively support one another. As the men 189 moved out of the villages in search of work, the women were left to fend for themselves and their families. As the extended kinship relations began to break down, women looked for support outside of their immediate families. This forms the basis for the extensive network of women?s groups in Kenya. It is these groups which form the basis of sustainability in the rural areas. Sustainability depends on women meeting the basic needs of their communities. Women?s time is so caught up with attending to their practical interests, that there is little spare energy for their strategic interests. Text 7.5 brings to the fore challenges posed by HIV particularly in the context of poverty in rural areas. This is captured in the speaker?s statement that ?many children are now dying at home especially with the HIV pandemic?. Again, the collective nature of the problem of poverty is seen in the acknowledgment that, ?twna thna mwing? ?we have many problems? preceding the explanation that there are many parents who simply do not have money to take good care of their children. Text 7.7, from the Orphaned Children?s Group takes care of orphaned children. While they have been able to take one of two orphaned children to school (the father had died recently), one is still at home due to lack of money. At the end of the excerpt, the speaker laments the futile application for education bursaries which they always apply for but which they never receive. This text might be interpreted to mean that lack of money undercuts women?s action as seen in their inability to take one of the orphans to school. Similarly with regard to undercutting women?s action, (from a group whose main objective is building houses for one another), Text 7.6 shows that the women have been unable to complete their building because none of them has money to buy cement that is required to complete it. Text 7.8 in addition to pointing out the primacy of finances to the running of the women?s group highlights the expectation that most women?s groups have, that one of the reason why they come together is to ?attract visibility? by donors. The speaker is disappointed that none of the politicians have recognized their unity and decided to ?give them something?. 7.3.2 Unity All the eleven groups mention unity in response to the first research question on what issues women identify. The term commonly used for unity in the Kamba language is ?ngwatano?, also synonymous with ?kwatani?. In this study, women indicate that there is a need to sustain unity, which enables collective action. Through a collective effort, they have achieved development 190 which may be seen as the improvement of their lives and those of their communities, through improved education, income, skills development and employment. Let us look at the following excerpts; Text 7.9 Nnd wakwtha miaka y ovau navtie tna thnan tteavuansye.Tnavuanw?a toona ngwatano noyo tonya tookoa?. Na tnoona tkwatane twake nymba tenu ? (points to a house) nakwe nokkundi... Because some years back we were in problems because we were not enlightened, and then we saw, we got enlightened and saw that unity is the one that can save us?and we saw let us unite or let us build a house like this one and that other one over there (points to a house), I was built for by the group (Group 4, page 15, lines 7-10) Text 7.10: Yu ketha n kana kaawa n viisi tkombansya inyia tkamtwaa viisi. Nttwate twana tna vinda yu vala tnaamkle natyka tykala nth tyasya kana kaa keettwe sukulu va na tka tykata? Ntkaina tnenge inyia mbesa nethaake mbesa atwae kana sukulu?. Now if there is a child without fees we collect for the mother and take it to her. We have taken four children since the time we awoke and we sit down and say this child has been taken to this school, and let?s do what? Let us uplift him and give her mother and her father fees to take her/his child to school. Text 7.11 Resp: Kkundi k kit, (clears throat), kkwataa wa wakthkma mndanii, natwathkma mndani, ntvandaa mmea na ithy ene, thy ene, ttyka, okutethania oou kwona tilye. O twoosa mmemba ttkoo ttkoo, tnza maima, ttza malev ttsvia mthanga, twkaa ou. Ok very quickly, please tell me what activities does your group engage in? Our group (clears throat) is concerned with farming. And when we work in the farms, we grow crops and we ourselves, we ourselves, we work for ourselves, like helping one another the way you have seen us. Like if we take a particular member, we do this and do this we dig holes, we dig terraces we conserve the soil we do all that (Group 8 page 9, lines 1-7). Text 7.12: Resp: Kla mnd ena kana tw nymba, tkitaa yu kmbana, na kana kosa yu tayu tla nnatwo yu mnd la syanwe na msee wakwa, nosa naete vaa nake nake mwtu wa inya etwa.Yu tnathi kwosa nnd twa tini naete neka sukulu vaa. Everyone has one at home. We normally meet, and now you take, like the ones I have, when my brother in ?law- and the wife died, I brought them here and the sister died, now I went and picked those ones because they were very small I brought them to school here (group 7: page. 17, lines 509-520). More texts (7.13-7.14) on how the women talk about their action can be found in Appendix xi (b). In Text 7.9, the women speak of their action in terms of ?enlightenment? and ?upliftment?. The speaker?s choice of the term ?enlighten?, as an aspect of development indicates that unity in the 191 women?s groups has brought about visible transformation in their lives. It is, however, interesting to note that women attribute this change to an unnamed source, as seen in both expressions ?we were not enlightened? and ?we got enlightened?. In the first instance, this enlightenment has not originated from the women themselves but from an external source. In the second instance, use of the passive indicates that the women construct themselves as ?done- tos?, action was applied on them. They got enlightened; they do not see themselves as agents capable of transformative social change. Statements like the one in Text 7.9 above show that women are aware that they have been able to ?do? something for themselves and the community and that this impacts positively on their lives. The choice of the pronoun ?ti? ?we? also reflects the women?s sense of collective action. This collectivity is seen in the use of action words such as ?unite? and ?build? in the expression ?tkwatane twake? (let us unite and build a house). Coppock et al. (2006) in their study on the creation and governance of women?s groups in arid Northern Kenya, underscore the importance of collective action as a basis for the transformation of women?s lives and the lives of other community members. The women describe the women?s group as a form of social organization that provides financial security. Women help one another to meet their basic needs, as Text 7.10 illustrates. Faced with inadequate funds, and numerous responsibilities, members of this group united and resorted to collective efforts in financial contributions to enable them to pay fees and fit uniforms for their children. This finding also receives support from Lukhele (1990) in his research on stokvels (similar to the Merry-Go-Round) among the African community in South Africa. The findings of the current study confirm those of Gathigi (2000), who established that women were able to finance one another on a rotational basis for the purchase of household utensils, furniture, clothing, farm inputs, water tanks, and the construction of houses. It is clear that the women?s groups provide financial services for their members akin to those provided by a bank. Unlike the bank, the group members adopt a relaxed way of paying back money given by the group to suit them such as the interest being very low. When faced with a problem, a member can borrow money from the group, using livestock as the collateral. They return the money with interest later. This is not just done haphazardly, but according to clearly stipulated rules. The action women take to sustain themselves and their communities demonstrates their agency and constitutes them as the ?rock? that holds things together, not just individually but 192 collectively; as intimated by the speaker in text 7.10. From this text, the use of the pronoun ?we? combined with the active verb ?-twate?, meaning ?taken?, in the expression ?we have taken four children to school? indicates women?s active contribution to the process of social transformation. They construct themselves as capable of agentive action. Similarly, in Text 7.11, when asked what activities the women?s group engages in, they use action words to describe their farming activities. Examples of action words are seen in the choice of the words, kthkma (to work), ntvandaa (we grow) the repeated use of the plural form of the reflexive pronoun ?thy ene (ourselves),?ttnza maima? (we dig holes), ttnza malevu (we dig terraces), tutsuva mthanga (we conserve the soil). Her last four words, ?we do all that?, suggests pride and a sense of accomplishment. In Text 11, the ?t-? ?we? stands for the mutual action they give one another to sustain their farming, while the ?we? in Text 7.11 stands for the ?collective effort? through which the women manage to contribute money for school fees and take their children to school. Unlike previous texts (7.9 to 7.11) that show women?s unified action, Text 7.12 shows that group decisions also entail individual responsibilities. This excerpt, taken from the Orphaned Children?s Group, begins with the speaker saying that every member of the group has at least one orphan at home. She moves from using ?we?, the group, to ?I? to discuss her individual responsibilities for which she receives support from the group. This shift from the collective to the individual is evident in the use of the personal pronoun, n- in the word ?n-aete? (I brought) and in the use of the word n-osa (I took). Her focus on her own story allows us to understand the unique circumstances that led to her taking on the children orphaned by the death of her brother in-law and his wife. Let us look closely at the text that follows; Text 7.15: Resp: Yu vaa kwit aka monekaa me tina mno. Inter: mm Resp: Nayu ithy twakwatana nkana twambe kvanda mboka no. Tnamanthaa kana ntwona mndu tonya tklangya kethia notwakwata o mapato maseo ketha notkwtethya. Now here in our area women are seen as something very backward Mm So we united so that we could start growing these vegetables. 193 We were looking for someone who could uplift us, and so that we could have better earnings this way we support ourselves (Group 9, page 7, lines 187-194) Text 7.15 is important because it shows how the speaker recognises that women are described in negative ways, as ?backward?, despite the fact that they have been able to combine their resources to meet some of their basic needs by growing vegetables together. For a brief moment she seems to recognise the mismatch between the discourses in which women are located and what they achieve by their actions. But the moment is short-lived and in the very next sentence she reverts to the repeated dependency refrain that suggests the need for someone to ?uplift? and rescue them. Ultimately, therefore, the deficit dependency discourse prevails in this text, even though it is not a representation of women?s real life achievements. 7.3.3 Formal education All the groups indicated formal education as one of the most important needs, an indication of the importance of education for the participants. Formal education in Kenya is hard to acquire in the rural areas due to financial difficulties, yet it is a means of access to the national economy and to resources. In order to or have better opportunities, participants believe that children must obtain a good education. Some of the participants?, responses on formal education, Texts 7.16- 7.18, can be found in Appendix xi (c): In Text 7.16, in response to the interview question about what women?s needs are, the speaker first talks about women?s oppression in terms of shouldering most of the household work. She then goes on to point out the alienation that accompanies men?s loss of power and subsequent alienation in view of changing gender relations that Kabira (2003: 47) talks about in the Kenyan context. Further, she acknowledges the influence of women in the education of children, arguing that ?without women there is no education nowadays?. In Text 7.17, Inter: Mavata menyu ksion k ta aka nmo mek? Resp: Mavata mait ksion k tkwatantye kkundi k twakee na tisomethya. Inter: mm Resp: Und la mneene vi wmaana kwit n ksomo yu ketha ntkwata tethyo kson k, ketha and ala manengae and knd nmatliikakana, makatwksya knd (theka). Inter: What are your needs as women in this division? Resp: Our needs in this division we have come together as a group to build and educate Inter: Mm 194 Resp: The greatest concern for us is education. If we could get support in our area, if the people who give people something can remember us and give us something (laughter) (group 10 pg. 1, lines 9-15). in addition to education, women identify building [houses] as a key need. The use of the plural pronoun ?t-? ?we? in the word ?tkwatantye? (we have united) indicates the collective enacted in the women?s group which enables them to take action to achieve their goals. In this text, by citing education as their greatest concern, the women recognize the value of education which development studies have also identified as crucial. Further, use of the double modal ?ketha? constructs their desire for education as conditional on their getting support. In this text, the support being asked for could be considered to be a right and part of a government?s responsibility. Extract 7.17 suggests that there is a mismatch between what the women say and what they do. There is a disjunction in the way the women produce a highly negative construction of themselves as unable to act without hand-outs and what they manage to achieve. The women refer to themselves as ?unremembered?, a forgotten constituency, particularly in relation to funding. Yet they do so with laughter. Laughter sustains them. What is interesting is that in reality the women do educate their children. Yet their talk reproduces them as dependent subjects, rather than as agentive. This is an example of a major finding of this research; that despite all that women do for their communities, they talk about themselves in deficit terms. For instance in Text 7.18, Text 7.18: Mavata mait taaka division n yiit mnomno tkkwatana nkana wthe mnomno ntwatetheansya. Nkana wthe syana syit nsyalte ksoma ikai kumaalya ksomo nd kyalte. Our needs as women in this division mainly are to unite so that we help one another so that our children can see their education to completion, in the appropriate way (Group 11: page 1, lines 6-10). women construct themselves in deficit terms in spite of their earlier acknowledgement that they have been agentive with regard to education. The interesting thing in this finding is the way in which the women say nothing about themselves. Due to the gender inequality that exists in education between women and men in Kenya, this might be interpreted to mean that they have 195 internalized their lack of formal education and have accepted it. The reason for this is probably due to the way women have internalized deficit discourses acquired through socialization. In other words, they are interpellated by these deficit discourses (Althusser, 1971). These discourses produce a sense of who they are. Women are agents of that sustainable development discourse which is concerned with keeping present identifiable resources for future generations. In that mode of sustainability, they look at formal education as a need for their children and future generations. As Ngugi Wa Thiong?o (1993: 76) argues, ?children are the future of any society. Thus the struggle for the survival of our children is the struggle for the survival of our future?. It is therefore important that people should get themselves a good education or send their children to school for that education. Many children do not complete primary school and drop out early due to lack of fees. The women?s goal for their children?s completion of school is an indicator in itself that many children do not complete their studies as they are supposed to. They have realized that this is not a good thing for future generations and that successful completion of studies has positive outcomes such as well paying jobs and a better life, while non-completion leads to problems. 6.3.4 Support Support emerges as one of the most commonly mentioned needs shared by all the groups. Support, in the Kamba language, is realized as ?tethyo,? the verbal noun derived from the same verb ?ktethya? ?to help? but belonging to a different noun-class which means ?help? generally (Hill, 1991: 138). The high frequency of the notion of support in the data requires an in-depth critical investigation of what constitutes ?support?, according to the women. Women have different constructions of ?support?. Let us look at the text that follows; Text 7.19: Resp: Taketha notwona mnd etsyasya akatmantha order na mthenya mna nw?o mkta kwtawa na ketewe mbesa. Kau to kand? Resp: Now if we had someone to get orders for us and on such and such a day you will be brought the money. Isn?t that something? (Group 3, page 5, lines 12-13) Despite the fact that the women manage to take orders for their produce, in Text 7.19, the respondent laments the absence of someone else to do this. This reflects a constant refrain in their talk: ?Who will do this for us? The choice of the words ?ttetewe mbesa? [we be brought money] implies that buyers should bring money rather than that the women should sell the 196 produce. Syntactically, the women position themselves in object position rather than as subjects. Further, the use of the pronoun ?m-? ?you? constructs women as the ?you-community? referencing the universal community of rural women as in deficit, supporting Popkewitz?s (2007) views on agency. The use of the Kamba term ?taketha? a modal equivalent to the English expression ?if it were possible? suggests wishful thinking. According to Fairclough (2003: 177), modality can be defined as the question of what people commit themselves to when they make statements, ask questions make demands or offers. What people commit themselves to in texts is an important part of how they identify themselves. In this context, the speaker positions herself as lacking agency by her passivity and tentativeness created by both syntax and choice of modal. Text 7.20: Inter: Kwoou aka mo ene mwona male kwka ata kmina mavata aa? Resp: Twale kwlea ithy na tiyungamia na moko aa mait na titethya. Vate ktethya mavata maithela na thna ndthela. Inter: So what can women do to address these needs? Resp: We should deny ourselves, sacrifice ourselves and we should uplift ourselves by working with our own hands. Without support our needs cannot be met and problems cannot end (group 3: page 8, lines 11-15) From the text above, support means ?helping? (kutethya) one another which involves personal sacrifice. More importantly, this ?helping? connotes taking some form of action, as seen in the choice of the verbs ?-yngamia? (uplift) and ?-tethya? ?work? in the expression ?tiyungamia na moko aa mait na titethya? (we should uplift ourselves and work with our own hands). In their view, therefore, women?s taking some form of action is the means through which to address the problems afflicting them, this is the independence discussed by Sen (1999) in the literature. In addition, the choice of the reflexive pronoun ?ithy? ?ourselves? and the possessive ?it-? ?our? to talk about their denial and working with their hands reinforces the importance of a collective spirit that underlies women?s action. In addition to self-help, women consider external support as critical to their sustainability: Text 7.21: Lakini tkaumw?a kand kang nza tkoka kwongelanwa na kaa kait tmanthte, nws ntkna jeki tketha notweesukumanga ombeeange? ... Ukesa kwtha thy yu thy ntkwenda ktethwa mno. 197 But if we could be got something else from outside, to be added onto what we have worked for, you know it would uplift us so that we can push ourselves forward? ... So we really very much want to be supported. (Group 8: page 7, lines 172-177) The hesitation after explaining how added support would boost women?s self-help might be interpreted to indicate the depth of women?s wish to get external support, and also the great value which they attach to this kind of support. The women appear to have internalised the belief that they are inadequate. This makes them ask for support and this might also be attributed to an identity that has been shaped by rural development discourse that constructs rural people as poor and in need (Verma, 2001). Despite the independence that women would get from self-help and external support, they also consider support from men particularly for looking after children as important. This is clear from Text 7.22: Inter: Kwandavye, mo mavata ala makonetye aka ksion k nmo mek? Resp: Mno mno aka nmendaa ksupportwa. Resp: na mno mno name moo, o kson, ketha ethwa nna syana nikwona mnd wa kisupport Inter: What are your needs as women in this division? Resp: Women particularly like to be supported, and especially by their men in the area, like if I had children, they need someone who can support them. (Group 7 page 1, lines 7-11) This text points to the women?s need for financial support form the men. The tentativeness of the respondent?s expression ?if I had children? might be applicable to women in general, though the speaker chooses to individualize the wish for child support. Let us look at more Text 7.23 from the participants for constructions of ?support?. Text 7.23: Resp: ena syana thanthat nakwa nna syakwa ta nyanya Resp: Yu tkethwa nmtonya tkllya kana nitonya kwoswa masukulu ala ma syana ndiwa Resp: Ukesakwthwa wetha kana wnako ona wetha, ketethew?a nymba nkesla mveani wa ktethwa. She has six children and I have almost eight. Now if you could ask for us, if they (children) could be admitted to the orphans? schools So that if you are with such a child, Even if he/she is being supported at home, Resp: he passes through the support system, so that when they are with your own children, there is support set aside for them, (Group 7: page 15, lines 448-458) Text: 7.24 198 Yu vatolong, etha nmatethyo mekwsla tambaa lu tambaa ikundi ntwalte ktetheew?a mno, nnd aka methna, aka menathna la ws mwana e nymba nwa mnd mka. Mwana wa mwtu, n wa mndu mka, mwana wa mndme?Now the other need, if it is support like regarding food, like women?s groups should be supported a lot because women have problems when a child is in the house, he/she belongs to the woman. (Group 8: pg. 7, lines 149-154). Text 7.25: Ithy aka mbee ttendaa synd syattetheesya; nnd ntthnaa mno ityh aka ntthnaa, nnd mno yu ta mavato, tthnaa mno n synd syatutethyaa, tkna jeki, yu mno mno tevinda y kww?a kwetete ou, tina kya na tina kya na ntkwenda tethyo kuma kla m nkana tthi nmbee. Our needs for which we should be supported us women like things for supporting us; because us women suffer a lot. Especially like our earnings. We suffer a lot regarding things for supporting us. To help us especially like at this time of dry season, we have nothing and we have nothing, and we want support from you so that we can move forward. (Group 8: page 1, lines 10-18) Members in Text 7.23, take care of orphaned children. The women would like support in order to ease the burden of taking care of extra children they have taken into their families in addition to their own. The first speaker in the text points out that her friend has six children and she has eight. The women therefore believe that they deserve support especially in getting admission to schools for orphaned children. The need for such schools in Kenya indicates the strain HIV puts on families as seen in the way those who have taken up extra children into their families ask for support. In a way, though the source of support is unnamed, it may be interpreted to mean that it is the government?s duty to provide such services. In addition to support for orphaned children, in Text 7.24, women consider support in the form of food as essential to feed their families and thereby ensure food security. In the Kamba community, as in many African societies, the feeding of children is seen as the responsibility of women as indicated by the speaker when she says that once a child is in the house, s/he is considered to belong to the woman. The speaker could also be interpreted to mean that it is the responsibility of government (though unnamed) to support its people in rural areas in their efforts to ensure food security. This Widows? Group mainly involved in cotton growing is very hard-working and well- organised. They attend to all their chores and duties and manage their time efficiently. However, in Text 7.25 one of the members of this group reproduces what in a previous section is called the ?feminization? (Nasong?o and Ayot: 2007) of poverty, as seen in the way the women claim that they ?suffer a lot?, they ?have nothing? and therefore should be supported. Here we have clear evidence that women?s ability to attend to their practical day-to-day interests does not 199 enable them to escape from poverty. The support they seek is practical and financial. Without an understanding of how to focus on more long-term strategic interests, or even on what these might be, they are left looking for solutions to immediate difficulties as they arise. In this text, the difficulty is produced by a drought and they see the researcher as a change agent who can solve their current problem. Because they are at the mercy of particular circumstances, their achievements are also seen in the moment and consequently offer no security for the future. As a result, the women are easily interpellated by deficit discourses. These discourses make them undervalue their long term contribution to sustainability. Their experience is one of vulnerability to circumstances, despite their long-standing ability to meet their needs through traditional collective action. They do not recognise their worth or the strength which makes them the rock on which their communities rest. This is exacerbated when the women?s movement which focuses on women?s strategic interests, dismisses traditional collective practices as a form of gendered disempowerment. However, in spite of their desire for practical and financial support, a contradiction appears in the way they question the viability of food hand-outs. Let us look at the text that follows: Text 7.26: Twna thna ww?aa mwolyo wanenganwe tonne syana nd mn. Kng syanenganwe tonne syana nd mna sya liu, na ww?a tanawie lu miaka yana? Ming nd ksio k nds kyosie mwolyo matuk meana Lakini mwaenda Mulala wende wkala vu, wsa kwata klo kmwe na nusuk ya mboso nayu klo kmwe wathiuya woo n kaya k? We are suffering. We hear food donations have been given out like tons of certain amount have been given to some places, and how many years have we bought food? Many, but I do not know for how many days this area got food donations, but if you go to Mulala you will stay there and you will receive one and a half kilos of beans. Now if you eat one kilo of beans to night what will you eat tomorrow? (Group, 5, pg 15 lines 445-446) The speaker begins by lamenting about the lack of food hand outs in her area, citing other areas in the region that have received food. At the same time, much as she wants this form of support, she questions it?s rationale given the time spent waiting for it and the fact that that one only receives a ration of one and a half kilos of beans. By pondering ?now if you eat one kilo of beans tonight, what will you eat tomorrow?? she raises an important question regarding sustainability in relation to the culture of dependency created by food hand-outs. 200 Asked who has managed to support their women?s groups, most of the women mentioned NGOs as seen in the texts below: Text 7.27: Inter: N mnte kete tethyo? Resp: Utethyo su twanengiwe n serikali ktkwatania na donor yakuma Denmark, va nvo serikali yateteie donor su vaa nanyo yatnenge maujusi asu. Inter: Who has supported this group in any way? Resp: We were given that support by the government through a donor from Denmark. And that is when the Government brought the donor here and that is how it (donor) has given us those skills (Group: 3 page 11, lines 6-11). Both Texts 7.26 and 7.27 confirm the role of NGO involvement in community development in Kenya. The NGOs were the most commonly mentioned form of support in collaboration with the government as seen in Text 7.26 where the speaker talks about a donor from Denmark. In this text, the women say that support came to them from a Donor in Denmark through the government. However agency in Text 7.26 may be said to be with the NGO and the government and not the women themselves. They construct themselves as ?done-to?s? in the use of the pronoun ?-t-? (us) in the words ?yatteie? and ?yatnenge?. Prompted on the form of support, the women indicated that they have acquired skills in various areas, though ironically, another problem has been created, the problem of markets- where to take the finished products: Text 7.28: Inter: N tethyo wva wa mbesa kana ong kkundi kyenyu kminte kkwata? Resp: kkundi k kit nikthtwe kvundtwe kvundtwe kna majusi mekvathkanio ala me mananeena navu tina amw nmes kuw?a nesa mauwi ala mendekanaa ketha navitu ku kyakel ve andu mavundtwe ktuma nga na mavulana ketha nmes ktuma na ve ang mavundtwe ktuma nthung ila iklaw?a nth syanza, lakini thna wasyo n market. Inter: What form of support financial or otherwise has your women?s group been able to get? Resp: Our women?s group has been taught various skills, as already mentioned in cookery; secondly, there are those who are taught how to make clothes and sweaters, and there are others who have been taught how to make baskets which are exported to overseas, but their problem is market (Group 11: page 6, lines 6-15). What the women?s talk in this text implies is that since in most cases many women already know how to knit and cook, what the women would need is not cooking skills, but markets for their products. In other words, the important thing is to see what the women in women?s groups need, not what people think the women need; this is what makes them ?done-tos? as often, there is no negotiation as to what would work for them. 201 7.3.5 Leadership The issue of leadership was mentioned by all the groups except one. In the Kamba language the term for leadership is ?tongoi?. One of the key issues that the women consistently mentioned in relation to leadership is the need for a female leader who would understand their needs. In the respondents? views, such a leader is a person who can ?do things for us?, ?show us direction?, ?give us support? (money) ?show us the light? to mention but some of the responses as seen in Text 7.29: Ntthnaa ovaa ttena mnd watwonia mbee. Na neng and makaleaa kwonua mbee komesa kumbka? We suffer here with no one to show us ahead. And if people are not shown ahead, can they really emerge? (Group: 3, pg. 2 lines 20-22). In Text 7.29, by using the plural object -infix ?-t-? (we), the women construct themselves as a ?suffering community? that needs a leader to show them the way. Despite a culture of collective endeavour and group decision making, in which women?s groups are deliberately formed to give members the support of the collective, women construct themselves in a discourse which focuses on the centrality of an individual leader. In other words, they do not see the power that exists when they work together collectively. The women do not understand that community action underpins their sustainability not individual power. Their agency is based on the mutual support that women give one another, not on the power of an individual leader. This text also highlights a key finding of the research: their location in a discourse of negative representation makes women believe they have a limited role to play in politics. This in turn makes them believe they need a leader to solve their problem. This is an individualized discourse which diminishes their sense of themselves. In other words, women want to give agency to a leader and yet as already argued in Chapter 5, agency resides in the collective. Discourses are ways of being, women grow in these discourses. This appears to be the prevailing dominant discourse about women; a Kenya discourse and no wonder they inhabit and reproduce these discourses. This deficit discourse constructs the women as helpless, and suffering and this comes straight from their mouths that they look for a saviour, a leader, and a mentor. They seem unable to translate their micro conditions of possibility into macro conditions of possibility. The women appear to use both ?we? and ?they?. They refer to themselves as ?people? and use the third person plural pronoun suffix ?-ma-? ?they? which gives women what Fairclough (2003: 202 150) refers to as ?generic reference?. This reference is often associated with the universal and hence by using the generic pronoun ?they?, the women construct themselves in an impersonal way, which generalises the suffering of rural women. What is fore grounded is their suffering, not their actions. Let us look at more responses on leadership; Text 7.30: Resp:Yu ketha yu ilye vu w president, nmanya thna sya iveti. Na takethata Kalk Ngil asyatwe yu vaa tond saytwe wtha tw sawa vi. Tkita kamkaa kwakya, nng nanows vaa kwakwa, ngakwoneleelia inzevania. Kowtkla maithna. Kotws tkaumia mnd mka va? If you are the president you would know women?s needs. If Kaluki Ngilu were born here the way you are, we would be high up there we would be waking up. Since you know my place if I show you a problem you will easily sort it out. She wouldn?t want to see people suffering. We do not know where we will get a woman leader from (Group 3, page. 4 lines 14-16). Text 7.31 Resp: Uketha twnatongoi ma aka nnd atongoi ma aka wtha matelewa nmavata maka na kwosa mavata moo na moko eli. Resp: If we had women leaders, because it is women leaders who understand women?s needs and take them seriously ?with both hands? (Group 3: page 11, lines 82-83) In both Texts 7.30 and 7.31, the speakers advocate for female leadership. While Text 7.30 supports the idea of female leadership by citing Charity Ngilu the first woman presidential candidate, in Text 7.31, the speaker wishes that they had female leaders, a condition of possibility indicated by the marker of modality ?kethia. The repetition of this marker indicates the seriousness of her wish. Her reason for wanting women in leadership is ?because it is women leaders who understand women?s needs and take them seriously ?with both hands?. The use of ?with both hands? is Kamba metaphor that indicates taking something seriously. This might be interpreted to mean that women in women?s groups meet the practical interests of women and that they recognize that there is a gap; that of women?s strategic gender interests that Molyneux (1985) identified. The use of the metaphor helps to emphasise that female leaders would address the strategic gender interests of rural women. Because I have argued that the rural women are not focused on strategic interests; this is the agenda of elites who are unlikely to translate individual power into power for rural women, this study hopes to provide a way of looking at how alliances between elite men and men politicians could contribute to transformation for both groups. Let us look at another text. 203 Text 7.32: Resp: Amwe nmaleeaa twthuksya ta mnd ung watwie kana onawetha nnd asomete ata, nneena ketha ona  no mnd mka. Na mnd mka twakwthukw?a. Kwoou amwe nowavunza lakini la ws nokvthya. Okila kvthya mnd mka wavthiwe kuma tene. Mattklaa matongoi maaka. Resp: Some refuse to listen to us like another person (read man) told us they look at a woman no matter how learned she is, she will talk and you will just find she is just a woman; and a woman is not to be listened to. So some loose respect but as for others, it is just lack of respect (for women). Just that disrespect for women from time immemorial. They do not accept women?s leadership. (Group 3, page 12, lines 14-24) Text 7.32 identifies masculinity as a challenge to female leadership, as seen in the speaker?s expression, ?just that lack of respect from time immemorial?. This is particularly the case in the Kamba community that is highly patriarchal. Patriarchy reinforces male power and might be said to be the underlying reason why the men ?do not accept women?s leadership?. The findings of this study confirm Ogolla (2006) who underscores the issue of masculinity as undercutting women?s action arguing that masculinity casts a dark shadow on the women?s emancipation agenda. More detailed texts on women?s construction on leadership can be found in Texts 7.32- 7.35, in Appendix xi. Text 7.33 identifies fear among leaders as particularly inhibiting their ability to deliver to the population like getting them markets for their produce. Text 7.34 identifies corruption among leaders with regard to the misuse of money for community development projects. Finally Text 7.35 is a microcosm of the nature of current leadership in Kenya where once a leader is elected; the electorate has expectations of support particularly in the form of money to the constituents. This shows a lack of understanding on the part of the women. The respondent cites the misconduct of elected MPs in relation to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), a government intervention to help eliminate poverty in all the constituencies in Kenya. Instead of being concerned with supporting the local people to meet basic needs such as roads, the money for this fund is not being used properly according to the women. Text 7.35 wraps up the complexities associated with leadership as seen in the wishful note on the part of the women; ?in fact, if we had good leaders we would really be helped?. 204 7.3.6 Healthcare Healthcare emerges a one of the main issues that the women are concerned about. Nine groups out of eleven talked about it. One group mentioned it most frequently, while for one group it was the second most frequently mentioned need. In the focus group discussions, women talked about healthcare mainly with reference to the need for hospitals. They also talked about diseases particularly HIV as a disease that presents unique challenges to them. Let us look at transcripts from different groups; Text 7.36: Resp:And ma sivital eeh mand ma masivital, taithy mbaa aka mno yu ksio ku tneenea, tyna vand ttonya thi sivital ya serikali y kuvn. Regarding hospitals, things to do with hospitals, like us women in this area we are talking about, there is no nearby government hospital we can go to (Group 2, pg. 5, lines 12-15). Text 7.37: Resp: Mkalle km ttna masivital ma kwania na o ala manini twnamo ot tnini twa klasi kya nthi dispensary or health centers. Resp: in terms of healthcare we do not have hospitals except low class dispensaries or health centers (Group 9: page 8, lines 25-27). In general what stands out in healthcare is the need for hospitals. For example, Text 7.36 constructs women as being in need of hospitals in the vicinity, while Text 7.37 makes a distinction between ?hospitals? and ?low-class dispensaries?. In making this distinction, the probable interpretation of this is that a hospital is symbol of a community that has not been forgotten by government. The hospital is also tied to dissatisfaction with clinics. Hospitals also relieve the women of the burden of looking after sick people as seen in Texts 7.38 and 7.39. In this way, hospitals present a visible sign that someone cares about their community and if the government does not, they have to look after their own. They have to shoulder the burden of taking care of children, their husbands and even their mothers - in ? law. She ends her turn by naming women in the expression ?women have a lot of problems?, suggesting a generic reference of women as the ones who shoulder the responsibility of healthcare in their communities. The fact that their talk focuses on the cost of transport (need for a vehicle), the right to healthcare and not preventive medicine or hygiene for instance may be said to present their limited understanding of healthcare. It is therefore not surprising that they want institutions as these represent equal access to government. 205 Text 7.38: There is another problem in terms of healthcare and when we look at the issue of sand- harvesting, and when the sand was harvested, when the water is left bare then that brings about bad diseases. (Group 9, pg. 26, lines 135-140) Text 7.38 identifies a major problem in terms of healthcare, that of diseases resulting from sand- harvesting. The sand-harvesting the speaker makes reference to involves the transportation of sand from Muooni River in Makueni District to Nairobi by construction companies. Again this text constructs the women on the one hand, as aware of environmental issues such as sand? harvesting and the challenges they pose to the community. On the other hand, it also constructs them as having a limited understanding of the connection between sand-harvesting and the escalation of climate change in Mbitini. Before sand harvesting began, this river acted as a water catchment area for this community, but over the years, the continued removal of sand has reduced the water levels, resulting in the drying up of Muooni River. This text shows that women are aware of the destructive practices that hamper access to needs such as water and which in turn endanger their survival. Environmentalist Wangari Maathai has been working with women?s groups in tree planting. Until recently, her efforts on tree planting were not taken seriously by Kenyans who have suffered serious water shortages due to poor water management practices in the past. This text implies that Kenyans would gain a lot if more intellectuals worked with communities like Wangari has done. More texts (7.39-7.42) on healthcare can be found in Appendix xi (h). 7.3.7 Water Water was also one of the commonly mentioned needs. Nine out of eleven groups mentioned it. Some of the respondents had this to say: Text 7.43: Resp: Yu tayu ketha twna kw?u kante yu tayu mbemba symie mndan ketha ve kw?, and aa mene nmawa, wtha klevinda ting?ithya mbokaa mbembaa synd taisu. Nkwate synd taisu ketha nweetethia. Kwoou kw? kmaana. Resp: Now like if we had sufficient water, like now maize is drying in the shambas (farms) ... if there was water?these people you see here are hardworking people. We would water vegetables, maize and things like those, so that you can help yourself. So water is important (Group 3, page 3, lines 54-59) Text 7.44: Yu mavata amwe makonetye aka n kwthawa na thna mwing wa kw?, nkwthwa tkethwa na kw? nttonya kwtetheesya kethwa ntwethwa na mbaa mai, ta yu ketha aka k 206 ntwthwa na kw? k aka k nmathnaa kumaa mno ketha nmathkmaa na vitii. Some of the needs that concern women are like having a big water problem, because if we had water we would help ourselves so that we can help ourselves to have bananas, if only women had water, women here suffer a lot, they could work with more effort (Group 2, page 1, lines 8-16). Text 7.45: Yu ta kw?, kw? tvoyea ntklya nkana ketha k vakuv ketha ntkwata na tnona ntwavanda mbaa mboka ... kwoou kw? n very important. Like water, regarding water, we would like to ask so that it can be nearer so that we can grow like vegetables?so water is very important (group 2, lines 26-28). Text 7.46: Yu makwatte katuma kau mo ko and ma k ko n athangaau. If only they could get the water pump, people here are really hard-working. (Group 5, page 25 lines 24-26) In response to the interview question on what women?s needs are, in Text 43, the speaker starts on a wishful note ?if we had water?, showing what a precious and much wished for commodity water is. The selection of the term ?ketha? which may be glossed as ?if?, combined with the use of the collective ?tw-? ?we? in the expression ?tw-ina? (if we had), indicates that women as a collective could achieve a lot and therefore increase their agency. Like Text 7.43, Text 7.45 also expresses the wishful note of the participants to have water so that they can grow vegetables and help themselves. Although whoever is expected to sink a borehole is not named in these two texts, it might be interpreted as the speakers? sense that it is the responsibility of government to provide water for its people. Text 46 on the other hand talks about the need for water in relation to the distance, where the helplessness of the speaker comes out clearly when she chooses to use the passive form of the verb ?ketha kvakuv? (if it were possible for it to be nearer). By use of the modal ?ketha?, the speaker positions herself as helpless and constructs herself as without agency when it comes to decisions regarding where the water points are located. See Appendix xi (g) for more texts (7.47-7.49) on water. Looking at all the texts on water, few people talk about water in relation to health or sanitation, for example the underlying lack of hygiene as levels of water drop. They talk about water only in terms of provision of food. The reason for this silence in the text is probably because they have never had pumped water in their homes to use for cooking, washing hands, or even growing crops given the distances they have to travel to acquire it. 207 7.3.8 Roads Only two groups, out of the total eleven, identify roads as a key issue for women. The term ?road? in the Kamba language is realized by the variants ?lel?, ?leli? and ?valavala?. The women express the need for better roads. These are some of the responses from the participants; Text 7.50: Ithy andu maithekan tutitethawa, nundu kundukutelami kwsla munee aendete va? Kwoou ithy tuthnaa nkwtha twithekan. Us people of the bush, we are never helped. A place without tarmac, where would a ?big person? be going passing there? (Group 3, page 4, lines 99-104) Text 7.51: Resp: Nyie kwa woni wakwa ndkwona ta nza ii itumaa ttata synd syitu nesa, yu ota ngk isu situ tithatasya titesaa mathooa ala malte nnd ttesaa ok, yu tukasevwa nza, yu serikali ikatseuvsya nza tyaiwa nnd kua ngk isu tkatwaa vaya Emali. Yu nkwonoo nd ttwaa ngk isu syit nza tkate. In my opinion I think it?s these roads that make us not to sell our products well. Now like for our chicken now if we had the roads made for us, if the government could make the roads we cannot miss a way to carry the chicken to Emali. Now we can see how to take our chicken to Emali (Group 3, pg. 6, lines 198-204). Text 7.52: Resp: na thnolong nd ala matkwete kwa nza yoonthe nmavalavala. K kwit ktmalel nongi, na entha n mbaa viasala tknka nndu vala twale thi ta synd ila syitu tvandaa k mndani nkasa vi na nnd wakosa malel utntha twna mathna vi, nnd isynd tkatesaa na vi nnd wakkosa transport nnd wa valavala. The other need which has held us back in all ways is that of roads. There are no roads whatsoever here in our area, and if it is things like business, it is not possible because the markets for our farm produce are very far and we would be selling the produce very poorly. And because of lack of transport, we suffer a lot because of bad roads. (Group 9: page 3, lines 5-14). Text 53: Ivinda ya kwtwa kula ntwtaw?a kula nattathwa kana tkatemewa malel na ngalkon ya masilanga takvngwa kana ithuma syitu sya kw?u kyanw?aa na mandu asu tilea kwsa kmona. Kwoou asu n mathna amw ala tkwataa. During the time for being asked for votes (campaign period) we are promised that the roads will be made for us, and on the side of dams that we will have the water --- for us, or wells for drinking water for us and we never see those things (Group 9: page 3, lines 16-22). In Text 7.50, the speaker asks where a ?big person? (meaning a senior government official) would be going in a place without tarmac. Talking of women collectively as ?people of the bush? is part of the deficit discourse that sees the rural areas and the people as backward in comparison to the urban areas that are often seen more positively as more advanced. Text 7.51, from the Kerosene Selling Group, shows how bad roads in the study area hinder women?s action. In addition to constructing roads as a basic need, talking about roads as a wish gives them a future reference, constructing them as a macro need. By implication, roads will facilitate 208 this particular group?s ability to achieve sustainability through sale of their chicken. Text 7.52 constructs the women as ?stuck? and unable to make much progress because of lack of roads. The speaker talks of the lack of roads as curtailing their business efforts, particularly because this makes markets for their produce inaccessible. In other words, lack of roads hinders the realization of the women?s vision of progress, often associated with areas that have roads, such as urban areas. In Text 7.53 the speaker highlights how roads are part of the false promises that politicians make during the campaign period in order to get votes from the electorate. 7.3.9 The burden of household chores The other issue that emerges as critical to the women is being overburdened by household chores. With a total frequency count of five, the seemingly sparse mention might hide the fact that it is mentioned by three groups. Text 7.54: Resp: Vata la ng wa aka nklea knewa yanya nnd twalekeiw?e mawa ma msy wetha ndthya, nma, no ttanewa yanya yakwwa enda kakne vaita notaa? Inter: ee Resp: twkalaa tthimwe masaa ketha tww?a twthnan nota kombo Resp: The other need is to be given permission because we have been left the household chores like looking after cattle, farming, but we have never been given the permission and been told, go and do business like? Inter: ee Resp: We stay on time that is limited for us so that we feel as if we are in problems like in slavery (group 7, page 7, lines 7-15). Text 7.55: Resp: nottha yu kana kaa a yu ame mak katwa vaa wtha mausie ku soko mate iveti na i syana. Inter: ee Resp: Esa kka atye vaa nkwakwa avingwe na no ndalea vinguwa na kwakya we ndamanyaa kwkiwe ata. Resp: Now this child, the men of this place, if you walked around here you would find that they are full here in the market following the end women and the children. Resp: When he comes home he says ?This is my place?, he should be opened for and he cannot fail to be opened for and yet in the morning he does not know what might have happened (to the children) (Group 7, page 17, lines 15-21). In Text 7.54 above, the speaker constructs herself within a patriarchal traditional discourse of women?s responsibility. She appears to have internalized male dominance such that she needs ?permission? to act. Although the agent of the action is omitted, from the context it can be deduced that women need to obtain the permission of their spouses. The speaker uses the 209 metaphor of ?slavery? to explain the experience of being overburdened by household chores, likening the lack of time and freedom to engage in business and other activities to that of being in ?slavery?. In their responses, the women increasingly complained that men are not embracing change and are unwilling to participate in household chores. However, this in the Kamba community has to be understood in the context of social organization where women were traditionally confined to the home (Mbiti, 1966). This continues in modern times in rural communities with such confinement being a marker of rural-urban differences. Text 7.55, constructs men as entirely unconcerned about household chores. The text reveals that the men come home late in the night and are mainly concerned with ?following women and children?, implying that the men are involved in extra-marital affairs; these take away their attention from their families. Despite this lack of care from men in regard to their families, the women are helpless; when the men come home late at night, the women cannot ask where he has been, they cannot enquire why the man comes home late in the night for ?when he comes home, he says this is my place?. The text might also imply that the men expect sex on demand but take not responsibility for the children that result. Underlying the practice of being overburdened by household chores is the fact that most of the work, especially on the farm, child care and health care are traditionally a responsibility for the women in the Kamba community. This study confirms the 1997 United Nations (UN) Earth Summit where it was clearly pointed out that in most developing countries, women have the primary responsibility for nutrition, child care and household management. They are also active in environmental management, as evidenced in Wangari Maathai?s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her environmental sustainability activities (specifically tree planting) which are largely supported by women?s groups. Women play a major role as farmers, animal tenders and water and fuel collectors and are increasingly heading households; the women recognize this but construct household chores as a burden. Looking at all the needs mentioned, what is clear is that the needs are not separate from each other; they all have to do with basic services. 210 7.4 Sustainability modes for women?s groups: Women in Makueni District engage in their activities with optimism and enthusiasm and have continued to ?survive? despite various threats to their sustainability. In this study, I use the term ?sustainability modes? to refer to the means that women in women?s groups use for survival and endurance (See Ndambuki, 2009a). The current study has established that women consider spirituality and collective action as key to their sustainability. The women talk about their sustainability in terms of dreams, hopes and aspirations. They describe different ways of maintaining their optimism and enthusiasm. These are captured in the table that follows: Table 7.2: Sustainability modes for women?s groups FG1 FG2 FG 3 FG4 FG 5 FG 6 FG 7 FG 8 FG 9 FG 10 FG 11 Dreams hopes and aspirations Water Own income Women leaders in politics Support for children Develop- ment Land Recogn -ition Support for orphans Govern- ment support Own labour support Polytechnic Shelter Youth in leadershi p Develop- ment Govern- ment Shelter Unity Progress Land Respect for women Formal education Donor support Ways of maintaining optimism and enthusiasm Prayer (spirituality) Prayer Prayer Own labour Own labour Prayer Prayer Prayer Support Prayer Prayer Unity (collective action) Hope in children Unity Unity (collective action) Unity (collective action) Unity Unity A leader Love Unity Support from children Formal education Donor support Unity A leader Threats to agency (fears) Political interference Lack of shelter Lack of support from spouses Political interfere- ance Political interfere- ance Death Land grabbing Political interfere- enace Incomp- lete projects Non- committ- ment Patriarchy Gossip Authority Gossip Lack of Inherita nce Death Patriarchy Political interferen ce Patriarchy Political Interfer- ance Patriarchy Patriarchy Patriarchy Drug Abuse Illiteracy authority hunger Lack of shelter Divorce 211 7.5 Dreams, hopes and aspirations The Kamba term for hope is the noun ?wkwatyo? and that for dream is ?ndoto?. Development, support, land, shelter and formal education featured as the most commonly mentioned things that the women dream about and hope for. The women also talk about dreams in terms of water, women in politics and youth as leaders. Looking at the women?s dreams, they talk about their needs in a different way from the way they talk about them in the needs discourse section. For example when they talk of formal education, money and water, unlike in the previous section where they are seen as immediate basic needs, as dreams, these are all tied to possibilities for the future; water in terms of life as in farming, money in terms of capital for security, and formal education as a means of escape from poverty. In other words, their dreams represent a vision for long-term sustainability. The dreams are their imagined ways in which rural women might get out of the rural poverty trap (See Appendix xii for texts 7.57-7.63 for detailed transcripts on these issues as dreams. 7.6 Ways of maintaining enthusiasm and optimism Asked how they sustained their enthusiasm and optimism, the majority of the respondents in the women?s groups indicated that prayer (spirituality), unity and the presence of change agents was critical to their sustainability. What is important with regard to the different ways of maintaining enthusiasm and optimism mentioned is that they are all ways of ensuring sustainability for women in women? groups. For example unity provides the core basis of sustainability and that is why it is mentioned by the majority of the groups. The women also indicated that prayer (spirituality) is critical to their endurance and survival. The women also point out that change agents give them a vision for the future, beyond what they can understand (see Appendix xiii for Text 7.64). 7.7 Threats to agency In response to a question on what their fears were, the majority of women identified fears of different types. The women?s most commonly mentioned fears are male dominance, gossip, political interference, domestic violence and fear of lack of support from their spouses as the central inhibiting factors to their sustainability. These threats prevent them from achieving their dreams. In other words, threats limit their agency and hinder the sustainability of women?s 212 groups. The use of the term ?threats to agency? is borrowed from Coppock et al. (2006). However, unlike Coppock et al. (2006), who pointed out that the men in pastoral communities, have responded by forming their own groups, respondents in the current research, on the whole, expressed mistrust in men?s ability at group formation and maintenance of group unity. The current study indicates that male dominance impedes women?s participation in politics (see Appendix xiv for texts 65-67, for some of the transcripts on threats to women?s agency). A few of the participants indicated gossip as one of the greatest threats to women?s action. Gossip may be defined as talk of others whereby, everyone is watching everyone and reporting their behaviour essentially behind their backs. Culturally, gossip is seen as woman?s verbal behaviour. The findings of the current study indicate that although women are aware that gossip is a vice, it also functions as form of surveillance by women and politicians are wary of it (explored in more depth Chapter 8). On political interference, one of the participants said ?We are fearful because in 1985 we had a very strong women?s group and we were interfered with by the politicians, we had many strong groups. We were asked to unite, I think 52 groups to buy a tractor and the leader was here. So we gave our money and it was misused?. This text constitutes political interference because even though the money they had contributed was used to buy a tractor, the speaker talks about the money being misappropriated because the tractor did not benefit the women. The metaphor of ?mbesa syawa? literally meaning ?money being eaten? is a common metaphor in Kenyan political discourse and it often refers to money being ?misappropriated? or not being used for the intended purpose. Coppock et al. (2006: 19) cite ?political interference? but hardly provide an explanation of what the women meant by this or what they meant by the use of the term. The speaker makes explicit the tendency to interfere with women?s affairs. The ?eating? of the women?s money in buying a tractor by the politician indicates the political ideological set up in Kenya which gets affirmed by male dominating socio-cultural structures. Most often, politicians in Kenya are men and manipulate women when it comes to dealing with women?s groups. Grignon?s (2001) points out the manipulation of such women?s groups created by politicians are part of politicians? political strategy to maintain their support during campaign periods, even though as seen in this text, their interference prevents women from achieving their goals. Incidentally the year 1985 was the year when the Women?s International Conference was held in Nairobi (Kenya) though the respondent does not seem aware of it. This might be due to the disparity that exists between rural women and the urban 213 elite women in relation to women?s interests. Political interference at this time when the women claim their women?s group was at its strongest might therefore be interpreted as a way of curbing their growing strength. Very few respondents indicated domestic violence as a threat to their sustainability. There are various forms of domestic violence. In this study, rape emerges as one form of domestic violence that acts as a threat to women?s action. High incidence of rape is often reported in the media in urban Kenya, but hardly any reports on rural areas are made. This could explain why only two participants in two different women?s groups mentioned rape as a threat. The little mention of rape in the entire data might indicate talking about it as ?taboo? in rural communities, as in Text 67, where the hesitations and incomplete sentences show how difficult the woman finds it to talk about this. While the participant indicates that rape has become very common, it is surprising that it should be the last to be mentioned in this focus group discussion. This might be interpreted as a silence on the part of women. As Janks (1997) observes, ?silences? are just as important as ?talk? in critical discourse analysis. The speaker positions women as victims (done- to) by use of the passive voice ?krepwa?, ?(being raped). The participant refers to those responsible for rape, using the plural pronoun ?they?, meaning that social actors are unnamed, and an indication of non specificity regarding the perpetrators and hardly completes the statement. The findings of the Waki Commission (2008) following the recent post-election conflict in Kenya, which showed the pervasive nature of sexual violence as reflective of the broader social and political culture (of violence), are evidence of the silence in the text. The respondent?s quick defence of the government?s efforts to deal with it might be interpreted as an attempt to try to contain or shut down any further interrogation on it. The findings of this study indicate a need for more research on the socio-cultural aspects of the Sexual Offences Bill, which was recently passed in Parliament in Kenya. Further, the United Nation?s (UN) recent award to former nominated Member of Parliament Njoki Ndung?u for her fight against sexual abuse and for her efforts in tabling the Sexual Offences Bill in parliament might be interpreted as a ?wake-up call? to end the silence surrounding issues of sexual violence, not just in Kenya but the world over. 214 7.8 Women?s construction of their own agency As already seen in the previous section, on the whole, the women construct themselves as lacking agency in spite of all the action they undertake in their community. A quantitative analysis of pronoun choice and modality choices helps one to understand the women?s construction of agency in the sense that such an analysis based on Halliday (2005) also reveals the verbal processes relating to the construction of agency. 7.8.1 A frequency analysis of pronoun and modality choices As in Chapter 6, a frequency count was done on key pronoun and modality choices in the corpus. These give an indication of women?s sense of agency. This was done in relation to the personal pronouns, ?nyie? (I), ?ithy? (we) and the possessive pronouns ?syit, mait? both variants meaning (our). In addition, analysis of the modality in ?ketha, ketha, ketha? which may mean ?perhaps? or ?possibility? was also done. These pronouns were chosen because use of pronouns is one of the most important ways through which social actors construct their identity, which could in turn indicate how they construct their own agency. All these are captured in Table 7.3 below. Table 7.3: A frequency count of pronoun and modality choices in the corpus: Term Number of occurrences Nyie (I) 90 Ithy (we) 151 Mait/syit (our) 124 ?Uketha? (modal for perhaps) 372 7.8.1.1 Pronoun use in relation to agency: From the table above, the pronoun ?nyie? (I) is the least commonly used pronoun which might be interpreted to mean that there are fewer representations of women as individual actors. ?Ithy? (we) is used more than double any of the other pronouns. This use of ?we? indicates that women consistently construct themselves as a collective. All their achievements are based on mutual 215 support within a collective yet they think that getting their needs met lies in an individual leader. In other words, they fail to recognize the power the collective represents. In the table above, however, the use of the possessive pronoun variants ?syit? and ?mait? (our) indicates a remarkable sense of agency among the women particularly in terms of ?labour ownership?. Morrison and Love (1996: 59) underscore the role of the pronoun ?we? used to define ?who we are?. They contend that this is pronounced especially in periods of upheaval. This might be said to apply to the difficult time (such as that which the national women?s organization MYWO has had in the last decade) or national resurgence during which there is usually an attempt to redefine and reassert a particular identity construction. This involves identity differentiation between ?us? as seen in the women and the powerful women?s organization. 7.8.1.2 Modality choices in relation to agency Modality is another grammatical resource for interpersonal meanings identified by Halliday (1985). According to Fairclough (2003: 166), modality can be defined as the question of what people commit themselves to when they make statements, ask questions make demands or offers. In his opinion, what people commit themselves to in texts is an important part of how they identify themselves. For him, the common denominator in most definitions of modality is that it is seen in terms of a relationship between speaker or writer and the hearer/reader. For Halliday (1994) modality means the speaker?s judgment on the probabilities or obligations involved in what he is saying, while for Hodge and Kress (1988) modality refers to the stance speakers or writers make towards representations (cited in Fairclough 2003: 166). In the Kamba language, modality is realized by the term ?ketha? with variants such as ?ketha? and ?ketha?, all of which generally mean ?if it were possible?. A high frequency of modals in the data indicates a correspondingly low sense of agency among the women. From the table above, modality constitutes the highest usage of the terms selected for analysis in the corpus. Most of the respondents describe their action in the possible mode even when something has actually happened and in this way they foreground uncertainty that appear to limit their sense of action. 7.9 Silences in the text The sparse mention of electricity, domestic violence, property rights and stigma (with regard to HIV) may be interpreted as silences in the text. First with regard to electricity, it is surprising that only one out of eleven groups mention the need for electricity, despite the Makueni District 216 Development Plan (1997-2001: 55) making it clear that power supply will be extended to the designated urban and rural centres under the Rural Electrification Programme during the Plan period. This might be interpreted to mean that women have operated for so long without it that it does not form part of their experience, and this probably why they do not talk about it. With regard to domestic violence, the sparse mention of rape across the data set was interpreted as a silence in the text. The possible explanation underpinning this discourse of silence is that in the Kamba community as in many communities the world over, rape is a ?tabooed? subject and matters of sexuality are hardly ever spoken about openly. Due to issues of stigmatization, people prefer to be silent on it. The other silence that is astonishing is that of violence on women candidates, which has undoubtedly kept many women from participation in politics. The challenge of violence against women in political circles has been overtly recognized and addressed by some political parties through direct nomination of their candidates to facilitate the participation of women in the electoral process. Violence, however still remains a major challenge for the majority of women in politics. Similarly, the silence on female circumcision remains astonishing given that circumcision does take place in Makueni District as in many other communities in Kenya, and no one is willing to talk about it. 7.10 Summary This chapter provides a construction of women?s issues and women?s sense of agency in women?s groups. The chapter is critical to the overall thesis argument because it reinforces the use of deficit discourses to talk about women?s needs. The major finding of this section is that the women appear to undervalue that which they are actually doing by describing it in the mode of possible action. In practice they do a lot of things to address their needs. These include child care, growing food and work as caretakers for those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. They belittle their actions yet this is how women assume agency in relation to their lives and the lives of their communities. Sustainability modes have been conceptualized as women?s means of survival and endurance. These include women?s dreams, hopes and aspirations, all of which help women to maintain their optimism and enthusiasm. The sustainability of women?s groups resides in collective action. In spite of threats to their agency and sustainability, the women do appear to have hope, even in the midst of market forces of demand and supply. It is instructive to note that collective action as practised in the ?Merry-Go-Round? is the principal sustainability 217 mode for the women?s groups ?our hope is in our unity as a group to be one?. Deficit discourses reproduce negative representations of women?s actions and the result is that their goal is not transformation but sustainability. It is in view of this that this study suggests a different kind of political education to raise awareness about the power of women?s collectives. Chapter 8 explores gossip and the MGR as women?s forms of action. 218 CHAPTER EIGHT FORMS OF ACTION Chapter outline 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Gossip as social practice 8.2.1 Women gossiping 8.2.2 Women as object of gossip 8.3 Leaders construction of gossip 8.4 The Merry-Go-Round 8.4.1 Merry-Go-Round as a form of action 8.4.2 Talk in MGR as a form of resistance 8.5 Summary 8.1 Introduction This chapter explores the women?s forms of action, as seen both in terms of Halliday?s (1985) material processes (action) and verbal processes (speech). Material processes are reflected in actions such as collectively building houses, saving money, tending to the sick and growing crops. These involve acting in the real world. Verbal processes are ?actions of saying?. In other words, what is said is spoken and is a form of action in the real world. Unlike mental processes such as ?thinking? which is an internal process, verbal processes are a ?kind of material action performed with the mouth?. Talk and the MGR have emerged as the most common forms of action for the women. From the findings of the study, both politicians and the women participate in talk but none of them approve of this. Findings of the previous chapter suggest that there is a mismatch between the women?s discursive construction of themselves and the enacted construction of themselves. This chapter contributes to the overall thesis argument because it is here that the mismatch between women?s representations of themselves and their lived reality is most evident. The first part of the chapter deals with talk as a form of action, particularly gossip which has emerged as an important aspect of women?s talk. Gossip implies the surveillance of others (Foucault, 1983). Fear of how others might report their behaviour behind their backs causes people to discipline themselves. The term for gossip in the Kamba language is ?nzuk?. This 219 term is not always used explicitly and the expressions ?kwetwa? (to be talked about) or ?kneenewa na? (being talked about negatively), which appear to be similar in meaning are most commonly used. In looking closely at the participants? talk, this study makes it clear what counts as gossip or not. In this study, women use gossip to police one another. Because even the politicians are wary of women?s gossip, this gives the women a form of agency. However as will be seen in this chapter, women?s construction of gossip differs from that of the politicians. The second part of the chapter therefore focuses on how the women talk about the MGR as a form of action. The study has established that MGR as a social practice serves a variety of functions for the women notably as a basis for collective action and for material and social support. Women do what they have to do for their families and their communities to survive but they do not see this either as agency or as significant action. There is a disjunct between how they perceive and value themselves as shown by the words they use and what they actually achieve. Women see their collective action as found in the MGR as a form of survival, not as a form of collective agency. This chapter therefore sets out the contrast between their deficit discourse and the effectiveness of their collective efforts in sustaining their communities. Their ability to work collectively contains within it the potential for collective political action that could be powerful. Given the importance the participants appear to attach to gossip as an aspect of talk, in the next section I analyse their constructions of gossip. 8.2 Gossip as a social practice The findings of the study indicate that gossip is a complex interactive phenomenon serving a multiplicity of functions for the women in the women?s groups. Although on the surface what the women say about gossip appears to have a negative connotation, in reality it appears to occupy a very central role in the women?s groups and in the community more generally. Gossip emerges as having both positive and negative functions in the context of the different women?s groups, confirming findings of the research on gossip (Spacks, 1985; White, 2002). In the interviews, one of the women leaders also indicated that gossip is a threat to their action. In an attempt to analyse their talk, I discuss it in relation to two aspects; women doing the gossiping, and women as the object of gossip. 220 8.2.1 Women gossiping One of the groups gave the following penalties in their by-laws as punishment for anyone found engaging in gossip: Text 8.1: (d) Talking without permission a fine of Ksh. 5 (e) If one gossips a fine of Ksh. 50 (about R 5) Members and Ksh 100 (committee members) (f) Vague language: she shall be fined Ksh. 100 One is even liable for expulsion from the women?s group if they gossip; g: Expulsion: If one gossips, she should be entitled to expulsion accordingly. In Text 8.1, being aware of the hidden power of gossip as a threat to group solidarity is in itself an admission to participation in gossip. Estes (1998) identifies gossip (telling on one another) as ?a hidden aspect of the collective?, which implies that it is often concealed, but for this particular women?s group, stating gossip as a threat to their action implies that they recognize its danger. Further, the by-laws the women have drawn up, such as being fined a certain amount of money if one gossips, further indicate that gossip, like any other genre, has rules for interaction. Since most of the women are close associates, they would not want to gossip about one another and spoil the good ties they already have. Gossip in the group encourages an ?us? versus ?them? discourse and thereby threatens group solidarity. This finding confirms research on gossip that has established that gossip has rules, what White (2002) calls the ?etiquette of gossip?. One of these rules is that it is inappropriate to gossip about close members of the group as one cannot control how far the gossip spreads. In a sense, the women are actually constructing themselves as ?united?. The stiff penalties imposed on would-be gossipers function as ?regulations? regarding any kind of talk and especially that which might be seen as malicious. In the by-laws14 of this particular group, stiffer penalties (in the form of higher fines) for the committee members imposes a greater responsibility on such women as leaders since are they supposed to be role models for the other members. It would therefore appear that there is a disjuncture between women?s construction of gossip and what actually happens in reality. Gossip is a long-established means of interaction for the women which also functions as a form of policing and surveillance over 14 Every women?s group has written down by-laws with a copy at the Divisional headquarters. These reflect the confidential nature of discussions in the women?s groups and help to maintain order in the group. 221 the members of this particular women?s group. The by-laws might also be related to the confidential nature of discussions in the women?s groups. This study confirms Estes? study (1998: 225) on the reward-punishment nature of collectives thus We are influenced by many collectives, both groups which we affiliate and those of which we are not members. Whether the collectives surrounding us are academic, spiritual, financial, work world, familial or otherwise, they enact powerful rewards and punishment to their members and non-members alike. Such a reward-punishment mechanism is necessary for checks and balances in the women?s group. Another participant talked about gossip this way; Text 8.2: Resp: Na wkwatyo wakwa no visi la ndonya ripoti k kkosewa hatua. Nayu nnd nooka na ripoti la wosie nwe wna hukumu yl wakwa eka kwwa kveti syaisye, wthwe no tand wongelwa vinya nd enzyokee na kwa nza isu twekala tvinykkte na mathna maing ttena vala ttonya twaa nnd wa kla kusyoka tina wamina twaa ripoti. And my hope is the office where I can report this so that it can be addressed. And when I take a report the one who receives it is the one who has power over me, he will be told that the ?woman said? it is like you have added to the problem and in that sense we have been pressed by many problems without a place to take them because of what will come about as a result of the report (Group 5: page 9, lines 11-20). From this text, it emerges that what is discussed in the women?s group is in confidence. Talking about one another other outside of the group makes one disloyal to the rest of the members and kills group solidarity. Since most of the leaders in the government offices are men, if a woman goes to report something then the power imbalance between her and the person she is reporting to (who in most cases is a man) immediately places her in a disadvantaged position as a subject. So the women contend that they ?have many problems with nowhere to take them? because ?of what will come about as a result of the report?. In this particular text, the speaker on the one hand constructs herself as both a subject when she expresses fear that she may be constructed as the gossiper when she actually intends to discuss a serious issue. The speaker on the other hand constructs herself as the object of gossip when she talks about being talked about. 222 When women discuss issues in the women?s groups the politicians see it as gossip. So when some of the women in the group betray their women colleagues, these women are targets of sexist discourse. As already pointed out in the literature, silences are just as important as what is talked about. In a case where a woman needs to report something at the office as in Text 2 above, women choose to remain silent for fear of the consequences of their talk. Such cases might also involve leaders telling on women and might be explained by a strategy which in the relevant literature has been referred to as ?you said I said? (Goodwin, 2006). This strategy involves one party (the dominant one) in the power dichotomy reporting on what the other has said (often the less dominant). However, this strategy can also apply to equals as seen in members of women?s groups. This strategy features in many of the texts. The findings for the current study indicate that what the women most fear is being isolated as ?the one who said?. In the current study, this expression mainly represents women?s fear of the person in authority who in most cases is a man. The expression has to do with women speaking. The issue of ?you said I said? often comes up because of the freedom of expression women have in women?s groups. Spacks (1985) indicates in her research on gossip in Africa, what counts as ?serious gossip? is more often than not between or among three people. The implication for the present research, where most women?s groups have about 30 members, is that women recognize the sense of ?circle-ness? would produce disastrous effects if gossip is allowed either inside or outside the group. Most of the time, women are caught up in the middle of conflicts between their MPs and the local leaders. Although women?s talk is part of civil rights, politicians prefer to trivialize it as gossip. The expression ?you said I said? therefore emerges as a metaphor of oppression because it limits women?s speaking rights. This finding might be seen as a reflection of the wider Kenyan society where a lot of people fail to take the desired action for fear of being spoken about. This might be described as a hindrance to Kenyan women, particularly when it comes to participation in politics. Talk might in general be construed as hindering women from participating in politics. The text below illustrates this; Text 8.3: Resp: Kng ngongela vu n onakau... nandu ala matngamie atongoi na serikali nmookaa ketha nota mena ka na ajmbe yu twooka watavya serikali yu nkwona moka matklye yu 223 siilye ta isam sikomana. Yu iveti ttha yu ntkwawa twthi va no ona kripoti ntwendaa kwtwaa ttavanie yu notws ttnga vaa nzani na vatiwa no ngania naisye. Y ku nkthawa kthna kwit area n yit Resp: The other thing I want to add is that our leaders in government sometimes seem to be in conflict with the MPs, now if you tell the government, they come (back) and ask us, it looks like things that are clashing. Now we wonder where we as women can go to. We like to go and report but we know we will be asked to return on the way and it is said that it is so who said that. Yes that is normally a problem in our area (Group 5: page 9, lines 20-31). Text 8.3 illustrates that the women fear being identified or labelled as the ones who said something as this constructs them as ?gossipers?. When women discuss ?issues? in women?s groups, they are construed as ?women?s issues? but outside the women?s group they might be construed differently either by some of the women group members or even the politicians. By using the plural pronoun ?we?, the speaker points to the position of women not just as individuals but as a ?powerless community? as opposed to more powerful people like the councillors or the chief. A woman may find herself in trouble with those in power, especially if she is accosted on the way to the office by those in authority and asked to go back as this stops her from reporting serious problems. The use of the Kamba term ?iveti? meaning ?wives? instead of ?aka? meaning ?women? illustrates the issue of being talked about as an issue of concern more specifically for married women than for any other category of women. The probable reason for this is that they consider themselves as having a ?reputation? to protect especially in the locality where their social standing as married women really counts. This has probably to do with the obligation society places on such women to their husbands and to whom they are largely accountable. Further, the use of the term ?iveti? reflects badly on their husbands who cannot control them. Gossip appears to have a very different kind of effect on men contesting political seats. Indeed, it does not seem to affect them at all as seen in the text that follows. In other words, gossip functions as a form of enslavement for the women because they appear so powerfully ensnared to it that they emerge as powerless and unable to draw themselves away from it. If the women succumbed to all the prohibitions on gossip, there would be no need for sanctions. The sanctions suggest that women continue to gossip. Let us look at Text 8.4 below: Text 8.4: Resp: Uw?ia ng ta aka twthawa naw?o n anyanyawa yu meew?a nna woni mseo wa kweta uw?o makathi weta mbee ketha ntamalika kndn ku nnamanyka ndu nnasye kwoou 224 ttha nngka ktavya aka nd twale kwka ndkatavanwe. Mnd aikillya knd kale ktethya nnd wa w?ia...Nola ng nndonya kwtha nlaisi kwona ona wetha nkwata nwetekyo nnd nngwona kimbinya kana kivinya aka enzangu nau nakyo k namina kweta onakau k kka vata ketha nmo mevaseo namo ttha notamatenga o asu aka enzako usu tenda vinywa tthwa nwatengwa lakini ona ktengwa nktonya vika kwanangka kwa musy waku. Nnd wtha mimu, nasya wo kveti, n mnd wa mnyka siasan nwe wambaa t syana syaku tthwa itena company yu ttha notawkaa nd mthku ttha ndoto syaku avnye sykimanosye nthn waku nnd wna w?ia wa kwanangkwa n musy kwsla kuneena synd imwe. Ndkwendauweta nd la ng, nng tond watvinya ketha mnd mka ndena thasyo tma nymba yimprove aika mme. Resp: Another fear we have as women is our friends, now if they hear that I have a good idea of speaking the truth they go and say this up there (to the leaders) so that I am known what I said so I fear telling women what I think we should do because I will be betrayed. The other thing is that I can decide to say something because it is pressing me even if I suffer or may be it is pressing my fellow women even if it benefits them more than me, those very women, it?s as if they want to isolate you, it is as if you are isolated such that your family is even spoilt. Because if your husband, (I believe you are a woman-addressing interviewer), if he is a loud-mouthed person in politics, he is the one who speaks non-stop, your children have no company it?s as if you are doing a bad thing. He pressed your dreams; they stay within you because you have the fear of having your home destroyed through talk of certain things. I also want to say the other thing is the way a woman is oppressed such that she does not have the liberty to improve the home for fear of the husband. If she wants to say something, the husband tells her ?that mouth of yours?? (Group 5: page 23, lines 16-27). Text 8.4 appears to portray women as being their own worst enemies, and more importantly showing the negative side of gossip. The expression ?you said I said? is also used in contexts where a member of the group might choose to tell on her friends. Although gossip has its positive aspects, it would appear betrayal is a product of the ?open nature? of the communication process in the women?s group. The text above also constructs women?s partners as being the reason for women?s silence on most issues affecting them in their daily lives. This text confirms research that constructs gossip as entirely a women?s issue and yet as Spacks (1985) observes, everyone gossips. The fact that gossip columns in magazines are meant for both male and female readership discredits the idea that gossip is only for women. In the text there is the metaphorical representation of talk in use of the symbol ?mouth?. In the husband telling the women ?that mouth of yours? it might be said to be an attempt to silence the wife as a way of preserving the family and as being in the private sphere as opposed to opening it up to the public sphere of which politics is a part. This conflict between the family and public sphere has seen many women keep away from leadership positions in Kenya, and yet, if any meaningful change is to be seen in politics, women have to learn to cope with the rigours of being able to operate efficiently in either what is perceived as either the private or public sphere. 225 Text 8.5: Inter: W?'a wenyu nmwau kwanana na mand ala makonetye aka? Resp: Yu wi?a witu otondu tuutavisye, yu mnd mka aendeeye kana atenda aambataange, ntminie kwona ame matthawa knd kwangelekanio ntminie? Mnd noekwenda kwyuklya na noeka msee wake ?Na no ns vela emtavsya, synd ila itale, vala n nnd mme ekathwa wse kwtha mka ena mand memaana ?nwasyoka nth, ona ndesa kwyklya. Inter: What are your fears as women in relation to women?s needs? Resp: Now our fears like we said before, when a woman wants to move up the ladder, like we have already seen that men do not for example ...Because she wants to contest and uplift herself but perhaps fears her husband ?I know there is someone telling him bad things about me?. He will be poisoned so that even if the wife had great ideas, she is drawn backwards. She can never contest again (Group 3: page 20, lines 20-30) From the discourse above, gossip is constructed as having an inhibiting effect. The bolded expression is a negative way of discussing women. In my research when the women withdraw from politics because of such negative talk, then they are buying into such constructions which feminists discourage. Gossip is here metaphorically compared to ?poison? pointing to the toxic and destructive nature of gossip. More interesting, however, is the fact that the speaker is worried about bad things being told to the partner, indicating the apprehension most women have about the effect of gossip on their marriages, particularly if they intend to venture into politics. Underlying this kind of reasoning is that women are actually saying that they know the negative power of gossip on the family and would rather keep their families together than have gossip tear them apart. This construction of gossip continues to restrict women to the ?private sphere?, where they concentrate on motherhood and keep away from the public domain. This is retrogressive and counterproductive, as participation in the group?s activities, is a door to many opportunities. This discussion is continued in the next section that deals with women as objects of gossip. 8.2.2 Women as object of gossip The text that follows brings this out clearly; Text 8.6: A: Resp: nake etha nmsee waku aikwa ndwth vau nw?ie miwetwa nai mtth, nayo tkte siwa. Kla kyonekie nkyo ksiewe. B: Ktumi nnd ws nk? Nnd tkilasya tendete kavike vo tkatungwa reverse. C: tkatngwa reverse, tkataanisya tkasya vatingwa kikundi kitawa ou. Inter: Na kla ktumaa mutai mbee nkya? Resp: N Nkwaa atongoi. A: Tena nng na ktinwa nng wetha nwewie natwka nesa, nottha twkte na, ntlea kwkwa ngoo? 226 Inter: ok B: naketha n msee waku aikwa ndwthi vau nw?ie miwetwa na mutith, nayo tkte usiwa. Kla kyonekie nkyo ksiewe. A: The reason is that we normally go and when we are about to reach the end we are drawn backwards. B: We are taken backwards; we separate and say there is no woman?s group like that. Inter: And what makes you not to go forward? C: Lack of a leader. And again being negatively talked about, if you have called us and we have done well and you decide we have not done well, should we not lose heart? Inter: Ok B: And if it?s your husband he says ?you are not going there, I heard gossip about you?. We are prevented. What is good is what is being prevented (Group 1: page 8, lines 1-15). Text 8.6 is from one of the participants in the Dance Group. The speaker indicates that the group was not doing well despite having existed for many years. This text shows the intersection of deficit discourse and patriarchal discourses which constrain women?s political participation. In the first part of the text, Speaker A attributes lack of progress to the lack of a leader while. Speaker B attributes it to the women?s partners. The women present themselves as ?victims?. As already pointed out in Chapter 7, this wish for a leader who will? is part of a deficit discourse in which women fail to recognize their ability to do a lot of things both for themselves and the community. The use of the passive form of the verb in the expression ?tkatngwa tina? (we are taken backwards) shifts responsibility from the women and places it on an unnamed source. The text indicates the negative effect gossip has on the women?s confidence. Women need encouragement but when it comes in the form of negative criticism, particularly from their partners/husbands then the women ?lose heart?. This triggers another problem as the husband denies the wife permission to attend women?s group activities. In other words, the positive interactive social function that the group serves for the women is lost ?what is good is what is being prevented?. Interestingly, Text 8.6 reveals that men also gossip despite many sexist myths that portray gossip as being entirely a woman?s domain. As already indicated in the literature, gossip is a multifaceted concept. Hearsay plays a major part and discourages those women?s groups that do not get support from the government or donors when they hear about those who do. This produces an us versus them discourse. Let us look at the text that follows; 227 Text 8.7: Resp: Tktaa kwona ikundi imw itasya ko motethyo mokaa, nang timew?a radion maitangaaswa, aka kana manengiwe milioni sianona, na ithy k kotimanyaa kkovethaniw?e ata. We normally hear some groups say there are forms of support that come and we hear others being announced over the radio, that some women were given millions. That they were loaned this amount of money and we were not, and how is one able to get a loan? (Group 1: page 10, lines 6-10) When these women hear over the radio that other women?s groups have obtained support in the form of money, then they feel ?othered?. They represent themselves as a forgotten constituency while they construct those who receive support (them) as getting recognition. To add insult to injury, it is not a little money. Those who get support get ?millions?. This mention of millions might be interpreted as a form of exaggeration to make the ?hearsay? more acceptable to the target audience. Research has established exaggeration as one of the strategies that gossipers use to make gossip more sensational or interesting. In the political arena, gossip is particularly detrimental to women who might be interested in contesting for political seats because they will often be labelled as ?prostitutes?. As a result, many women would rather abandon their political interests. Let?s look at the text that follows; Text 8.8 Resp: yu mnd mka ekala koevoea mand ma siasa eawa ni mmalaya nde mvango kwoou asu osawa tala eunenge aume?mbaa makatonya ndeto nthku na mme aikulwa ni aume, aiklwa; ?Indi tweesi niwe twaanite kai niwe twaitwe?, yu tiwa mnd mka ndena support lakini yu mnd akathaw?a ni msee wake enthwa vau ndani nimeusupport niwisi no kuendeangia lakini kka mnd mka, aka kua kyo, akasyoka itina ingi kwaambia itina. Now when a woman looks like she is interested in things to do with politics, she is told that she is a prostitute, she has no plans so that one is taken as if she is giving men? In the bar they say bad things and the husband is asked ?we thought you are the one who married? now a woman does not have support but if someone would be released by the husband, and if there is support for her in the village, but a woman is normally given such derogatory remarks she retracts, she goes and starts at the bottom again (Group 6: page 14, lines 19-30). It can be deduced from the text above that being labelled a prostitute has very serious social consequences for women interested in politics in Kenya. It is often considered derogatory and the effects are not only felt by the woman alone but more importantly by her partner who will be teased by other men in the bar about his ?wife who is a prostitute?. The term ?prostitute? suggests an immoral character. In other words, gossip acts as a tool for denying women power in the political sphere by portraying them as sex objects. This perception of women as 228 ?prostitutes? reflects the thinking underlying an overwhelming number of Kenyans for whom prostitutes are mainly women while men are ?clients?. Such constructions expose what in Onyango?s view are ?uneven ideological and power structures that favour men as opposed to women? (2006:37). It is no wonder for him then that he strongly believes that women?s emancipation agenda is heavily plagued by what he calls the ?dark shadow of masculinities?. There is however a contradiction to this perception because it is the same men, particularly male politicians who are popular ?clients? for ?prostitutes?. It is important to note that it is not just the men who refer to women aspirants as ?prostitutes? but fellow women. These women buy into negative stereotypical constructions, making the emancipation agenda for women unattainable by worsening an already bad situation for women more generally. It would appear that the powerful effect of derogatory language is often underrated. The majority of the women stressed that such language misadvises the electorate to the point where a woman cannot even stand in front of a crowd to deliver a speech. It makes it difficult for the electorate to listen to such a woman respectfully as seen in the following texts by different participants in the same group; Text 8.9: Resp: U mnd mnd ve omnd woombiwe atwke mwana siasa nowa kla nknengo kyake yu aka nttlawa n kyo isu nthk. Kumangwa kwwa noitavanwa mand maku ong ma vathei vatwa ?Mkaa ngania komwonaa??. Atanangwa ttha ona ithi kwtya vand vangi kula otanavaa ---- vika vau nota nyunga ndw mnd ekwtha attentive kwaku. That person, that person?there is a person who was meant to be a politician, and may be that is his/her talent. We as women we are brought down by those kinds of bad remarks. Being abused and you are told?your things are brought out into the public at times untrue. It is said ?so and so?s wife do you think?? he is so misadvised so that when you go to ask for votes in a nearby place like ----it?s as if you are stinking and nobody wants to listen to you. (group 5: page 15, lines 5-16). Text 8.10: Resp: Wthia ve thna mwing mnd mka sana sana ta area no wthaa willwe kyo nthku. Ve angi me kumaa lakini ttha nweyasya ndaa mbee wa and na ikind neukyendaa na nws athi kya nethi tetea ithy mbaa aka nwis nwamba na twtya. There are often a lot of problems for a woman in this area especially because you are told awful things. There are others who are abusing you and you also lose respect for yourself in the eyes of the people and yet you really wanted the seat, and she knows when she goes there, she will bring us (help) (group 5: page 16, lines 1-6). Text 8.11: Resp: Lakini yu ww?a la no mme ethi avikwe n ndeto isu wona tavethiwa ve muo? Nws kavala kaekana na ndu notkala na tasya we thna nd osa kla kwenda nndu mbee wa vau wthawa vate wkwa. 229 But now when you imagine the husband being reached by such words, do you think there will be peace? Do you know it is better to leave that aside and say ?it is better to stay problems then take whatever you want because beyond that, there is no otherwise? (group 5: page 16, lines 13-18). The three texts above from one women?s group clearly shows that gossip works against women because it makes them lose respect and yet such respect is crucial for one to command respect if they are to campaign successfully. Text 8.9 particularly brings out the negative effect of derogatory language ?we as women are brought down by those kind of bad remarks?. Women become the object of gossip as seen in Text 8.10; ?you are told awful things...there are others abusing you?. This is clearly brought out by the use of the use of the second person pronoun ?you?. Such a predicament is however mainly a preserve of women and not men. To make it worse, as text 11 illustrates, such women resign themselves to fate, ?it is better to stay problems than take whatever you want because beyond that, there is no otherwise?. The women then prefer to keep the peace of their homes than to participate in politics. Gossip appears to occupy a central role in Makueni District. It may explain why it has not had a female Member of Parliament The scenario is very different in places like central Kenya where Kikuyu women?s participation in politics has been largely documented since the pre-colonial Mau Mau movement (Chitere, 1988; Likimani, 2005), to the current government where women ministers from this particular community constitute a majority. The explanations for this might lie in the way such women have overcome stereotypical talk that constructs women negatively. This has seen Kikuyu women take an active role in the freedom struggle in Kenya. Another explanation is the Kikuyu women?s early contact with the colonialists as compared to women in other parts of Kenya. As already seen in Chapter Two, colonialism undermined women?s power. Early contact with the colonialists meant that women from the Kikuyu community learnt how to reclaim their power and position as leaders from their participation in the liberation struggle. This is not to suggest that women from other communities in Kenya did not participate in the struggle for freedom from colonial rule. What is clearly documented is that the Kikuyu women played a much more significant role in the liberation struggle because when the colonialists settled in central Kenya, White Highlands (their land), these women were directly affected by their activities. Communities such as the Kamba, Kalenjin, Meru and the Mbeere who were further away from where the colonialists settled were not affected as much. 230 In summary, and as already noted, the women?s group is a fertile site for gossip and as a result, the women are cautious about what they say and what they choose to remain silent on. These silences are important because they are at least as important as what they actually say. This is the crux of the matter for this research as it might provide an understanding of the women?s silences as already noted in an earlier section on silences in the women?s texts. Unlike in Chapter 7 where ?the mouth? is a metaphor the women use to describe the nature of politicians; ?talk with their mouths? and produce no visible action, there is a shift now to ?the mouth? being used to describe women?s talk; portraying women as what may be called ?big mouth? This discussion takes us to the next section that deals with the leader?s construction of gossip. 8.3 Leaders? construction of gossip It is interesting that the politicians are silent on gossip and this is interpreted as silence on the part politicians. It is the community leaders who portray very interesting constructions of gossip in their talk. When leaders talk, they also associate gossip with negativity. This is seen in the way they mainly use the word ?kuwetwa? which, as already seen, means to be talked about. This term has a negative connotation which makes it synonymous with gossip. While they deny participation in this talk, they recognise the power of women?s talk and fear the threat it may pose to them as seen below: Text 8.12 Na nng yo serikali yakawa n ndeto, ndeto mbing, and ma siasa matmaa vng ala matatmaa vng n ma ofisi aya wew?a namina weta nnd uvisi su waweta knd n na mo nmatataa na nws ndw vata n and ma siasa. Resp: And anyway the government is made through talk, a lot of talk. Politicians use lies those who do not use lies are the people of the office (provincial administrators like Dos), those I have already talked about, and you know the office is not liked by the politicians (Leader 8: page 27, lines 29-31) Text 8.12 constructs talk as a form of action as the participant intimates ?the government is made through talk?. In other words, talk is a way of being, both for the women and the politicians. This means that the leaders govern the people through enacting talk, through debates in parliament, meetings (barazas) and every day utterances in the community. Unlike previous texts, where talk is synonymous with gossip, in this text gossip appears to refer to lies that politicians give as false promises. However unlike the women who refuse to participate in it, (the leaders especially community leaders) acknowledge its existence and actually appear to 231 intimate that the government is dependent on it. The speaker draws a line between the politicians on the one hand and the provincial administration on the other hand making a distinction which characterizes politicians? discourse as lies often referred to as ?false promises? in related literature. The office here refers to the administrators in the provincial administration such as the DC, the DO and the Chief whom the speaker compares favourably. The speaker uses an ?us? verses ?them? discourse to construct the local community leaders (positively represented) and the politicians on the other hand who are the ?negative other? (them). In the next excerpt, the speaker draws a relationship between gossip and the lack of it in the context of the baraza. Text 8.13: Meke maendeeyo moo matwke mattavya aya lakini aya maendeye na masisye aa kwa meka moo mavndke na yla twathi mabarazan teyaa ngewa tteweta mnd kwanana na nd twetie. And when we go to the barazas we normally talk without gossiping about any one like we have already said (Leader 8: page 27, lines 4-6). In this text, gossip is constructed as a preserve of ?unofficial arenas? with the baraza being seen as a ?gossip free forum?. As already analyzed in Chapter 6, the leaders see the baraza as the way for civic education while the women prefer seminars. The preference for the leader?s choice of baraza might be due to the way the baraza accentuates the power differences between leaders and the grassroots people (Haugerud, 1995). The leaders would prefer the baraza as a civic education forum because it gives them a position of power where they do not have to directly answer to the electorates? demands. In the seminars, they would be in a one to one discussion and therefore open to ?attack? by the public. The speaker says that in barazas they talk without gossiping about anyone implying that gossip is harmful talk behind people?s backs. The use of the pronoun ?we? indicates the collective sense of responsibility that leaders have towards their subjects and which might be interpreted to mean that they do gossip under normal circumstances but in the context of the public rally they put away gossip and get down to serious business. When the politicians say they should not gossip in the baraza, it differs from when the women say they cannot gossip about each other in section 7.7.2. 232 Looking at gossip as a social practice has surfaced the all-important role of language use among women in women?s groups and amongst politicians. This section confirms the positive function of gossip that Waddington and Michelson (2007: 7) whose findings indicate that ?gossip is still generally discredited or condemned in the public domain as being a corrosive or pejorative discourse?. They argue that in reality, there is widespread interest and participation in gossip but there is discrepancy between the collective public and the private practicing of gossip. This chapter has shown that the word ?gossip? shifts in context. There are different kinds of gossip, based on the idea of gossipers as subjects and gossipers as objects of gossip, directed at different kinds of people based on different kinds of information. In the section that follows, I look at the MGR because it has emerged as the dominant form of action in the women?s group. 8.4 The Merry-Go-Round The MGR is a common form of social network through which women support one another in Kenya. It provides a framework where women obtain self-help. The study indicates this as the most basic activity that the women engage in. That probably explains why the first activity they engage in is to contribute money for one another making a connection between discourse and action. The women do not see the potential for political power in the MGR the only form of women?s organization in the rural areas, an observation made in Chapter 2, yet its importance is undervalued in talk. 8.4.1 Merry-Go-Round as a form of action The findings of this study largely confirm the important role of the MGR as a form of action among the women in women?s groups. Let us look at the example that follows; Text 8.14: Yu aka mena wa mwing nnd yu wona wa waku watema mbemba. Ntwitaa?tkathi tkatema mbemba isu tkatwaa va? Knandn knand ku. Ntalkaa ng tkai tkakova ombesa isu mnd oakai oketetethya na mbesa isu. Now women have a lot of work because for example when you have your work like harvesting maize you call us we go harvest the maize and take that money to the account, that account. We go and borrow that money and someone goes and does what? And help ourselves. That is how women help themselves (group 4: page 5, lines 1-7). 233 The text above starts with the speaker?s acknowledgement about women?s collective in sustaining their communities, particularly in shouldering most of the family responsibilities. The text also shows the way women provide cheap labour for one another, enabling them to borrow money from a common kitty and in this way receive financial support. This group has an account which gives them financial security; so the women borrow the money from the account. The use of action words such as ?harvest? and ?take? indicate women?s ability to take transformative social action. Asked what women?s groups have done to address their needs, it emerged from the study that the reason the women came together was in order to support one another and whenever one of them is in need, financially they help them out as seen in the texts that follow: Text 8.15: Inter: Namo aka male kwka ata kmina mavata aa? Speaker 2: Tota kkwatana ithy ene ota kasangle. Yu ta toona mnd mvinyee na timkuna jeki. Inter: What should women themselves do to address these needs? Speaker: To unite and have MGR so that if we see someone pressed we uplift them (group 2: page 13, lines 10-12)). Text 8.16: Inter: Kkund kyenyu kkte ata kmina mavata aa? Speaker 1: Ithy tkaa ktethania etha n nimaa, etha nksua mbemba, etha n ng Speaker 2: Etha nksisya mwau. Speaker 3: etha nmnd waie tkamtwaa ng. Speaker 1: We support each other if it is farming, if it?s harvesting maize, if it is firewood. Speaker 2: If it is seeing a patient Speaker 3: If it is someone who has got sick, we take firewood (group 1: page 8, lines 18-20). Text 8.16 augments the idea that the MGR functions as a form of collective action where women get material support, through the cheap labour that they provide for one another. In other words, the collective action provides a kind of support system that enables the women to successfully undertake their everyday activities as seen in the use of the of action words such as ?take? and ?harvest?, confirming what Molyneux (1985) says about women meeting their practical gender needs. Text 8.17: Ntkaa tkentha tkavanga kativa ketha, tkavanga kativa kanengane knd knd ta kwa mwai kel. Uketha ntakasangle kait kasanglia ou ketha mnd ndanekala vaa ou at least nowathi wawa okakombe ou ou otendete. Ala and kana nmaeka tvata ok, kya? Ok. The other thing we do is we decide on and arrange a Merry-Go Round, so that we can contribute (money) for one another twice a month. We arrange like for three people so that each can get something, so that one can support themselves with the contribution. It?s a Merry - Go - Round 234 for supporting one another so that a person doesn?t just stay like that, so that one can buy a cup, so that those people do not stop us from this (being in women?s groups) (group 1: page 9, lines 6-14). Text 8.17 reveals women?s ability to take charge of their lives in the choice of words like ?arrange? ?decide?, ?buy?, all of which portray women as organized, contrasting discourses that portray rural women as always in deficit and as needing help. In addition to these functions, the MGR emerges as form of resistance to the patriarchal system where the husband is so powerful. In some instances as in Text 16, the MGR might be said to function as a collective form of resistance to patriarchy as seen in the expression ?so that those people do not stop us from being in women?s groups?. The MGR therefore, represents rural women?s collective voice and response to patriarchy. Study of the MGR and by implication the women?s self-help movement in Kenya confirms Molyneux?s (1998: 224) idea that a movement implies a social and/ or political phenomenon of some significance and the numerical strength capacity to effect change in some way whether this is expressed in legal, cultural, social and political terms. Let us look at another text: Text 8.18: Speaker 1: Yu kwsla ikundin yu nsyo twonete itatte kete kyeni ngwatano Speaker 2: K kt wtha kkwaie su ytatwa Merry-Go-Round ketha ntsisye mavata, wetha  ena mavata ma nymba kana mio ya nymba enda nymba nzeo nd ntonya kwtha ena syana ta itat, il kana tat iminie sukulu yu ketha yla twavika kwake ketha nwatwaa syana sukulu ndanathnika mno. Nang nttethanasya mndan ketha tayu kw onma twathi kwoy ntwamtetheesya kma. Ong ntwathi twatethania mawa ala ma kawaida. Speaker 1: Now it is only through women?s groups, they are the only ones we have seen that have tried to bring light, the unity Speaker 2: Our group is concerned with ?Merry-Go-Round? whereby we could address house related needs like buying utensils. If this one has a good house but may be she has three or two children in school, when we get to her place we take those children to school so that she does not suffer much. And again we help one another on the shambas so that like now when there is much farm work when we go to this one?s place we help each other to farm, to help one another in everyday chores (group 9: page 11, lines 17-20). In the view of the speaker in the above text, the women?s group has uplifted the women especially through association with one another. That women have been able to meet welfare related needs is confirmed by Gathigi?s (2000) study on the impact of women?s groups on the role and status of women in a Kajiado District in Kenya. The scholar found out that through MGRs, women manage to enhance their caretaking roles. Through the MGR, each of the women?s groups was able to carry out a variety of activities. The choice of action words such as 235 ?take? as in the expression ?we take those children to school?, ?help? one another in the shambas, (farms), and generally to provide a collective for everyone. All these words represent material processes, constructing women as social actors. One of the groups was particularly versatile and was able to carry out a remarkably diverse range of activities, as seen in the text below: Text 8.19: (Kkooa)Kkundi k kit kkwatsye mand maing mno. Kkundi k k group mbing ila sythaa vaa kkundin k kkundi k kto atumi ma nthng, ktatumi ma nga ma vulana, ko and mavundtwe kuw?a, nand a viasala, kto ami na mand maing. Vaendeeye ou vatkie kwamba soma. Aa kww?a matasya to syana sya sukulu, itnookie somea vaa nnd wesytwa yu ya kkundi ku kya ---- kwoneka visin. Moke somethew?a va vaa nthn wa kkundi k kya ---. Mand asu moonthe nma kkundi k na kkundi k kyaambiie ttumansya nzangle. (Cough) Our women?s group is concerned with very many issues. This women?s group has many sub-groups which are within the group. This group has basket weavers, tailors for clothes and sweaters. It also has people who?ve been taught how to cook and business. As we progressed, we have started on (adult) education. Like these are students now they have come to learn here because the name of this group ---- was see in the office, so that they could be taught within the group. All those activities are done by this group and this women?s group started with ?Merry- Go-Round? (Group 9: page 11, lines 2-17). As indicated above, the group has sub-groups each concerned with a particular activity. The group stood out in employing their own adult education teacher for the adult education class. They had hired a teacher for themselves within the group. An important point is made in this text; that the MGR was the starting point of their action. This was the case for most of the women?s groups. The fact that only one group out of a total of eleven had not started the MGR, but was in the process of starting one might be interpreted to mean that the MGR is the central activity for the women?s groups. This has been largely confirmed by research on the MGR (Gathigi, 2000; Kisese, 2000). These studies have shown that normally the MGR is the first line of activity for most of the women?s groups. One of the leaders made it clear that the MGR was the starting point for the women?s groups: Text 8.20: Und twana mathna maendaa matthelete nolataingwa vy timtetheesya ta kkundi nnd twna Merry-Go-Round timwa ngk onake ttha nwamba kuma nzilo tambatte. And that way your problems end and whoever does not have anything we support them through the Merry-Go-Round and we even buy for her so that she can also start moving from zero and go upwards (Group 2: page 6, lines 17-20). The MGR is the starting point because it provides economic support for the women particularly to enable members to get firmly grounded financially. In other words, financial support forms 236 the basis for collective action in women?s groups. It is no wonder then that one of the groups made this remarkable observation about unity as the basis of the MGR; ?our hope is to be one as a group?. Generally, the modern woman?s group is based on the African tradition of collective help, though it has been described as significantly different from women?s groups of the past. This confirms findings by Udarvady (1998: 1753) who summarises the nature of contemporary women?s groups thus: Although contemporary women?s groups build on an African tradition of collective help in times of need, and upon the Kenyan slogans of harambee (as already defined on page 37) and Nyayo they are equally the products of modernity with their origins in colonial efforts and their proliferation as unique self-help responses to women?s perceived needs. The study also indicates that the MGR represents women?s collective effort which in turn gives them agency. By pooling their resources, these rural women meet the practical needs of their communities. As seen in Chapter Two, this is sometimes seen by the ?feminists? as disempowering?. Rural women?s achievements flow from women?s roles as defined by traditional discourses. Rural women mainly derive their power from these traditional discourses, but as seen in Chapter Seven, because they are so naturalized they are not seen as a form of agency. This research confirms the practice of MGR, its centrality in the creation of community, its role in sustainability of these communities; however these actions are undervalued. What these women do not seem to recognise is the potential of political power in their collectives. If they were to harness the collective power of the MGR, they could influence the political process in a different way. 8.7 Summary The findings for this study indicate that gossip is a form of social practice. It functions as a form of agency, power, and policing. Although the women participate in it, they however do not like it. Gossip in the women?s group encourages an ?us? versus ?them? discourse and through it group solidarity is threatened. In contrast, while the women do like their participation in the MRG, they fail to recognise its potential as a basis for collective action beyond local community needs and in the wider political arena. 237 CHAPTER NINE CONCLUSION Chapter outline 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Summary of findings 9.2.1 What are the interests and needs that concern women in Makueni as identified by politicians, community leaders and women in women?s groups? 9.2.2 How do women, politicians and other community leaders construct agency in relation to these interests and needs? How do they see themselves as able to take transformative social action in relation to women?s interests and needs? 9.2.3 What are the differences and similarities between these different constructions of agency? 9.3 Suggestions and implications for further research 9.4 Impact on the researcher and the researched 9.1 Introduction In this chapter, I summarise the findings regarding the representation of women?s interests and needs in Makueni District after which I discuss the implications for women?s participation in Kenyan politics. 9.2 Summary of findings This section discusses the findings in relation to the research questions which the study sought to answer. It also shows how the research speaks to the literature on representation of women in politics. The findings are presented in response to each of the research questions. 9.2.1 What are the interests and needs that concern women in Makueni as identified by politicians, other community leaders and women in women?s groups? The politicians and other community leaders consider poverty, money, formal education, leadership, water and financial support as the most important needs for women. They also consider healthcare, youth, food and property rights as important. This presents a contrast with the women who mention youth in relation to dreams and for whom roads and the burden of household chores rank among the top-ten needs. The ranking of poverty by leaders as the top 238 need confirms previous research which has shown that economic disempowerment constrains women?s participation in politics (Nasong?o and Ayot, 2007). What is striking is the leaders? silence on women?s interests. This silence was particularly pronounced in political speeches where the leaders are concerned with blaming the other political party and legitimising themselves. Particularly disturbing is the way they say nothing about what policies they have or will put in place to address community needs. However, it is important to point out that it only the women politicians and community leaders who appear to be in touch with community needs and who talk about the 50-50 rule as a way of realising gender equity. The key issues that concern women as identified by the women are; money, unity, formal education, financial support, development, the need for women leaders, healthcare, water, roads, and basic needs notably food and shelter. These findings confirm needs assessment research in Makueni by Khasiani (2000). That women are overburdened by household chores emerges as a major concern for the women given the way they construct it as a ?burden?, and especially given the patriarchal nature of the Kamba community. The other finding of this research is that women have taken on additional roles in the light of social change. However, their action is not valued and is in fact sometimes described by feminists as gendered and disempowering. Thus, though representation of rural women?s interests by elite women is not an object of study for this research, the idea that urban ?elite? women represent rural women in deficit discourses is confirmed by the current research. It would appear from this research that rural women are better at achieving community needs than the ?elite? women who are more concerned about the strategic gender interests. This is not to undervalue the recognition and acknowledgement of the value of the strategic position; it draws attention to further research particularly with regard to the integration of women?s interests and needs into the academy and research policies as Mies (1983: 72) argues, ?the needs and interests of the majority of women must become the yardstick for research policy on Women?s Studies?. Despite various threats to their agency, women continue to have dreams and to maintain their enthusiasm and optimism. In this study the women have done this through what has been described as ?sustainability modes?. I have conceptualized these modes as the means of survival and endurance. The respondents indicated that dreams for a brighter future where basic needs like water and formal education (development). The women also talked about the need for youth 239 in leadership and in particular women leaders, coupled with support from the government and external donors as key to their sustainability. The sustainability of women?s groups remains in support, collective action, spirituality, their children, and good governance especially from young female leaders. In spite of threats to their sustainability, the women appear to have hope even in the midst of market forces of demand and supply. It is instructive to note that collective action, as practised in the Merry-Go-Round, is the principal sustainability mode for the women?s groups. This research confirms findings by (Coppock et al, 2006; Gathigi, 2000; Ndambuki, 2009a; Odima, 1994; Wacker, 1997) on women?s groups in Kenya. While women consider unity (as the basis of collective action) as one of the most important needs, the politicians and other community leaders do not. This indicates a mismatch in the way leaders and the women construct their needs. A recap of the frequencies of occurrence for the needs shows that four leaders consider poverty as the second most frequently mentioned need, while three leaders consider education as the second most commonly occurring need. Both groups consider support for women?s interests and needs important judging by the placement at 4th position in the hierarchy for the women and 6th for the leaders. Interestingly, the leaders have a high frequency of occurrence for women being overburdened by household chores, yet the women do not equally consider it with the same seriousness. Both cases however, hardly mention drug abuse, corruption, and domestic violence drawn from their little mention in the focus groups and interviews. This as already mentioned in Chapter 6 may be interpreted as silence on the part of the women and the leaders. The fact that few people talk about these issues means that they are silenced. On the whole, the deficit constructions of the issues identified as important for women both by the leaders and women lead to negative representation of women which in turn reproduces a negative self-image. In the literature, both positive and negative representations are found particularly in the literature on sustainability and the MGR, yet from the findings, the discourse that the women have internalised is negative. 240 9.2.2 How do the women, politicians and other community leaders construct agency in relation to these interests and needs? How do they see themselves as able to take transformative social action in relation to women?s interests and needs? A Critical Discourse Analysis reveals a mismatch between what the women say and what they do; a disjunction in the way the women produce a highly negative construction of themselves because they claim to be passive (unable to act, without a leader, without hand outs from the government etc). They have internalized deficit discourses acquired through socialization. These discourses are, however, not internalized to the extent that they control their actions. They produce a sense of who they may be despite the fact that they are the ones who shoulder most of the family responsibilities. For example, the women have internalized their lack of formal education and have accepted it. In that mode of sustainability they look at formal education as a need for their children and future generations. In other words women are agents of that sustainable development discourse which is concerned with keeping present identifiable resources for future generations. The analysis of data focused on the use of pronouns and modality. Each of these linguistic features provides a different lens on the data which enables us to understand women?s construction of agency. The women in my study use a combination of both active and passive voice to construct their agency. Fairclough (2003) observes that where the passive voice is used to construct social actors, their subjugation to processes is accentuated and they are seen as being affected by the actions of others. While the active voice emphasizes women?s individual and collective agency, the passive voice constructs them as helpless in the face of their political marginalization by men. Rather than seeing this patriarchal discourse as a challenge, the women allow it to shape their horizons of possibility and to prevent their participation in politics. An analysis of the data shows that women characterize themselves in a discourse of suffering and as in need of a leader to alleviate their suffering. Despite a culture of community, in which women?s groups are deliberately constructed to give members the support of the collective, women construct themselves in a discourse which focuses on the centrality of an individual leader. In other words, they do not see the power that exists when they work together 241 collectively. This implies that the women do not understand that community action underpins their sustainability, not individual power. Their agency is based on the mutual support that women give one another, not on the power of an individual leader. An analysis of the data however, shows the women as lacking in agency by their use of modality. The politicians? and other leaders? constructions of women?s agency indicate a very similar trend to that of the women in focus group discussions especially in relation to the modality choices that they make. This implies that both categories perpetuate the use of deficit discourses in the representation of women?s needs. They both describe women?s needs in the ?perhaps? mode with no likelihood of transforming women?s conditions of possibility into reality. In other words, the women presented their issues as if they were uncertain and not in control and yet in practice they did a lot of things. In the case of politicians and other community leaders, analysis of the pronouns as an analytical lens shows that both groups appear to perpetuate the use of deficit discourses to construct women?s agency. Politicians and other community leaders have constructions similar to the women; they see women as agentive in collective action but represent them as having no power in the collective. The findings of the study indicate that in their use of voice, the politicians especially in political speeches on the one hand represent themselves as all-knowing; they are the ones who know and have the answers for the women. They are also dismissive of people?s ability to think things out for themselves. As a result they represent women as powerless, illiterate and ignorant about their own issues, constructions which deny women agency; and yet recognition and voice are values that women need, to have the confidence to articulate and present their concerns. In their use of the active and passive, they also represent women as constrained by patriarchal discourse. In the barazas, women are represented against a backdrop of discourses of patriarchy, rurality and poverty that construct them as poor, ignorant and illiterate, the ?othered? group while the politicians are presented as the dominant group; as the all-knowing, intelligent and contented ? constructions, which seem to perpetuate unequal power relations between women as the underprivileged and politicians and other community leaders as the privileged. These discourses continue to portray women in deficit terms, which in turn lead to women being seen as deficient and therefore unable to take transformative social action. 242 The current research also confirms similar hegemonic discourses of ?development? which stereotypically present women as poor, powerless, backwards, illiterate, suffering; a discourse that constructs the Third World generally in similar ways (Verma, 2001), though I do not subscribe to the use of the term ?Third world?, as it implies a narrow Eurocentric view where as Ngugi Wa Thiong?o (1993) observes, all else that is not European is a deviation from the standard. I prefer to use the term ?political South?, which eliminates such a misconception. 9.2.3 What are the differences and similarities between these different constructions of agency? While women, politicians and other community leaders construct women?s agency within deficit discourses, these discourses do not match women?s enacted practices or what political and community leaders say they expect of women. The contradiction inherent in the study is that everyone constructs women as lacking in agency, yet these women act as agentive subjects. These findings point to the need for a deeper understanding of women?s sense of agency based on what women consider to be their concerns in the context of the changing gender relations. They also point to a need for the expansion of the scholarship on gender studies. Women?s action is located in traditional discourses and their power is at the micro level but this power is misrecognized. If all rural women were to understand and recognize the potential power of the collective, they might recognise it as a form of social control and they might choose to influence the political process in a different way. As Sen (1999: 190) argues, women are ?no longer the passive agents of welfare-enhancing help, women are increasingly seen, by men as well as women, as agents of change: the dynamic promoters of social transformations that can alter the lives of both men and women?. If they could recognize the potential power of the collective of all rural women, they could recognize an important form of social control. A major finding of the research is that there is a mismatch between what women say and do. Women undervalue that which they are doing by describing it in deficit terms, they are the ones who do most of the domestic labour but they do not seem to recognize this. By demanding an individual leader, they fail to realize that power, and therefore agency is in the collective. 243 The politicians and other community leaders use deficit discourses to talk about women. These people draw on prevailing discourses to construct women?s agency in deficit terms. By drawing on these discourses, women and the leaders appear to restrict women?s agency within the micro level without the likelihood of their ability to translate their micro conditions of possibility into macro conditions. The result of this is increased gender inequality in the political process where women continue to be at the periphery in decision making matters in Kenya. This study has shown that language does have a role to play in explaining women?s non-participation in politics. A key difference between women and the leaders particularly politicians is that in political speeches and interviews, politicians identify the needs but hardly say what needs to be done to change things. The fact that what they mainly focus on are non-issues is part of a common discourse in Kenya where politicians ?politick? without visible action. This lack of clear policy regarding the needs identified by the women is part of the reason women?s interests remain poorly addressed in the country. It is not surprising that women reproduce the politicians? talk. It might also be argued that drawing on the politicians? and other leaders? talk, the women also reproduce this kind of talk. There is need for more research into this idea of politicking for example what leads to it as one way of dealing with the repercussions of the post-election conflict that are still being felt in the country. Transformation was not initially my primary concern in this study. However, towards the end of the project, there was a decided shift of emphasis from an aversion to the perspectives of ?elite women? to a much more sympathetic stance and a retrospective view of the value of the strategic position despite the fact that this position is commonly associated with this group. This study has brought to the fore the role language plays in the representation of women?s interests and needs. The continued use of deficit discourses to talk about women both by women themselves, the politicians and other community leaders portrays how deeply entrenched these deficit discourses are. Although inclusion of women into the research project does not change their conditions in life, it provides an opportunity for them to recognise that they can be agentive and contribute to changing their conditions of life. For this research, although the women act in agentive ways, they do not see what they are doing as transformative. 244 9.3 Suggestions and implications for further research The current research can help inform the development of policies and procedures regarding women?s interests and needs in the political process. This is in especially with regard to policy development and the development of educational materials for the electorate, especiallly women. The thesis reveals minimal reference and, in some cases, total silence with regard to domestic violence, female circumcision, and violence against women during campaigns. More research is needed in these areas in order to give voice to these issues. The very minimal reference to rape in the entire study was interpreted as part of the cultural milieu of the Kamba where sex is taboo. In view of such silences, this study proposes opening up the space on particularly discourses on rape and female circumcision so that the silence can be broken and the problems associated with it addressed. Since silences are just as important as talk, and in this instance silence in this study on sexual matters confirms findings of the Waki Commission (2008) into the recent post-election violence particularly regarding sexual violence which featured prominently as one of the most pervasive forms of violence during the election violence. This might be a pointer to an underlying problem and an indication of a country in crisis with regard to power. The fact that the violence targeted both men and women implies the need for further research in order to uncover and understand other more meaningful ways to deal with power struggles other than through sexual violence. There also appears to be a mismatch in the existence of much work on girl-child education (see (Chege, 2006; Mule, 2008) and the silence of the same in the talk of the leaders particularly the politicians. One could say that the somewhat neutral term ?youth? in the interviews may have masked some critical issues and that may be an all accurate representation of how insignificant the issues of girlhood are to be within the representation of women?s interests. The findings of this study are therefore relevant to NGOs such as CEDAW working in the area of advancement of girl education in Kenya. It appears that despite all the work done on girl-child in Kenya, it has not really filtered through. There is also a need to develop critical awareness material for politicians and voters in addition to what is already available to make participation of women in society easier because as the study has shown, language does contribute to women?s low participation in politics. The 245 implication here is that women?s organizations including men?s organizations that have a feminist agenda ought to devote a significant amount of their efforts to the development of voter education materials directed at women as part of the strategic gender interests. Also, it is necessary to also develop material that targets men specifically in view of changing gender relations (Onyango, 2006). With increased numbers of women accessing education, voter educators ought to specifically develop material that targets men for seminars that focus on women?s changing roles as leaders. Such voter education could include material that shows appreciation of actions of communities that have supported women. One such case is that of the Kalenjin community in Kenya. Looking at the way they have elected Prof. Helen Sambili and Dr. Joyce Laboso recently are excellent examples of men electing women to political positions because they believe they are able, and not allowing petty ideas to mar their decisions regarding their choices. In this way, all will be better placed to tackle the biases and assumptions informing the constructions of women particularly relating to women?s participation in politics. There is also need for the different ethnic communities to learn and appreciate one another, for example by learning each other?s languages. However in Kenya there is so much enmity amongst the ethnic communities with each positively representing itself and negatively ?othering? other communities. South Africa, the largest economy in Africa is a good example of the positive role a multilingual language policy could play in a country?s socio-economic development; such a policy encompasses linguistic diversity and a multiplicity of cultures as seen in each of her 11 official languages which embodies a particular culture. Despite all the attitude research that has been carried out in Kenya, little has been done to bring the different communities together, time is now ripe for such a project, through a multilingual language policy. Further, with regard to voter education, this study recommends a paradigm shift in understanding women?s interests and needs as they relate to women?s political participation; that is, in addition to women?s representation in numbers (political representation), focus on how they are constructed via language is also crucial. Since the machinery in the form of women?s self-help movement is already in place, the process would be made easier if this is done in collaboration with both the elite organizations such as Kenya League of Women Voters, Women Voters? League, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization? MYOW and grassroots 246 organizations such as the women?s groups. In addition to the issue of language choice for voter education (Ndung?o, 2004) there is need to target the actual use of language by the leaders and women. For example NGOs while developing voter education material ought to specifically target the choice of words by both leaders and women to develop a discourse of respect for women. It is surprising that civic education often targets the Kenyan ethnic rural woman yet Kenya as Ndung?o points out, Kenya is multiethnic and multiracial. Civic education also needs to target the Caucasian and Indian population as part of the way to address the deficit discourses that continue to portray the rural woman as a ?victim?. This contributes to their being exploited as domestic workers for instance. This will produce an all inclusive political education that cuts across class and race, giving all races and ethnic groups in Kenya a chance for participatory democracy. Given the importance women attach to ?talk?, there is need to focus on it as a way to enhance women?s political participation. Further, though feminism is often seen as a domain for women, the fact that increasingly men are seeing the need to advance the cause for gender equality, is indeed an indication that feminism is essentially about women?s well being and by implication, society?s well-being (Mukabi-Kabira, 2003; Sen; 1999). Based on the finding on the prevalence of ?talk? as a form of action in the present study, one might further argue that too much talk without visible action is also a result of training. Most of the skills that Kenyans have are in the areas of communication as opposed to manufacturing for instance. This results in people talking too much because that is what they are trained to do. This idea of politicking might be part of the reason Kenyans went into conflict in the December 2007 elections. The politicians, the majority of whom are men, spend a lot of time ?politicking? and strategising on how to ?win? the election. The effect of this is that while women are busy trying to meet the practical needs, the men are busy politicking. Ndung?o (2004) shows how the men go to hang around the market centres in rural areas talking, while the women are running the homes. This is also extended to urban areas where mainly men are found in the clubs and clubbing is mainly seen as men?s space. The women are often constructed within the ?private sphere? as being at home ?cooking?, implying that if one is not in clubs, they are not doing politics because politics is often construed as men?s domain. Given the nature of socialization, women may not go to clubs as men do, but they can still do politics through talk which is one of the most powerful tools of power that they have. There is need for civic education to target all 247 these areas to challenge the common sense assumptions that are made about women, which in turn affect their political participation. This study mainly deals with what women consider to be their issues. I would suggest further research on men?s issues as it has been observed ?men must speak for themselves both as human beings and as gendered persons? Jesser (1996:9-10). These findings strongly point to the need for a parallel study on what men consider to be their concerns in the context of the changing gender relations and as part of the expansion of the scholarship on gender politics in the African Diaspora and Kenya in particular. In view of the centrality of communication to the area of development communication, the current research foregrounds the role of language policy in addressing the felt needs of the people. The needs-based discourse provides useful information for the changing focus of development communication especially on the idea of seeing communities as beneficiaries to that of seeing them as stakeholders. This research demonstrates that any project by development communication specialists must necessarily be participatory, for ignoring the communities such as the women?s groups would be tantamount to ignoring the felt needs of the people. It is worth going back to the methods chapter as a way in consideration of further implications of this study. First the study has shown the really important contribution critical analysis of text and discourse can play in studying women in development. Secondly, the current research clearly demonstrates the importance of focus groups for feminist methodology. Unlike one-to- one interviews, focus groups mitigate the power relationship between the researcher and the participants, a critical aspect of the research process. The research also demonstrates the urgency of feminist-in-action research that is essentially participatory. By focusing on the rural women, I intended to make them co-owners of the research product and more importantly, make them realise that they can be pro-active agents of social change as discussed by Rose (2001) in the methods chapter. They can be agentive to bring about change to their communities by being aware of the kind of language they use to talk about themselves. In conclusion, women?s actions are inhibited by their interpellation in deficit discourses. It undermines their sense of self worth and also causes them not to value or to misrecognize the 248 value they achieve in their traditional discourses. The fractures (cracks) between these traditional and deficit discourses create possibility for recognition of women?s power based on the long-standing ability to function as a collective. Action comes not out of the deficit discourses but the competition between the two discourses which creates the need for intervention. In other words, deficit discourses do not prevent women?s action, but limits the potential power of women?s action. Deficit discourses also make them undervalue their contribution to sustainability yet women make a real difference at the micro-level in terms of sustainability of their communities. Deficit discourses also produce misrecognition of the value of women?s work. The result of this is that women fail to recognize the significance of the potential power of the collective particularly the fact many collectives produce significant power beyond sustainability. In general, this inhibits the realization of social justice for women in the society. 9.4 Impact of the research on the researcher and the researched Finally, a remarkable finding of this study is that the research has had an impact on me as the researcher regarding my journey from deficit constructions of rural women to the recognition of their profound contribution as change agents in the sustainability of their communities. 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Dakar: CODESRIA. --------- (1988) Women and the Labour Process in Kenya since Independence. Transafrican Journal of History. Vol. 17: 69 ? 107. Zinken, J. (2003) Ideological Imagination: Intertextual and Correlational Metaphors in Political Discourse. Discourse and Society: Vol. 14 (4): 507 - 523 Zubair, S. (2003) Literacies Across Generations: Women?s Religious and Secular Identities in Siraiki Villages in South East Asia Research. Vol. 23 (2): 135 ? 151. 265 APPENDICES Appendix i: Location of Makueni District in Kenya Source: Makueni District Development Plan (1997-2001) 266 Appendix ii: Location of study area Source: Makueni District Development Plan (1997-2001) 267 Appendix iii: Biographic questionnaire for the women respondents The following questions are translated into Kikamba for the actual study. Instructions: Please answer the following questions. The responses you provide are purely for research purposes and will be treated with utmost confidence 1. Age 2. Educational level 3. Occupation 4. Marital status 5. Position in the women?s organization 268 Appendix iv: Guiding questions for focus group discussions The following questions are translated into Kikamba for the actual study. Instructions: Please answer the following questions as fully as possible. The responses you provide are purely for research purposes and will be treated with utmost confidence. 1. What are your needs as women in this division? 2. Who is responsible for addressing these needs? 3. What has your women?s group done to address these needs? 4. What are your dreams, hopes and fears in relation to these needs? 269 Appendix V: Interview guide for politicians The following questions are translated into Kikamba for the actual study. Instructions: please answer the following questions as fully as possible. The responses you provide are purely for research purposes and will be treated with utmost confidence. 1. Village 2. Age 3. Educational level 4. What are the needs of women in this area? 5. Who is responsible for addressing these needs? 6. What have you been able to deliver of the promises you made in the last election? What obstacles have you encountered? (only for politicians) 7. How effective are women?s groups in addressing women?s interests and needs in the political process? 8. What are your dreams, hopes and fears in relation to women?s needs? 270 Appendix vi: Information sheet for women participants School of Education Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa My name is Jacinta Ndambuki and I am conducting research for the purposes of obtaining a degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. I am investigating how women?s interests and needs are represented in the political process. I will investigate what women say their issues are and how these issues are spoken about by politicians. I Want to see if there is a match or mismatch between how women talk about these issues and how the politicians talk about them. I would like to invite you to participate in this study. I intend to run group discussions with group discussions with women from different women?s groups at a time and place that is convenient for the women. The discussion will last will last for approximately one hour. With permission this discussion will be tape-recorded in order to ensure accuracy of the information gathered. Your participation is voluntary, and no person will be advantaged or disadvantaged in any way for choosing to participate or not participate in the study. All of the responses will be kept confidential, and no information that could identify individuals or organizations will be included in the research report. The discussion tape recordings will not be seen or heard by any person in at any time, and will only be processed by me. Participants may refuse to answer any questions they would prefer not to, and they may choose to withdraw from the study at any point. Your participation in this study would be greatly appreciated. This research will contribute both to a larger body of knowledge on the representation of women?s interests and needs, and their understanding of these issues in Kenya. This can help to inform the development of policies and procedures regarding women?s interests in the political process. Thank you Kind regards Jacinta Ndambuki Department of Applied English Language Studies University of the Witwatersrand 271 Appendix vii: Information sheet Kikamba translation (Valua wakumanyithya aka) School of Education Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa Tel: (011) 717-3066; Fax: (011) 717-3100/717-3067 Isytwa yakwa n Jacinta wa Ndambki na nendeesye somi kwoond wa kwata ndikilii ya ulu vy ya PhD sukulun wa Witwatersrand kya Afrika ya theo. Kisese kyakwa kya kunkli  n ksisya kana mand ala makonetye aka nmanengawa ito siasan. Mno mno, kunkli  wenda kmanya mo mand ala makonetye aka nmo ma na maeleawa na kneenewa ata n atongoi ma siasa ona aka mo ene. Twenda kmanya kana ve ilanyo kana vati ilanyo nongi kelewan na kneenewan k. Twenda kthokya wthwe mwe wit nthn wa kunkli . Ktetheesya kwaku kunklin  kwthwa kw kwa neenany?o kat wa kkundi kyaku kya aka nakwa mwene, saan na vandn vala kww?a wmwane. Kkomana na kneenanya k kwkua klungu kya saa ymwe. Kwa lsa waku, neenany?o  nkwkwa msivin kwoond wa ktila makosa yla tkwsa kwthwa tiwthuksya tina wa kneenania. Wmthasye ktetheesya kunkli  na ndwthwa tonya kma nnd wa ktetheesya kana klea ktetheesya. Ndeto syaku iikavikia mnd ng nongi, ona la itonya kmanyka kana nuwe wawetie iikekwa livotin ya kunikli . Msivi na ndeto ila tkandka kwanana na neenany?o witu iikewka kana ksomwa n mnd ung ateo nyie. Wmthasye klea ksnga klyo yla tekwenda ona nowume neenany?o  kat wenda, ona kethwa tvikte va. Ktetheesya kwaku kkeeethwa kw kwa ndaa mno. Ona ing, ktetheesya kwaku kunkli  kwnenevya manyi wa mand ala makonetye aka ona kitethya kelewa kwaku mwene kwa mand aa. Kwoond wa u, kunkli  no tetheesye kvanga mvango silikalin ya kendeesya mand ala makonetye aka. Nseo. Waku ndaan, Jacinta Ndambki. Ktengo kya Usomi wa Ksungu, Sukulu wa Witwatersrand. 272 Appendix viii: Information sheet for politicians and other community leaders School of Education Private Bag, 3, Wits, Johannesburg, South Africa Dear Participant, My name is Jacinta Ndambuki and I am conducting research for the purposes of obtaining a Doctorate degree in the area of Applied Linguistics at the University of the Witwatersrand. I intend to investigate the representation of women?s interests and needs in the political process. I will investigate what women say their issues are and how politicians and other leaders speak about these issues. I want to see if there is a match or mismatch between how women talk about these issues and how the politicians and other leaders talk about them. I would like to invite you to participate in this study. Participation in this research will entail being interviewed by me, at a time and place that is convenient for you. The interview will last for approximately one hour. With your permission this interview will be recorded in order to ensure accuracy. Participation is voluntary, and no person will be advantaged or disadvantaged in any way for choosing to participate or not participate in the study. All your responses will be kept confidential. You may refuse to answer any questions you would prefer not to, and you may choose to withdraw from the study at any point. Your participation in this study would be greatly appreciated. This research will contribute both to a larger body of knowledge on representation of women?s interests and needs, and your understanding of these issues. This can help to inform the development of policies and procedures regarding women?s interests and needs in the political process. Thank you, Kind regards Jacinta Ndambuki Department of Applied English Language Studies University of the Witwatersrand 273 Appendix ix: Consent forms A. Consent Form: Interview (politicians and other leaders) I agree to be interviewed by Jacinta for her study on ------- (date) I understand that: - Participation in this interview is voluntary. -That I may refuse to answer any questions I would prefer not to. -I may withdraw from the study at any time. -No information that may identify me will be included in the research report, and my Responses will remain confidential. Signed __________________________________________ 274 I _____________________________________ consent to my interview with _____________________________ for her study on _____________________ being tape- recorded. I understand that: -The tapes and transcripts will not be seen or heard by any person in this organisation at any time, and will only be processed by the researcher. - All tape recordings will be destroyed after the research is complete. - No identifying information will be used in the transcripts or the research report. Signed _________________________________________ B. Consent Form: Recording (politicians and other leaders) 275 I ________________________________ consent to participate in a focus group discussion with _____________________________ for her study on _________________________. I understand that: - Participation in this focus group discussion is voluntary - That I may refuse to answer any questions I would prefer not to. - I may withdraw from the study at any time. - No information that may identify me will be included in the research report. Signed __________________________________________ C: Consent Form: Women?s Focus Group Discussion 276 D: Consent Form: Women?s group discussion (Kikamba Translation) Nyie _______________________ nngwtkla kwthwa umbanoni wa kkund kya aka na _____________________________ kwa wia wake matuku ___________ Ninguelewa kana: - Kwthwa umbanoni usu wa kkundi kya aka nkwa ngenda yakwa. - Nndonya ulea usunga makulyo ala ndekwenda. - Nntonya kuekana na wa uu la enda. - Vatingwa kndu ktonya umanythany?a wan usu. Saii __________________________________________ 277 I ___________________________ consent to my focus group discussion with _____________________________ for her study on ____________ being tape-recorded. I understand that: - The tapes and transcripts will not be seen or heard by any person at any time, and will - Only be processed by the researcher. - All tape recordings will be destroyed after the research is complete. - No identifying information will be used in the transcripts or the research report. Signed _________________________________________ E: Consent Form: Recording - focus group discussion 278 Voomu ya kwtkla kwkwa msivin wa kaseti (aka) Nyie _____________________________________ nngwtkla mbano wakwa na _____________________________ l wa wa wake matuk ________________________ wkwe kasetin. Nngelewa kana: - Msivi su na kla k nthn wasyo itkoneka kana kww?ka n mnd ng na kana ikatmwa; - ninyie nyioka vinda yonthe. - msivi yoonthe kaanangwa wa wathela. - vatingwa knd kkatumwa ktonya kmanythia mnd msivin kana wan wakwa. Saii_________________________________________ F: Consent Form: Recording focus group discussion (Kikamba Translation) 279 APPENDIX X: TRANSCRIPTS OF WOMEN?S NEEDS AS IDENTIFIED BY POLITICIANS AND OTHER COMMUNITY LEADERS IN INTERVIEWS A: FORMAL EDUCATION Text 6.1: I was addressing a baraza, and one of the people referred to CDF as msaada [donation] so I had to take a lot of time to tell them that really CDF is your right?if you are going for a loan you have to negotiate on an equal footing (leader 5: page 5, lines 27-33). Text 6.2: Resp: nnd vatingwa serikali kokla nth no t, vatingwa nth kokla, vat msy kokla vate ksomo. Nyie nwish kla mnd mka ekiite bidii ona wetha ataasoma, takwa tond ndaasoma ksomo kk tusomethye syana wethwa nsyavta. Because there is no government that can come up in our country, no country can come up, no home can come up without education. I wish every woman would put in a lot of effort even if they have no formal education, like I do not have much education, we educate the children especially if they pass well, I try as much as possible (leader 8, page 4, lines 4-10). Text 6.3: Resp: Ithy tketha ttonya kwona and matonya tetee mand kwa mfano ta ksomo, ksomethya makatetee mand ketha nmeka kyaa kyoo yu ndonya kwakya ou, nmeka kyaa kyoo. Us, if we could see people who could bring things like education, to educate, to bring us things so that they put their own finger in it (leader 9, page 4, lines 10-15). Text 6.4: And aa ki barazani n ksomo kmw wthawa k kseo mno ki barazani n ksomo kseo mno, ki makanisani n kva barazani, makanisani na tworkshop twthwa ok twa maendeeo. Uketha mnd t mtulu kwa thi, tindn tatu at least nkwata knowledge kwsla kuku. For these people, in the baraza there is very good education. Going to the barazas is one very good thing, the churches and workshops held around for development. So that someone is not lazy about going there, from such things you get knowledge through there (leader 2, page 7- 8, lines 28-31 Text 6.5: R: eeh ksomo aka nmathnte muno nksomethya ksomo nnd nyie ta n kanzala and ala nonaa aing mayka nglya bursary n aka. Na aka nmo mokaa kwa wing klya bursary inenganwe nd. Uh in education women have suffered a lot due to educating, because for me as a councilor, majority of the people who come to ask about bursaries are mostly women. And they are the ones who come to find out when the bursaries are due (leader 2: page 3, lines 15- 20). Text 6.6: Kwoou syana ii twalea kwsomethya, twalea kwisisya syvu, yu tna free primary school education, If we do not educate, if we do not look after them there, and now we have free primary education (leader 1, page 19, lines 19-23) B: WATER Text 6.7: Resp: Y mavata ala methaa mathimte aka muno muno k kat ka division yait kuu Mbitini Inter: eh Resp: N aka aing nmakothaa thnua mno n kw? Inter: eh 280 Resp: Kyaktmai nymba na kla kw kva nga na kuwi?a syana. Resp: Yes the most common need for women here in our Division, Mbitini, is Inter: Eh Resp: Many women are troubled by water problems. Inter: Eh Resp: For use in the house and for washing clothes and cooking for the children (leader 7: page 1, lines 6-14). Text 6.8: Inter: Taketha ntkwatana ng na nkwona ta borehole, kyokie msy, kw? kiu kyokie nnd wa kwyumia kwit na kthkma kwit. And again if we could unite, like you see the borehole in our home that water came because of our sacrifice and our work (leader 10, page 5, lines 17- 20). Text 6.9: Resp: Na serikal yamina tnenge mbesa manya ndtnenge mavia kiw' na ndthi mbania kthangath I mm Resp: Nithyi twaile uthi vu ithyonthe, na andu ala me vinya ni ma muika. And when the government finishes giving us money, it will not give us stones, water and sand M We are the ones that are supposed to all go there and the strong people are the youth (leader 7, page 5, lines 6-11). Text 6.10 Resp: Ta bei nkwona nmateteea o ta silingi il, kwakwa nyie nenda tteewe silingi mwe; yu nnd and aing nmaendaa sn makaktia o vau na nng and to mekwenda manywe kw? kseo Inter: mm y nnd nkyo ktheu Resp: Lakini nnd wa ala mathna ma iveti kona and mena thna mwing ketha ona  silingi ya kva kw? nykwaa, yu makateewa silingi mwe wthwa nmatetheew?a. Resp: Well it costs 2 shillings, but on my part, I would want it to be sold to us at 1 shilling. Like many people go to the river and leave it there, and people do want to take clean water. Yes because it is the clean one. But because of those women?s problems, you see people with so many problems; you see even the shilling to pay for the water misses. Now if they could be sold at 1 shilling, they could be well supported. Yes, it would be good to talk to them to see if it can be released for other needs not just for drinking. (leader 9 page 18, lines 15-26). Text 6.11: Resp: K kwit nowonaa nd kw? kthawa kna thna. .manye yu kw? nkyo knd kla k vata viu. Ithy aka ma Mbitin twnathna mbimg. Kwoou wathi ndkolwe nithy, syoke otond wew?a twna thna wa kw? (theka) . Inter: uh Resp: K kwit tkeekwa kw? notvande spinach. Resp: Her in our place you se how water is a problem. You should know that water is the most important need. Us women of Mbitini Division we have many needs/problems. So when you go away do not forget us and come back like you heard that we have water problems.(laughter) yes. Inter: uh Resp: Here in our area if we could have water put for us, we could plant spinach (leader 9, page 16, lines 16-24). 281 C: SUPPORT Text 6.12: The best thing is to stop the exercise of relief food. Mnenge two kilos na wetha nkwona nde knd eya Inter: m Resp: eka akwe, let him go and work, Na ndona matenda kwthukuma, you see la wathukuma, la wathi mndan kwaku, wavanda mbemba na mbua tua yla wasua mbemba isu iya wthawa w so proud, na vai mnd ekwenda kwia?lakini ila wathi kwosa mwolyo, kathi kwtha inyaaku ayoso mwolo e, wth.a ve abusive words, mockery The best thing is to stop relief food. Give him two kilos and if you see that he/she has nothing to eat, let him die, let him go and work. And I see women want to want to work for themselves. You see when you go to your farm and plant maize with the rain, when you harvest that maize and are eating it you are so proud. And there is nobody who wants to tell you?but when you go to get relief food. You go find your mother there also getting relief food. You find there is abusive words and mockery (leader 1, page 6, lines 1-7). Text 6.13; Kwoou isam ii sya happenie nkwtha our government is not focused on the common woman, that Wanjiku, Wanjiku anawachwa tu. Anazurura kwa soko, anafanya nini anatafuta takataka anakula, na si makosa ya Wanjiku, ni makosa ya system. These things are happening because our government is not focused on the common woman Wanjiku. Wanjiku is just being ignored.She is loitering in the market, doing what? She is looking for left overs to eat, ours, and it not the fault of Wanjiku but the fault of the system (Leader 1: page 18, 16-21) Text 6.14: Resp: Catholic diocese, o k kwit Makeni county council asu na mashirika ang, NGOS, y ku n knd matonya thi makanewa matethyo Inter: mm Resp: Na mates ou ona ikundi syilye ites Inter: uh Resp: Kana ku nmatonya kumya matethyo The Catholic diocese here in Makueni county Council, that and many other organizations, NGOs, yes. Those are places they can go and be given support. Inter: mm And they did not know that. Women?s groups had stayed not knowing that (leader 7, page 8, lines 12-17). Text 6.15: Resp: ketha ntanyuva ta mujumbe, matendaa, mayendaa ttethesya, ttetheesya, tala twamnenga mavata, ketha mno mno tamnenga kana la wasisya mavata ketha nwattwaa na mbee, wetha n knd kyatetheesya nkyooswa kyattetheesyaaa, nkenda nd twoona tethyo nait ketha nttonya kwyka vinya. Uketha ntwathkma nesa nnd tena wkwatyo wa nvtuka vau mbee, ndtonya kwka nesa. Like when we elect an MP, they do not like to support us, support us like when we give them our needs especially when we give him/her our needs like so that he can take them forward, like if it is something for supporting, it is taken and made to support us, when we see support then we can give ourselves power. This way we work well because when you do not have hope that you will make progress, you cannot do well (leader 10: page 2, lines 15-24). Text 6.16: 282 Resp: tethyo la mekwata nola wa kwsla mikoponi, makosa mikopo, kkundi nnd methi kopa mkopo ta kkundi na mnd aypa loan yake individual yu kwsla ikundin nvo mekwata mikopo. The support they will get is through loans, if they miss a loan because they go to get a loan as a group, and someone pays the loan back individually. Now it is through groups that they get the loans (leader 2: page 27, lines 15-29). D: THE BURDEN OF HOUSEHOLD CHORES Text: 6.17 Kla kmavinye muno, mm generally and aka mavinyawa n syndu sya msy. Mnd mka nkaa kethia ona ntonya thkma noythia ndenawa mseo wa kthkma. What is pressing them much is generally things to do with the home household chores, it is as if a woman might do work (household chore but may not have a good job) (leader 2, page 1, lines 20-26). Text 6.18: Resp: Men look at it as if it is a very dirty thing, so most of the women are now taking up that responsibility (leader 5, page 2, lines 21-23). Text 6.19: Resp: Mavata ala makonetye aka mno mno n mavata ma msy Inter :mm Resp: Yu ta mnd mka mno mno nwthawa akwetwe n mavata ma musy Inter:Uh Resp: Na nthn wa mavata asu ma msyi nwkaa nwkaa ketha mnd mka msy kwake ntatwe n mandu oonthe ma msy niwe wthawa akwete na yla wooka wetha akwete mavata asu wkaa ketha msy su wonthe nta w ylu wa mndu mka su Resp: The most important needs for women are household needs Inter: mm Resp: Now a woman is normally ensnared by household needs. Inter: Uh Resp: And in those needs, you find that a woman is tied down by a the household needs, she is the one who is in charge and as a result of being in charge of those needs, it is as if the whole home is the responsibility of that woman (leader 8, page 1, lines 7-19). Text 6.20: Resp: Mnd na mka, waenda nymba kaendaa ketha ona mnd mka e ikon ayuwa nonee walte kka kwalania nesa nesa. Inter: I uh Resp: Nowe wale koosa mio akathambye ethwa meumte mndan. Mndme oka we okie kwkala nth nand akaetewe lu oke ya. Resp: Y kwoond wa ou ame maitu nma kothaa mno mno klekelya aka mawa maing me nymba. Resp: (For a)_man and wife, when you go to the house you find that even when a woman is in the kitchen cooking, she is the one supposed to come and prepare the table. Inter: Uh Resp: She is the one supposed to take the utensils and go wash them if they are form the farm. The man came and sat down and the he is to be brought food and to eat it. The woman is the one to give all the service and everything. So as a result of that, our men often leave the household chores to women (leader 7, page 2, lines 9-20). Text 6.21: Resp: Atuma mait nmale kkna na kshare duties nesa makaeka kekea aka mnd mka akaeka kwkala ta ng?oi ya kla nd w?onthe. Our men should share duties fairly and stop 283 leaving women with the burden, so that the woman stops looking like the donkey for everything (leader 7, page 27, lines 6-8) Text 6.22: Resp: Maandko ma mbivilia matye kana la mwakwatana and el mtwikaa knd kmwe na mtwkaa mtetheansye mawa ala me msyi usu na mathna ala mevo lakini ttha ona ndkwona akwete ou wa mawa asu noiwe kwete kla nd wonthe nginya fees, nginya indo syenyu sy syn, wamklya ?Nayu thaa ngania vo vana na vana ii? Aikwa ?Ai ?Eka ndavya voo su?. Inter: Uh Resp: ?Nyie ndkwatanaa na synd isu enda kakwatane na voo wa syana syaku?, nsyatwka syaku! and when you go back to the bible you find that it says when the two get together they become one, and this happens so that you help one another with the chores in the home and the problems there, but you find that he is not even concerned with these chores, you are the one doing everything like fees, even tendering the animals. And when you ask him, father of so and so, what do we do here? He tells you ?Do not to bother me with such information?. Inter: Uh Resp: ?I normally do not concern myself with such things, go and get concerned with your children?, now they are your children! (leader 8, page 4, lines 13-27) E: LEADERSHIP Text 6.23: Resp: Mostly women are not very good in politics. They are not very good. Uangalie kama mama Ndetei, (like when you look at mother Ndetei), I would like to give you that example. Alikuja akawa mbunge (she became an MP) and we had a lot of backing for that lady. Na siasa yake ilikuwa nzuri sana (And her politics was very good). Lakini you can be played. Politics can be played on you. Inter: you mean on women? Resp: Politics are played on women, unaona (you see) ? Lakini (but) women, you see the other time there was this funny story about women. Unaona ooka (you see she came) her the other day there was this funny story about Ngilu, na ni siasa anafanyiwa, siasa. (And it is politics being played on her). Text 6.24: Resp: Woklavaa wamantha atongoi ma iveti wthaa o kla chairman wawetwa wa sukulu no mndme. O chairman awetwa n wa kya no mndme, wa kya no mndme Inter: Nk? Resp: Iveti ii nikothete lea kwata ivla, na ikothete lea kwata ivla n klea kelewa nakyo yo mwene kw y ignore nnd yla na k ignore nnd n kveti ndalte kngama new?a tumwa nakwa ngakuma? If you get up here and look for leaders, you will find that every school chairman talked about is a man. Every chairman mentioned for everything is a man. For everything is a man. Inter: Why? Resp: Because these women, do not normally get seats they do not normally get seats because because of failure to understand and because of ignoring themselves. ?Because I am a woman I should not stand for election and when I hear you being abused I should also abuse you? (leader 9, page 7) Text 6.25: Nnd la tw klasin tisoma, tyasyaa aka makusye, ame methwe mbee, kyongo kla kyaku nkyo ktwaa tina. Waziri wa sheria, Martha Karua infact we are very proud of her, na twna Ngilu, Ngilu twasisya nd  performite waziri wa Afya, ntkwona a performiite na n mnd mka. When we are learnng in class we do not say that women (should) be last and men (should) 284 be first. Your brain is the one that takes you behind, The minister for Constitutional Affairs Martha Karua, in fact we are very proud of her, and we have Ngilu, when we look at how Ngilu has performed, the Minister for Health we can see that she has performed and she is a woman (leader 2: page 35, lines 11-18). Text 6.26: Resp: Yu thna ng, wa aka yu tait, ta atongoi, wenda kwona makanzala ma ame maitinda makutwe n ngal sya ambunge moo, na ona makakuwa kla sua, ona makeka ata, matatw?aa mnyuka. Lakini kanzala wa mnd mka akuwa mthenya l na ngal yoneka ou nwaamba o ksukwa nwaambwa kwwa nwakwatanie na su nwaekanie na mme nwakwatanie na mumbunge su kwoou ambunge ntwonaa mathna me kvathkanio. Inter: y Resp: Nayo nng ttha tktaa o kvoya na kneena ona and ma tunderstand. Synd sya nzuk tkasythuksya vat mnd mka wtya kvla. Now another problem for us as women leaders, you will se male councilors, they are often carried in their MPs cars, and even if they are carried out everyday, no matter what they do, they are not talked about. But if a female councilor is carried for one two days, she starts to be gossiped about, she starts being told that she is friendly to that person, she has left her husband, so we elected leaders face different problems. Yes And we just pray and talk hoping that people will understand us. If we listened to gossip, no woman would ask for a political seat, (leader 2, page 25, lines 10-25). Text 6.27: R: Aya kla kng natongoi ala tnyuvaa I: uh R: Atongoi ntkaa tkamanyuva, naa twamina manyuva vand va theea kuma vaa nth, maykala l R: The other thing is the leaders we choose, we do choose leaders but when we have chosen them, instead of working from the bottom they base their leadership at the top (leader 4, page 4, lines 13-17). Text 6.28: Resp: Eee knd kwing ndonya kwasya atongoi aing mamina nyuvwa Inter: uh ahah Resp: Nmetalaa ketha ntamolwa, Inter: uh Resp: Siasa syamina thela namatwawa labda kwa kanz, kana wethwa n parliament wethwa n area MPs nmekalaa ketha mayusyokea and ala mamano yaa siasa after elections in many cases I can say that many leaders after they are elected Inter: Uh Resp: They count themselves as if they have forgotten Inter: Uh Resp: When politics are over and when they are taken to the council, or if it is parliament or if it is the area MPs, they stay as if they do not remember the people who suffered for them in politics. Inter: Uh Resp: They were begging them for votes and in most cases they do not get helped but in other cases, they get help because people are different (page leader 7: page 11, 4-12). F: UNITY Text 6.29: Women are pro-unity. Yes eh women are more pro-unity than men. A good example is majority of the self-help groups I have are of women. And you cannot have these Merry-Go-Rounds; in 285 fact majority of them 99% of them are women. It is just in few cases, it?s just a rare case that you find a Merry-Go-Gound for men where you find a Merry-Go-Round for men, but when we come to trust not with men. Not with men at all at all. In fact majority of the women?s groups, all the women?s groups in general, people feel more comfortable when the treasurer is a woman. Text 6.30: Resp: Ttetheanganisye k nzangle ttsa kwamba mandu ang o manene tsa kwthw?a ntwamantha ma plot nkana un na ake syana situ sykaaone mathna ala tnokie mona. We normaly support one another through the Merry-Go-Round before we begin other bigger things like getting commercial plots so that in future children do not face the same problems that we have faced (leader 8, page 5, lines, 2-6) Text 6.31: The nasty thing is that when we come to politics, it is also a fault of women, they do not like each other, when it comes to politics, they don?t like each other, why? I don?t know that needs to be researched. Text 6.32: I think so far ladies have not woken up to realize that they can represent themselves. Two, ladies do suffer most of the ladies suffer most because they do not know their rights and three, they do suffer because they are not properly represented and four because of shyness and shyness is brought about by lack of education, lack of exposure, and many other aspects (leader 3, page 8, lines 7-13). Inter: Can you please explain those points especially on representation? Resp: One representation, let?s come down to the women?s groups. Inter: m Resp: when they happen to come and they want to forward their needs, they feel more comfortable when sending a man than when sending their fellow ladies (leader 3, page 14, lines 1-4). G: POLITICIANS? FALSE PROMISES AND THE ROLE OF NGOS Text 6.33: Lakini ntwthaa yu ta vinda y tweteele campaign, nmokaa makatwa nmettetheesya, natilea kwsa kwona nd metwka. Inter.uh Resp: Y mekaa neena na mnyuka. Resp: But like at this time when we are waiting for the campaign. They come and tell us that they are going to support us but we never see what they do for us. Inter: uh Resp: Yes they just talk with their mouths (leader 6, page 2, lines 21-26). Text 34: Resp: Y, nnd la tnana last year but one twana mheshimiwa waziri Ngil na n watwie sivital ya Mwanyan nkmpromote twke dispensary yke health centre na bado yi namba kwkwa ou nnd wa thna wa iveti vand mund tonya thiusyaa. Yes, because when we had?last year but one, we had the Honourable Minister Ngilu, she told us that she would promote Mwanyani to a health center but this has not yet happened so women still have problems with delivery (leader 2, page 5, lines 6-12). Text 6.35: Maendeleo ya Wanawake yaanangiwe n atongoi, the national leaders?na n kyo ktumi Kitonyi waemie novisi nkenda aye mbesa, nng mbesa na vay knd kendaa nnd mavisi ala mak 286 Divisional level, District level nmanengiwe na and aka manamo ma Maendeleo ya Wananawake nimaekie kvya na nmatungie mavuku. Resp: Kwoou, yna mtongoi, yina future, kana tingwa future. Yu tww?aa ve mbesa syendaa kvika level ya location eka ngtavye syo mbesa isu, ithelelaa Ilovi iivika kla kwi mwananchi wa kawaida. Niwisi mbesa isu n syit ala twethiwe twi members, mbesa isu nisyit nd itvikaa ene nth. Na ta n mtongoi, mbesa isu ittethasya mwene nth wa kawada, mnd mka la wa kawaida hasaidiwi na hiyo pesa. Resp: The MYWO has been messed up by the leaders, the national leaders. And that is why Kitonyi has refused with money so that she could eat it. None of the money goes because the offices here at the Division levels, the District levels, have been given out and the women MYOW women who had them have stopped paying (for them) and have returned the books. So it does not have a leader, in other words, it does not have a future. Now we hear there is money that goes to the location level, let me tell you, that moneys gets finished in Nairobi, it does not reach the grassroots person. You know that is our money those of us who were members, that money does not reach the grassroots person and as a leader, that money does not help the local woman, the local woman is not helped by that money (leader 2: page 10, lines 6-25). Text 6.36: Resp: Ya kel nmasyokaa omo knenga vinya, makalea kwntha maatie rights syoo makoka makakengwa makewa mathi kya. They also give them power sometimes they do not follow their rights and and sometimes they are cheated and told to go (Leader 4, page 7, lines, 1-4). H: PATRIARCHY Text 6.37: Resp: Maktaa kwawa nd mekwka yu tayu mikopo tnengawe k no Kenya Women Finance Trust, na synd mbing, ko tcompanies twing tnengane mkovo. Na mikovo n ve iveti itonya kwosa ikeka nesa mno. Ikaola mathna maing mno ma msy. Ona thna  wa kua ndoo kilometer na knd kuite Emali, akaola na akeka kawla vu soko la vu thome kwake, lakini tthwa ndaaalloiwa n mme kwosa mkopo. Ewa ?Osa mukopo, mikopo tosawa n aka? ttha ntvinykka vau. They only do not know what to do because the loans we are given here by the Kenya Women Finance Trust and many other things, like there are other companies giving loans. And with these loans, there are women who can get them and do very well and reduce many problems in the home. Even reduce this problem of carrying a bucket for about a kilometer and a half to Emali when it is raining and instead start a business nearby at the market centre. But she cannot be allowed to get the loan by her husband. If she is told to get a loan, ?loans are not gotten by women? we are pressed there (leader 2, page 12, lines 1-13). Text 6.38: Mndme asya na kanzala nwaneena yu nwaelewa knd kla kyaneenwa noyw?a ?yu kwanza ona mnd mka ndombtwe mnd mka, ndabelieveiaa kana aka me knd mauma kseo, tw?a kana  ndoombtwe mnd mka. You even hear a man say ?and the Councillor has really spoken? and then you even hear them say ?this woman was not created a woman? he never believed that women can be of any good, you hear ?or this one was not created as a woman? (leader 2, page 25). 287 Text 6.39: Most of the homes do fail because they do not give a lady the chance to decide and also a man being the leader of the family comes and says, ?I just want this and I want that, full stop, no comma? and that is what is messing up most of the issues within the nation and also within the families and you know leadership starts at home, because the government starts from home (leader 3, page 13, lines 16-19). Text 6.40: Resp: Wa waku kwete umumsya syana te kumb Inter: uh Resp: Nawamumsya isyana ndwna haja na ktethya na nnd wa itumi isu mnd mka su aivika kwango kla ktale na aikwata kwka mand matale, why? Ndeakwata ktwka mnd wa kla mnd Resp: Your work is to fill her with children like a granary store, Inter: Uh Resp: And after you give the the children you have no concern to support them and due to those reasons a woman reaches inappropriate levels of problems and starts doing inappropriate things why? She starts to be a person for everybody (leader 4: page 1, lines 25-30). I: HEALTHCARE Text 6.41: R:Kwoou ntonya vika vau leln wa lami atwawe Maknd mwana ntonya kkwa nda na result inya kkwa. Uw?o ki ksyaa n twthawa na problem. Inter: ooo R: Nnd ttna maternity sy vakuv. Nyo especially k vaa nyo nnd la ng y Wote. Ila sy Mbitin n health centres na dispensaries. So she might be brought to the main road to Makindu and she might have a still birth, and this results in the mother?s death. Truly in terms of maternity services we have a problem. Ok Because we do not have maternity services nearby, it is the only one especially around here because the other one is in Wote. The ones in Mbitini are health centres and dispensaries (leader 2, page 5, lines 1-8). Text 6.42: Resp: Tkwatawa nmowau mathku nnd wa thna. We are getting venereal diseases due to problems (leader 6, page 2, lines 10-11). Text 6.43: Resp: Sivital sya syaa yu ta Mwanyan yu tayu vinda yng tnekalte vand tineenania twasya yu nnd mujumbe  wit, evakuv na Mwanyan na n wa vaa vakuv, nws ttonya kwasya nwa ti Inter: Y Resp: Ticompare na kwango kla , yu sivital su ale mnenevya kethwa novo tsyaya ketha ene novo ttethekea lakini wathi ttha nond vailye navu tene. Maternity service hospitals like Mwanyani, like the other day we had sat somewhere talking to one another because our MP, he is close to Mwanyani and comes from around here, you know we can say he is of from the village, Inter: Yes When we compare with his status, now he should make that hospital bigger. So that we can go and deliver there, but when you go there you just find that it is like it used to be a long time ago (leader 9, page 3, lines 19-31). 288 J: LAND Text 6.44: Matrimonial property like land, because both parents contribute, there should be a legal backing to support the registration of both parties because you realize that land is registered in the man?s name and they can do anything they want with it and whenever they sell, the law recognizes him alone as the owner there is nowhere that the law that recognizes the other people. A man can sell the whole property and that?s it (leader 5, page 19, lines 4-13). Text 6.45 In this area one, in this area nita address land issues, Inter: m Resp: na tondu nguneenaa ulu wa land la wooka Inter:  Resp: nasya twna 1000 acres  twaneene na ----mindoni, we want these people to be compensated. Kndu kya mbee etha wna acre umwe, serikali yke assessment. Eka mwe n mbesa siana? N ngli kmi, newe ngili syaku kmi na ethiwa ntonya newa plot, newa plot wake. Nnd what is going on in the long run, twale ntetea and mait maikavenwe plot, na and, and kuma Ilovii, and kuma anywhere nnd this is a very growing town, na y growing town, and mena interest na basi twalea kwonea and maitu, engama, nnd mewa eka ikmi miongo ili, nnd ewa ktheka tikyaakuu, naivenwaa nkethia, kwoou the best thing nkucompesate and aa wetha ve kndu mnd tonya kwaka kwake, twamnenga plot, nnd vetha vate kwaku twamina compesate (leader 1, page 6, lines 1-19). K: WOMEN?S RIGHTS Text 6.46: Resp: Nonginya aka masomethwe rights syoo. Women must be educated about their rights (leader 2, page 6, line 22). Text 6.47: Resp: mavata ma ka, nale kwasya aka nmaileunewa mikopo na aka maithkma na nth kavindka mno. Na aka maitavwa rights syoo, na aka maitavwa ona ivla sya President nmatonya. Women?s needs, I should say that women should be given loans and women should work and the world will change a lot. And women should be told their rights and also be told that they can manage even the president?s seat (leader 2, page 35, lines 4-8). Text 6.48: Resp: And then in other situations if it is unfortunate that the man passes away, the family members want to chase the wife away and they inherit the property, so there will be those squabbles and apart from the law of succession which obviously supports the, but most of our ignorant ladies, so they will go by what the clan has decided, the government decides for them, and the now when we own property as a family that gives us equal rights (leader 5, page 16, lines 15-25). L: YOUTH Text 6.49: Ind yu thna la wvo mno mno wna and mait ma mika. Nkwthwa mnd wa mika mithi kwambia kand na mithi tinda mthkmte, uttha ona labda ndanethwa na mbesa ya kwa sikala, ndanethwa na mbesa ya kwa chai, ew?aa ve vinya mno, na ktumi ta ku nkyo kyatumie ikundi syit kya anake ma mika matethwa me ngwatano nying yu nmendaa vand ve thi tinda nattha nmekvwa. But now the problem that is there with the young people is that when you go start something and when you go to continue working, and may be he ends up not getting money to buy cigarettes. 289 He does not get money to take tea. He/finds that very difficult and a reason like that is the one that has weakened, it is the one that has weakened our groups for young men and the youth so that they do not have much unity. They like a place where they stay and they are paid (leader 4, page 9, lines 11-21). Text 6.50: Resp: Ketewa sukulu k ikundin ya kmanyania mkalle nnd mbee kw syana na aka ma mika. Kwoou tikwatania ikundi ntkwenda ttngane mika  mnini I:uh R:yii ndoto yakwa y vu I:uh R: Mika nwalite siwa nesa mno mno ikundin nnd ikundin Nivo ve wing wa mika I:uh being brought a school in the groups that teaches on behaviour, because there are children and young women. So as we unite the groups we want to bring together the youth Uh Yes that is my dream uh The youth should be looked at carefully especially in groups because that is where the majority of the youth are (leader 6, page 7, lines 27-31). Text 6.51: Resp: Kwoou ttkwasya mbesa ii sytengetwe n serikali sya youth mbesa isu ketha nsyaw?o syo mbesa ii syale theea kla kwi youth tkasisya kana nitata ktethya msy yoo. So we are saying this money that has been set aside for the youth by the government, if this money is true it should get down to the youth to see if it can help their families (leader 2, page 19, lines 6-10). Text 6.52: R: Nmekka mnd, yu nkwona yu w mika I: Y R: Ukasyaa, na nnd wa ksoma I: uh R: Uilea kwsa kwkalania na kana. Na walea kwkalania na kana tka ilesya kala kana na kwsla k sukulun, kana kaa nkatonya kwamba mand ma nth tene. My other fear as a leader is in the school or in dealing with children many youth Give birth and because of education, they never stay with the children. And when you do not stay with a child, uh and through the school the child might start being influenced by the ways of the world early (leader 4, page 14, lines 9-22). M: FOOD Food emerges as a major need from the leaders? talk; Text 6.53: Ukamba thina la tvinyiiaa mno ni wa liu. (In) Ukambani, the most pressing problem is that of food (leader 2, page 6, lines 24-25). Text 6.54: Resp: kwoou etha n kind n knd tkwenda lu wa iveti, lu wa aka, Inter: e 290 Resp: leave alone kmanenga liu, kmeka, tmanenge mbesa makne faita la matonya kna. Na ndekwikala nth, she works many hours kuma saa kmi na il kkovika saa kmi na il, asembete kma vaaya na ku, akaalka ng Resp: So if we want anything regarding wives, if we want anything regarding women, Inter: e Leave alone giving them food, doing this for them, let us give them money to do the businesses they can manage. And she does not sit down, she works many hours from 6am to 6 pm, running from there to here, and then she comes back (leader 1, page 11, lines 15-22). Text 6.55: When it comes to relief food, those who come for it, about 90 to 95% are women, those are the ones who normally come for the relief food, you really do not see a man, and when you see them may be they are the ones who normally come to play that role of distributing because the want to feel that they are the ones who are doing the distribution, but the people who really come for the food to transport it to their homes are the women (leader 5, page lines 27-36). Text 56: Resp: Mno mno n ksomo. Inter: uh Resp: na ta vindan y kwna thna mwing mno nndu mbee kw nzaa, tti tethyo twonaa ona mwe. Resp: Mostly it is education Inter: Uh And like now there has been a lot of suffering because there has been hunger there is no support we get, none at all (leader, 6, page 1, lines 4-8). Text 6.57: Resp: The women in this division are actually the people who are supposed to feed their homes in terms of food they have to look for water but basically their main problem is on food because this is an area where we sometimes have a very long drought season and sometimes when there is rain like recently, you see most of the women are found in shambas, so basically it is the domestic issues for the women because this is a society that looks at women as providers yeah (leader 5, page 1, lines 3-14) N: DRUG ABUSE: Text 6.58: Resp: Y yu tkona and, yu tkona and matkwata kwoko, ithy nttonye ktethya syana syit ethwa no kitethesya kwa kwa ksyeyea ngewa sya nd ndawa ii itonya syka. Nnd mand maing nmeukotha lika ndawan ii kwond wa kwtha nwasoma amina form 4 na awa n wa nayu kwa nza su yla wekala mana atonaa maisha make mekie ata Inter: manangkie Resp: Nayu ttha nvo ve laisi Resp: Yes if we could see people, now if we could see people who could hold our hand and support us, we can then help our children even if it is to help them by talking to them, like what these drugs can do to them, because most of the things are connected to drugs because he/she goes to schools till form 4, and then he misses a job, and when he stays free, his life is what? Inter: Spoilt, Resp: And that is the easy way out (leader, 9, page 4, lines 24-31) Text 6.59: Resp: Yu ta ndawa sya levia sykte, tkiaa ta mnd mka, nws syalika msy la waku, yo msy notawaanangka. Na ve vinya wale, nnd syo italasya, ate la tesaa i ndawa. Aa ang 291 manyusaa, wse tha nosyiete wasyo msy, na k naw?o nota. Like the drugs we fear like a woman like when they get into your family your home is like spoilt and it is difficult to be god. You know it is difficult to benefit except for the one who sells the drugs, but for the ones who take them, there is loss in the family, even with alcohol, that is the same thing (Leader 10: page, 6, lines 24-29). O: CORRUPTION Text 6.60 R: Yila NARC yookie niwisi ya and aa meifanya ni ma KANU nayo yai Maendeleo ya Wanawake yu vee thiwe na thina su. I: Y . R: Na ni kyo kitumi Kitonyi waemie novisi nkenda aye mbesa, nng mbesa na vay knd kendaa nnd mavisi ala mak Divisional level, District level nmanengiwe na and aka mainamo ma Maendeleo ya Wananawake nmaekie kvya na nmatngie mavuku. Resp: Kwoou, yiina mutongoi, yiina future, kana itingwa future.You know when NARC came, these people pretended they were KANU, and it was MYWO, now there was that problem. And that is the reason Kitonyi refused with the office so she could ?eat? the money. None of the money goes because the offices here at the Division levels, the District levels, have been given out and the women MYOW women who had them have stopped paying (for them) and have returned the books. So it does not have a leader, in other words, it does not have a future (leader 2, page 9, lines 10-21). Text 6.61: Let my people be in the frontline. Mainewa, ee let it be on record that since I became leader, I have never exchanged, ndyaaka any transaction kya plot ya mnd, kwa mnd nwamteea plot, naisye I don?t want, ngetha nokwtha n corrupt lakini naisye no (phone rings). Let my people be in the frontline. Let them be given. Yes, let it be on record that since I became a leader, I have never exchanged, I ave never done any transaction regarding anybody?s plot. Like telling someone you have them a plot. I said I don?t want, may be that means I am corrupt but I said no (leader 1: page 7, lines 12-17). 292 APPENDIX XI: TRANSCRIPTS OF WOMEN?S NEEDS AS IDENTIFIED BY WOMEN IN WOMEN?S GROUPS A: MONEY Text 7.1: Resp: Mavatamwe totwendaa wthe ithy twnokwati wanite wthie wthe tyuthna ni fees, wthe voo nd ttonya kwka twnakwati ttonya kkwata mbesa tkawa o mny, sukal na tyva o fees. Natyka onesa, nottha notwaya onesa, nottha notwaya onesa. Some of the needs ?we like to have enough so that we do not lack fees, so that there is something we can do...so as to have money to buy salt, and pay fees and so that we also eat well, so that we also eat well (Group 3, page 1, lines 9-15). Text 7.2: Resp: Kkundi k kit mbesa ila tkwataa ithy, ni syit ila twthkme. Memba  twathkma kwake aitne silingi mongo l. Ou, la ng oou, ttsa komania. Mbesa ila tkwataa, ttwakaa kwsila mmemba la ng, ithy tyaakwata katethyo kuma nza ka mbesa. Now this group of ours has not got any form of financial support. This women?s group, the money we have got is ours that we have worked for ourselves. When we work for this member she gives us 20 shillings. The money we get comes from the other members. Like that until we go full-circle. The money we get we do so from the other member, we have not received any financial support from outside (Group 4, page 13, lines 4-10). Text 7.3: Resp: Ntkwenda serikali twake sivitali vaa ndani, ya kwiita typoid, brucella ketha ndvika Maknd Inter: Yii Resp: Maknd vika na kyau? Nnd wa thna mbesa syaie nnd wa kwtha nnyoka ethwa n kavuli ke vau nkateewe n nzaa kathela. Resp: we would like the government to build us a hospital, here in our village. Inter: Yes Resp: For us to be treated typhoid, brucellosis. May be I cannot reach Makindu (nearest hospital). Inter: Yes Resp: How will you reach Makindu? Due to problems, money is unavailable, since I?m alone and if there is a goat around, it has been sold due to hunger till it?s finished (Group 7: page 9, lines 1-7) Text 7.4: A ta kana thna la twthawa twnaw?o aka thna mwe towa mbesa msyn. Nws ame aing ona tala mathkmaa, mo ona mathkma nng tothimwa nottha nng to lasima tmaale tsisye kana ntkwona knd kttetheesya. The other need or problem we normally have as women is that of money in the home. You know most men do not work (do not have formal employment) and the few that do, you are limited and therefore we must move out (of the home) to look for ways to support ourselves (Group 4: page 2, lines 18-23). Text 7.5: Resp: Twana twing ntkwa msy tayu twna wau  kwtwa wa mthelo. Inter: mm 293 Resp: Twna thna mwing nnd ve msyai tatonya kwata mbesa sya kana kau nginya vinda yako ysa vika. Resp: Many children are dying at home especially now with the HIV pandemic. Inter: Mm We have many problems because there are parents who cannot get money to take care of that child (Group 7: page 7, lines 9-15). Text 7.6: Resp: Wetha ve kamwe twosete twasomethya na kaa kang nkanavtie Inter:  Resp: Yu keovaa kailye nth n mbesa kwaa. Ttwa tusisye bursary ndkasyona nds syslaa va? Resp: We had taken one and educated, and this other one also passed. Inter: Yes Resp: Now he/she is seated at home due to lack of money, we are told to apply for bursaries we never see (Group 8: page 14, lines 26-31). Text 7.7: Na tayu kuma mnth ngolovesu kww?a ywetwa, nnaakiwee tnaakwe nymba yathelaa natnakitwa, nayaktwe kathela, na yu vayingwa mnd wmbesa tonya ki kwa simiti ta twawiie vaa nnd vaa vai mvango nava mbesa. Like from today, that storeyed building you hear me talking about, we were built for till it got finished, and even when it was built, there is no one with enough money to buy cement like the one that iwe had bought here, because there was a plan and there was money (Group 9: page 5, lines 19-24). Text 7.8: Resp: Group ii syit syaaka syakwatana nsythawa na wendi mwing wa kwati wa mbesa. Yu nyumba ten, ve vand vatiele vekwenda tethyo wamthemba. Uttho and masiasa maitonyo kka makatwa, ?tond nmwakwatanie, twamtethya na k?. When these women groups unite, they are very keen on income generation. Like a house like this one, there is something still remaining which requires support of a certain kind. Then the politician cannot come and tell us ?because you have united, we support you with this? (Group 9, page 2, lines 2-8). B: UNITY Text 7.9 Nnd wakwtha miaka y ovau navtie tna thnan tteavuansye.Tnavuanw?a toona ngwatano noyo tonya tookoa?. Na tnoona tkwatane twake nymba tenu ? (points to a house) nakwe nokkundi... Because some years back we were in problems because we were not enlightened, and then we saw, we got enlightened and saw that unity is the one that can save us?and we saw let us unite or let us build a house like this one and that other one over there (points to a house), I was built for by the group (Group 4, page 15, lines 7-10) Text 7.10: Yu ketha n kana kaawa n viisi tkombansya inyia tkamtwaa viisi. Nttwate twana tna vinda yu vala tnaamkle natyka tykala nth tyasya kana kaa keettwe sukulu va na tka tykata? Ntkaina tnenge inyia mbesa nethaake mbesa atwae kana sukulu?. Now if there is a child without fees we collect for the mother and take it to her. We have taken four children since the time we awoke and we sit down and say this child has been taken to this 294 school, and let?s do what? Let us uplift him and give her mother and her father fees to take her/his child to school. Text 7.11 Resp: Kkundi k kit, (clears throat), kkwataa wa wakthkma mndanii, natwathkma mndani, ntvandaa mmea na ithy ene, thy ene, ttyka, okutethania oou kwona tilye. O twoosa mmemba ttkoo ttkoo, tnza maima, ttza malev ttsvia mthanga, twkaa ou. Ok very quickly, please tell me what activities does your group engage in? Our group (clears throat) is concerned with farming. And when we work in the farms, we grow crops and we ourselves, we ourselves, we work for ourselves, like helping one another the way you have seen us. Like if we take a particular member, we do this and do this we dig holes, we dig terraces we conserve the soil we do all that (Group 8 page 9, lines 1-7). Text 7.12: Resp: Kla mnd ena kana tw nymba, tkitaa yu kmbana, na kana kosa yu tayu tla nnatwo yu mnd la syanwe na msee wakwa, nosa naete vaa nake nake mwtu wa inya etwa.Yu tnathi kwosa nnd twa tini naete neka sukulu vaa. Everyone has one at home. We normally meet, and now you take, like the ones I have, when my brother in ?law- and the wife died, I brought them here and the sister died, now I went and picked those ones because they were very small I brought them to school here (group 7: page. 17, lines 509-520). Text 7.13: Resp: I naw?o nd la ng ntwakatanie tawa tvuli twakwthaa la wakwatwa n thna nvendaa kkundi ketha o kavuli kau ketha nowakova ota mbesa katethya thna la wkwaku notsa tina ktnga kya? Na tethyo nosyao la mwaathanie kkundin. Mao la mwaathanie kkundin nkana wthe wetha nthna, w wa kanaa kana o kana kate na uniform nwathi okathima uniform. Yes the other thing is that we have united and bought some goats so that when one faces a problem it is good for the group so that you can borrow money using the goat as collateral. You meet the needs at your home and afterwards you return the support and the interest as laid down in the by-laws of the group; so that if it was a problem of uniforms for your child you can at least fit uniform for your child (Group 5: page 19, lines 12-14) Text 7.14: Resp: No ithy twthawa tw number ivetin kkna nnd ona tkewa, i listi ikasiw?a wthwa nomo aing knan. It is us who are at the forefront as women to vote because, even if we were to be told?even if the list was to be looked at, it would be clear that women are the majority in the voting (Group 9: page, lines 521-525) Text 7.15: Resp: Yu vaa kwit aka monekaa me tina mno. Inter: mm Resp: Nayu ithy twakwatana nkana twambe kvanda mboka no. Tnamanthaa kana ntwona mndu tonya tklangya kethia notwakwata o mapato maseo ketha notkwtethya. Now here in our area women are seen as something very backward Mm So we united so that we could start growing these vegetables. 295 We were looking for someone who could uplift us, and so that we could have better earnings this way we support ourselves (Group 9, page 7, lines 187-194) C: FORMAL EDUCATION Text 7.16: Na nng syatye ou ketha aka nmo mavinywe ona ame mevo, ona ame moo msy mnd mka nowe wthaa ekite ata? Kto ala wtha etwa msy nwaku, etwa nwake nd kveti nkyo kkute ou, na syana mbing isomethwa naka; kte aka kt ksomo yu matukn, In Text 7.17, Inter: Mavata menyu ksion k ta aka nmo mek? Resp: Mavata mait ksion k tkwatantye kkundi k twakee na tisomethya. Inter: mm Resp: Und la mneene vi wmaana kwit n ksomo yu ketha ntkwata tethyo kson k, ketha and ala manengae and knd nmatliikakana, makatwksya knd (theka). Inter: What are your needs as women in this division? Resp: Our needs in this division we have come together as a group to build and educate Inter: Mm Resp: The greatest concern for us is education. If we could get support in our area, if the people who give people something can remember us and give us something (laughter) (group 10 pg. 1, lines 9-15). Text 7.18: Mavata mait taaka division n yiit mnomno tkkwatana nkana wthe mnomno ntwatetheansya nkana wthe syana syit nsyalte ksoma ikai kumaalya ksomo nd kyalte. Our needs as women in this division mainly are to unite so that we help one another so that our children can see their education to completion, in the appropriate way (Group 11: page 1, lines D: SUPPORT Text 7.19: Resp: Taketha notwona mnd etsyasya akatmantha order na mthenya mna nw?o mkta kwtawa na ketewe mbesa. Kau to kand? Resp: Now if we had someone to get orders for us and on such and such a day you will be brought the money. Isn?t that something? (Group 3, page 5, lines 12-13) Text 7.20: Inter: Kwoou aka mo ene mwona male kwka ata kmina mavata aa? Resp: Twale kwlea ithy na tiyungamia na moko aa mait na titethya. Vate ktethya mavata maithela na thna ndthela. Inter: So what can women do to address these needs? Resp: We should deny ourselves, sacrifice ourselves and we should uplift ourselves by working with our own hands. Without support our needs cannot be met and problems cannot end (group 3: page 8, lines 11-15) Text 7.21: Lakini tkaumw?a kand kang nza tkoka kwongelanwa na kaa kait tmanthte, nws ntkna jeki tketha notweesukumanga ombeeange? ... Ukesa kwtha thy yu thy ntkwenda ktethwa mno. 296 But if we could be got something else from outside, to be added onto what we have worked for, you know it would uplift us so that we can push ourselves forward? ... So we really very much want to be supported. (Group 8: page 7, lines 172-177) Inter: Kwandavye, mo mavata ala makonetye aka ksion k nmo mek? Resp: Mno mno aka nmendaa ksupportwa. Resp: na mno mno name moo, o kson, ketha ethwa nna syana nikwona mnd wa kisupport Inter: What are your needs as women in this division? Resp: Women particularly like to be supported, and especially by their men in the area, like if I had children, they need someone who can support them. (Group 7 page 1, lines 7-11) Text 7.23: Resp: ena syana thanthat nakwa nna syakwa ta nyanya Resp: Yu tkethwa nmtonya tkllya kana nitonya kwoswa masukulu ala ma syana ndiwa Resp: Ukesakwthwa wetha kana wnako ona wetha, ketethew?a nymba nkesla mveani wa ktethwa. She has six children and I have almost eight. Now if you could ask for us, if they (children) could be admitted to the orphans? schools So that if you are with such a child, Even if he/she is being supported at home, Resp: he passes through the support system, so that when they are with your own children, there is support set aside for them, (Group 7: page 15, lines 448-458) Text: 7.24 Yu vatolong, etha nmatethyo mekwsla tambaa lu tambaa ikundi ntwalte ktetheew?a mno, nnd aka methna, aka menathna la ws mwana e nymba nwa mnd mka. Mwana wa mwtu, n wa mndu mka, mwana wa mndme?Now the other need, if it is support like regarding food, like women?s groups should be supported a lot because women have problems when a child is in the house, he/she belongs to the woman. (Group 8: pg. 7, lines 149-154). Text 7.25: Ithy aka mbee ttendaa synd syattetheesya. Nndu ntthnaa mno ityh aka ntthnaa, nnd mno yu ta mavato, tthnaa mno n synd syatutethyaa, tkna jeki, yu mno mno tevinda y kww?a kwetete ou, tina kya na tina kya na ntkwenda tethyo kuma kla m nkana tuthi nmbee. Our needs for which we should be supported us women like things for supporting us. Because us women suffer a lot. Especially like our earnings. We suffer a lot regarding things for supporting us. To help us especially like at this time of dry season, we have nothing and we have nothing, and we want support from you so that we can move forward. (Group 8: page 1, lines 10-18) Text 7.26: Twna thna ww?aa mwolyo wanenganwe tonne syana nd mna kng syanenganwe Tonne syana nd mna sya liu, na ww?a tanawie lu miaka yana? Ming nd ksio k nds kyosie mwolyo matuk meana Lakini mwaenda Mulala wende wkala vu, wsa kwata klo kmwe na nusuk ya mboso nayu klo kmwe wathiuya woo n kaya k? We are suffering. We hear food donations have been given out like tons of certain amount have been given to some places, and how many years have we bought food? Many, but I do not know for how many days this area got food donations, but if you go to Mulala you will stay there and you will receive one and a half kilos of beans. Now if you eat one kilo of beans to night what will you eat tomorrow? (Group, 5, pg 15 lines 445-446) 297 Text 7.27: Inter: N mnte kete tethyo? Resp: Utethyo su twanengiwe n serikali ktkwatania na donor yakuma Denmark, va nvo serikali yateteie donor su vaa nanyo yatnenge maujusi asu. Inter: Who has supported this group in any way? Resp: We were given that support by the government through a donor from Denmark. And that is when the Government brought the donor here and that is how it (donor) has given us those skills (Group: 3 page 11, lines 6-11). Text 7.28: Inter: N tethyo wva wa mbesa kana ong kkundi kyenyu kminte kkwata? Resp: kkundi k kit nikthtwe kvundtwe kvundtwe kna majusi mekvathkanio ala me mananeena navu tina amw nmes kuw?a nesa mauwi ala mendekanaa ketha navitu ku kyakel ve andu mavundtwe ktuma nga na mavulana ketha nmes ktuma na ve ang mavundtwe ktuma nthung ila iklaw?a nth syanza, lakini thna wasyo n market. Inter: What form of support financial or otherwise has your women?s group been able to get? Resp: Our women?s group has been taught various skills, as already mentioned in cookery; secondly, there are those who are taught how to make clothes and sweaters, and there are others who have been taught how to make baskets which are exported to overseas, but their problem is market (Group 11: page 6, lines 6-15). E: LEADERSHIP Text 7.29: Ntthnaa ovaa ttena mnd watwonia mbee. Na neng and makaleaa kwonua mbee komesa kumbka. We suffer here with no one to show us ahead. And if people are not shown ahead, can they really emerge? (Group: 3, pg. 2 lines 20-22). Text 7.30: Resp:Yu ketha yu ilye vu w president, nmanya thna sya iveti. Na takethata Kalk Ngil asyatwe yu vaa tond saytwe wtha tw sawa vi. Tkita kamkaa kwakya, nng nanows vaa kwakwa, ngakwoneleelia inzevania. Kowtkla maithna. Kotws tkaumia mnd mka va? If you are the president you would know women?s needs. If Kaluki Ngilu were born here the way you are, we would be high up there we would be waking up. Since you know my place if I show you a problem you will easily sort it out. She wouldn?t want to see people suffering. We do not know where we will get a woman leader from (Group 3, page. 4 lines 14-16). Text 7.31 Resp: Uketha twnatongoi ma aka nnd atongoi ma aka wtha matelewa nmavata maka na kwosa mavata moo na moko eli. Resp: If we had women leaders, because it is women leaders who understand women?s needs and take them seriously ?with both hands? (Group 3: page 11, lines 82-83) Text 7.32: Resp: Amwe nmaleeaa twthuksya ta mnd ung watwie kana onawetha nnd asomete ata, nneena ketha ona  no mnd mka. Na mnd mka twakwthukw?a. Kwoou amwe nowavunza lakini la ws nokvthya. Okila kvthya mnd mka wavthiwe kuma tene. Mattklaa matongoi maaka. 298 Resp: Some refuse to listen to us like another person (read man) told us they look at a woman no matter how learned she is, she will talk and you will just find she is just a woman; and a woman is not to be listened to. So some loose respect but as for others, it is just lack of respect (for women). Just that disrespect for women from time immemorial. They do not accept women?s leadership. (Group 3, page 12, lines 14-24) Text 7.33: Naketha twona mnd etsyasya aende akatmantha order na muthenya muna w?o mkta kwtawa na ketewe mbesa, kau to kand? Utithia mmi nowooklwa. Na nnd wasisya msy ming aka nmathnaa mathna maing. Nkwtha la twakwatanaa ikundi twakwatanaa ikundi nkana wthe ikundi, aka makwate  kwsla la ng. We are totally down because we are the cowpeas for ? if a kilo is going for ksh. 8 instead of ksh.30 per kilo; such that if I had planned to get school fees from these cowpeas there is no fees. And it is because of leaders fearing. They are fearful. Now if we had someone to get orders for us (to source orders for us) and on such and such a day you will be brought the money isn?t that something? (Group 3: page 5 lines 28-31). Text 7.34: Nnd atongoi ala tsakaa meyendete mo ene. Na mbesa ii kww?a syaetwe k syitmwa nai nand aa mevaa nenen noytha ndklya. Because the people we choose as leaders love themselves very much. And this money you hear about when it?s brought here it is misused by the people in leadership and you cannot ask about it. (Group 3, lines 14-15) Text 7.35: Yu mmbunge, ambunge ala manyuvawa k kwit, yo wthaa matakwate mand ala male kwkwa nambunge. Yu kwangelekanio ta kuete matethyo, yu ta mbesa ii sya CDF, ketia notasynenganwe kyendi, nws wa woo nusevya malelu, ttasyutumka nesa kvika vu. Kwanza tkakwata atongoi aseo wtha twatetheka. Now like the MPs who are elected in our area, they really are not concerned with the issues that should concern them as MPs. Now like for example to bring support, like there is this money for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). You know the purpose of CDF is to make roads. It?s as if it as though thre is favouritism. In fact if we could get good leaders we would really be helped (Group 3, page 4, lines 7-12). F: HEALTHCARE Text 7.36: Resp: And ma sivital eeh mand ma masivital, taithy mbaa aka mno yu ksio ku tneenea, tyna vand ttonya thi sivital ya serikali y kuvn. Regarding hospitals, things to do with hospitals, like us women in this area we are talking about, there is no nearby government hospital we can go to (Group 2, pg. 5, lines 12-15). Text 7.37: Resp: Mkalle km ttna masivital ma kwania na o ala manini twnamo ot tnini twa klasi kya nthi dispensary or health centers. Resp: in terms of healthcare we do not have hospitals except low class dispensaries or health centers (Group 9: page 8, lines 25-27). Text 7.38: There is another problem in terms of healthcare and when we look at the issue of sand- harvesting, and when the sand was harvested, when the water is left bare then that brings about bad diseases. (Group 9, pg. 26, lines 135-140) 299 Text 7.39: Kng ngnenea ni yil wa sivital. Sivitai sya k kwit ithy aka ntthnaa mno nnd mno twawasya mno no ithy tkothaa katana na mwau. Na ketha nvatonyeka yo serikali twvthya kikwthwa le thiawa na ngal yvakuv twawasya tkasembewa vala wau wa ko su tonya?ythwe vau tla twtaa stand by tond mnd wsa waa tond nng sivital itvo nene. The other thing I want to talk about is hospitals. The hospitals here, us women suffer a lot because when we get have people as patients, we are the ones who follow up with the patient. And if it were possible, the the government had a vehicle nearby so that when we get sick we get rushed to where such a disease can be? It should be there what we call ?on stand by? in case someone gets sick, and since there is no big hospital (group 2, pg. 6, lines 22-31). Text 7.40: Kwoou ttha aka mena mathna maing. Nomo menurse kana kau kawaa, mtumia awaa nomo memnurse, inyaa mme emwau, ttha vena thna mwng k health. So women have a lot of problems; they are the ones to nurse that child, if the husband gets sick they are the ones to nurse them, even when the mother-in-law is sick. There is a big problem in terms of health (Group 9, pg. 5, lines 166-181). Text 7.41: And kwkala nth masoane, masoane, yo k ktte oo, ktute oo, tkeekata? Nkemete serikalii, nkemete ndawaa nait tawaa twkwatasya sivital, yu toksoana ngai ese o kumllya mnd o akili. And to sit down and think, think, now this issue is old, very old, what shall we do? It has defeated government, it has defeated medication, and when we get sick we have our hope in hospitals, now it is just to think so that God can reveal to one?s mind. (Group 4, pg.8, lines 1-6). Text 7.42: Nnd and moosie etha nwakwatwa n TB, wna wau su nonginya kwatwe n TB, kwoou nvekwenda vasomethwe, ona mnd emwau, yaani wsla kwa nza mbing. Resp: Na maineena wazi, wazi. People have taken it that if you are infected with TB, then you have that disease, so there is need to be educated even if someone is sick, because it is speard in various ways. I mean it is spread in various ways. And they should talk about it openly, openly (Group 11: page 9, lines 26-31). G: WATER Text 7.43: Resp: Yu tayu ketha twna kw?u kante yu tayu mbemba symie mndan ketha ve kw?, and aa mene nmawa, wtha klevinda ting?ithya mbokaa mbembaa synd taisu. Nkwate synd taisu ketha nweetethia. Kwoou kw?u kmaana. Resp: Now like if we had sufficient water, like now maize is drying in the shambas (farms) ... if there was water?these people you see here are hardworking people. We would water vegetables, maize and things like those, so that you can help yourself. So water is important (Group 3, page 3, lines 54-59) Text 7.44: Resp: Yu mavata amwe makonetye aka n kwthawa na thna mwing wa kw?, nkwthwa tkethwa na kw? nttonya kwtetheesya kethwa ntwethwa na mbaa mai, ta yu ketha aka k ntwthwa na kw? k aka k nmathnaa kumaa mno ketha nmathkmaa na vitii. 300 Some of the needs that concern women are like having a big water problem, because if we had water we would help ourselves so that we can help ourselves to have bananas, if only women had water, women here suffer a lot, they could work with more effort (Group 2, page 1, lines 8- 16). Text 7.45: Resp: Yu ta kw?, kw? tvoyea ntklya nkana ketha k vakuv ketha ntkwata na tnona ntwavanda mbaa mboka... kwoou kw? ni very important. Like water, regarding water, we would like to ask so that it can be nearer so that we can grow like vegetables?so water is very important (group 2, lines 26-28). Text 7.46: Resp: Yu makwatte katuma kau mo koo and ma k. ko n athangaau If only they could get the water pump, people here are really hard-working (Group 5, page 25 lines 24-26) Text 7.47: Resp: Ila tkwatante yu nws ntkwenda o ta, otaa, o machine ya kkna kw?u, nkana tkakwata mapato, ketha notetewe kthii tkathiaaa mbemba, synd syattetheesya nkenda ndi wnthe ttunyamaka mno. When we united, when we united you know we would want a machine for pumping water so that we can get some proceeds (Group 8, page 2, lines 1-3). Text 7.48: Resp: Yu wale kwthwa twna katuma vaa kaikna kw? mboka n na katuma ttekwata wa  wang?ithya nnd ntwasakie and. Now we should be having a generator pumping water here, without bothering to water it, because we have elected people (Group 9, page 18, lines 3-6) Text 7.49: Mtuma ndesi vate vatevatutee, mtuma ndes vate kw?, mtuma ndes vatathambtwe isilia na mand maaka. A man does not know when it has not been swept, a man does not know when there is no water, a man does not know when a cooking pan is not clean, and women?s issues. (Group 10. page 12, lines 17-20) H: ROADS Text 7.50: Ithy andu maithekan tutitethawa, nundu kundukutelami kwsla munee aendete va? Kwoou ithy tuthnaa nkwtha twithekan. Us people of the bush, we are never helped. A place without tarmac, where would a ?big person? be going passing there? (Group 3, page 4, lines 99-104) Text 7.51: Resp: Nyie kwa woni wakwa ndkwona ta nza ii itumaa ttata synd syitu nesa, yu ota ngk isu situ tithatasya titesaa mathooa ala malte nnd ttesaa ok, yu tukasevwa nza, yu serikali ikatseuvsya nza tyaiwa nnd kua ngk isu tkatwaa vaya Emali. Yu nkwonoo nd ttwaa ngk isu syit nza tkate. In my opinion I think it?s these roads that make us not to sell our products well. Now like for our chicken now if we had the roads made for us, if the government could make the roads we cannot miss a way to carry the chicken to Emali. Now we can see how to take our chicken to Emali (Group 3, pg. 6, lines 198-204). Text 7.52: Resp: na thnolong nd ala matkwete kwa nza yoonthe nmavalavala. K kwit ktmalel nongi, na enthia n mbaa viasala itiknka nndu vala twale thi ta synd ila syitu tvandaa k mndani nkasa vi na nnd wakosa malel utntha twna mathna vi, nnd isynd tkatesaa na vi nnd wakkosa transport nnd wa valavala. The other need which has held us back in all ways is that of roads. There are no roads whatsoever here in our area, and if it is 301 things like business, it is not possible because the markets for our farm produce are very far and we would be selling the produce very poorly. And because of lack of transport, we suffer a lot because of bad roads. (Group 9: page 3, lines 5-14). Text 53: Ivinda ya kwtwa kula ntwtaw?a kula nattathwa kana tkatemewa malel na ngalkon ya masilanga takvngwa kana ithuma syitu sya kw?u kyanw?aa na mandu asu tilea kwsa kmona. Kwoou asu n mathna amw ala tkwataa. During the time for being asked for votes (campaign period) we are promised that the roads will be made for us, and on the side of dams that we will have the water --- for us, or wells for drinking water for us and we never see those things (Group 9: page 3, lines 16-22). I: THE BURDEN OF HOUSEHOLD CHORES Text 7.54: Resp: Vata la ng wa aka nklea knewa yanya nnd twalekeiw?e mawa ma msy wetha ndthya, nma, no ttanewa yanya yakwwa enda kakne vaita notaa? Inter: ee Resp: twkalaa tthimwe masaa ketha tww?a twthnan nota kombo Resp: The other need is to be given permission because we have been left the household chores like looking after cattle, farming, but we have never been given the permission and been told, go and do business like? Inter: ee Resp: We stay on time that is limited for us so that we feel as if we are in problems like in slavery (group 7, page 7, lines 7-15). Text 7.55: Resp: nottha yu kana kaa a yu ame mak katwa vaa wtha mausie ku soko mate iveti na i syana. Inter: ee Resp: Esa kka atye vaa nkwakwa avingwe na no ndalea vinguwa na kwakya we ndamanyaa kwkiwe ata. Resp: Now this child, the men of this place, if you walked around here you would find that they are full here in the market following the end women and the children. Resp: When he comes home he says ?This is my place?, he should be opened for and he cannot fail to be opened for and yet in the morning he does not know what might have happened (to the children) (Group 7, page 17, lines 15-21). J: LAND Text 7.56: Inter:: Nenda mndavie , mavata menyu ta aka ksion k n mek? Resp: Yu thna syit vaa?yu tvaa-----na nyie takwa, nnalngilwe msy n familia nanooka kwkala vaa nanavawaya. Yu nwate ou, nannalngilwe msy, tmaansya nmanthe okana ve vand ngwata tethyo ngamanthwa ngaka, thna wakwa tisu, na nna syana itano na ndna knd nandnataa Int: Yu thnoo kwasya waklngwa, klngwa ata? Resp 1: Nalngilwe kwa msee ninyia woo. Ambia vau nily ntonya ta nnthn kwoou ndena aja nakwa nnd natawatwe kvetikya kel Inter: Tell me, what are your needs as women in this division? Resp: Now, our problems here at ----like I was chased away from home by the family, and I came to stay here and got sick (here). Now when sick like that and I was chased away from 302 home it means I look and see if I can get support from somewhere I be searched for to build, yes, that is my problem, and I have five children and I have nothing at all. Inter: What do you mean when you say you were chased away? Res1: I was chased away from my husband?s place by their mother. She told me she could sell the land where I was living even when I was there. She did not have any use in me because I was married as a second wife (group 2: page 1, lines 3-12). 303 APPENDIX XII: WOMEN?S DREAMS, HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS A: DEVELOPMENT Text 7.57: Resp: Ndoto syit yu kwanana na walanio la wmbee wit kana mawoni ala me mbee wit  ng ttaws, thy twenda maendeeo, maendeeo ata? Ntkwenda wise tha twna plot, wsetha nakwa ndnakwa mwe na kkundi, nakwa mwanaakwa kano mwana wakwa la natia, kethaa inyaake a memba, ketha nake noekwatwa n kya, noekwatwa n kkundi. Resp: Our dreams based on our plans for the future or options available to us except for what we may not know, we want development, development how? We want a plot so that when I die, I do not die with the group, and my child who I leave behind would have a mother who was a member, will be supported by the group (Group 4, page 14, lines 9-16) Text 7.58: Resp: Iing ndongela ntkwenda twthe o tvingte account ketha o mand ala ttonya okwenda nttonya othi tkosa ovu knandn. Again I would like to add that we want to open an account. So that we can get money to address the issues we want to address (Group 4: page 14, lines 18-21). Text 7.59: Nait tenda kyeni, ithy ntkwatana kvika ond ngai wtwa twkalaa tivoya atnege mbua tthkume na moko aa mait, ttekna mnd, tkiltye na mao tyw?anaa nanokana tmine kya wa ---- ---And we want light, we will unite till what God will decide for us. We keep praying he gives us rain to work with our hands without beating (disturbing) anyone, quietly keeping the rules so that we can end poverty in ---- (Group 4, page 15, lines 4-10). B: FORMAL EDUCATION Text 7.60: Utsa kwtha yu ono tikiti wathi kwo, yo k vat sukulu wa vakuv sukulu ii sya polytechnic. Kott k ntthnaa mno. Nononaa twana tithna titangatanga ok tkaiwa. Resp: Onekathengeew?a vaa onait nthi. Resp: Ona aka nothi Such that even the fare to go there is a problem; now here there is no polytechnic. We do not have polytechnics nearby and we suffer a lot. I see the children suffer a lot. I see them loitering around. They just loiter around and lack school fees. Resp: If it is brought nearby we can also attend Resp: Even the women can attend (Group 1: page 13, lines 15-22). Text 7.61: Resp: Ndoto yit, totaa ndoto ya kwaka ----- women?s group. Ithy tota ndoto ya ktethya ksomo, ithy ttetemekea ksomo, nnd yu kwete kalamu ona kwenyu kinyaa. Na kna ya na kineeoneka. We have a dream to build ------ women?s group. We have a dream for supporting education. For that reason we shake for education because now you are holding a pen your place cannot dry up. There was famine but no famine was seen where there was a pen, they were the ones that were eaten (Group 4: page 14, Line 14-22). 304 C: WATER Text 7.62: Speaker A: Twkwatya kla mnd ethwe na kthuma msy, synztwe kw?u kyanth. Speaker B: Uytha ntvanda mboka Speaker C: Na mboka tivanda ttha mathna maing nmathela, nisyaoleka Speaker D: Mwa nyie tak kwit nnd kw? kvaasa yu nakwa nvaaya nkwona nvanda mboka vaaya kw? kvaasa? Speaker A: We hope that everyone can get a well drilled in the home Speaker B: Resp: So that we can grow vegetables Speaker C: Resp: And as we grow vegetables many problems are addressed and alleviated Speaker D: Like now here in our place the water is far, do you think I can grow the vegetables when I?m far away like that? (Group 1, page 11, lines 14-21) Text 7.63: Resp A: Nng kkavika klovoo to sawa. Resp B: Klovoo nnd noithy twenzaa noithy tweekie klond w?oonthe. Resp C: Kotwi Ilovi na tw k kwit? Resp A: If it drops to one shilling that would be fine. Resp B: Yes one shilling because we are the ones who dug it, we are the ones who did everything. Resp C: We are not in Nairobi we are here at our area (Group 1, page 12, lines 12-16). 305 APPENDIX XIII: TRANSCRIPTS ON WOMEN?S WAYS OF MAINTAINING ENTHUSIASM AND OPTIMISM Text 7.64 Inter: Kwandavyei, mendeeyaa kwithwa na wikwatyo wa ni ata? Speaker 1: Kvoya ngai. Speaker 2: Kuomba mungu. Speaker 3: Resp: Nakwkwatya kana akatsva. Speaker 1:Resp: Tunaomba mungu tukae na watoto wetu vizuri, tujue vile tunaweza kaa nawao, vile tunaeza walea. Speaker 1: Kla kng aka ithy ntthaa mboyan, ti thaithi? Inter: Please tell me, how do you maintain your optimism and enthusiasm? Speaker 1: Pray to God Speaker 2: Pray to God and hope that he continues to look after us Speaker 3: We pray to God that we may stay well with our children and so that he can look after them well Speaker 1: The other thing is that (for) us women are often in prayer, is it not communion? 306 APPENDIX XIV: TRANSCRIPTS ON WOMEN?S FEARS Text 7.65: Resp: Yu kng twthwaa na wi?a, w?ia la tkwataa kwa aka nla yu tooka tilye ou na mimwa nes t knand etha nvata ngwatie, amba ?Enda kakove mbesa isu,? etha nvata ngwatie embia ?ngava vaa nkwakwa?. Yu nathi etha ntanakova ngili, ?nenga ingili, ekaat amba ?we! Naikundi syenyu!?.Yu tsa tha ve w?ia. Nyie takwa aysomba, o nd wakovie mbesa syaku enda kave ona nds nakovaa va, ysa tha nna nyia? Nna w?ia.Now the other fear is when like my husband knows that we have some money somewhere and tells me ?go and borrow the money? if we have a need ?I will pay this is my place?. Now let?s say I borrow a thousand and he tells me ?You with your groups!? Like now I have a certain fear, he says, ?The same way you borrowed your money, go pay, I do not know about your women?s groups!? So I have fear. Text 7.66: Resp: Ntwthaa na wia nnd ta mwaka wa mongo nyaanya na itano nta na kkundi king kya na vinya na tooka talikwa n anasiasa. Tooka teewa tkwatanenee ikundi nee mongo tano nai il twe tinga na mtongoi a k tamvata tamwa mbesa ii nsylka na alea na eetha ndekwendeew?a n n, na atwa ?nnd nmtongoi, kaan, ?natamnenga mbesa, syo isu sit syalka mana syathela viu. Ono munth tutaamwa ona vati mmemba wamwa n tinga yu. Resp: We are fearful because like in 1985 we had a very strong women?s group and we were interfered with by the politicians, we had many strong groups. We were asked to unite, I think 52 groups to buy a tractor and the leader was here, we warned her that that money was just going to be ?eaten? misused. And she refused and did not like that and she said, ?since I am a leader??. So we gave our money and it was misused. No member benefited on the use of that tractor on their farm. Text 7.67: Wi?a ng nkrepwa. Nmomakwete k ? nnd yste kwtha y common mno...serikali noyosete tambia.The other fear is that of being raped, they are the ones who, because it has become very common. The government has taken steps. 307 308 Appendix xvi: Pro-government rally (meeting 2) Speaker 1: Lakin woosa mtongoi, wavnda walanio, nkwona maendeeo. Ekai nmnenge example, nkwatya ----- Secondary school, na nng aing mait tumite vaa, vati ndng. ----- Secondary School, natwie na Chairman wa mbee, natwe na atuma ma nzama. Ind ----- vaingwa mwaka yaa change mbesa. Mbesa syavwa kew?aa vaiknd. Syavwa vaiknd. Ila Major General ---- nookie a retire atwka nwe Chairman wa --- Secondary School, nyie na board member, na kweethwa new board members, la tnendie twavnda mawalanio ala mana nthn yu klya mnd umte Kalamba akwa mbesa nvo sy vengi, millioni mw. Na no mwaka mwe yaseuvwa. Nayu mtaa vu. Kuma la mwait waambe kwthuksya vu, na syana syitu sysomea vu, mbesa syendaa va? Kla tkwasya at economy yit nyaanangiwe, tkakwatya and masoovya, tond tnasevisye -----, onaku nokwata mbesa mno kawa kndu. Tow?o? Crowd:  Speaker 1: Kwoou ndkanyuve mnd nkwtha n mti, nyuva mndu nkwtha nmutui. Nyuva mnd aete mawalanio. Nendo mklya ---na mekeaat, tumllyei vaa NARCani nnd ---la wthi vaye akatwka attorney general. Na tisyoka ng vaa Makeni If you take a leader and change the plans, you will get development. Let me give you an example. I believe ----- Secondary school, and I believe most of us are from around here, ---- Secondary School had its initial chairman, and it had a board of Governors. But there is no year they ever had money. Whenever it was paid, you always heard ?there is no money?. When it is paid, ?there is no money?. When the retired general became the chairman of ----Secondary School, I was a board member. And there were new board members, then we went and changed the plans which were laid down, now you ask anyone in ---- they will tell you that there is money in the bank, one million (shillings). And this has been made in one year. And now you have been living there. Mother, from when you started listening (to that), and our children are schooling there, where does the money go? What we are saying is that our economy has been messed up if we got people to improve it, the way we improved ------ even you can get some money to buy something. Is that not true? Yes So do not choose someone because they are your neighbour. Chose someone who can bring about development. I want to ask you that that we start in NARC. Because when ----goes there he will be an attorney, and we get back here. And then we get another MP here in Makueni. And if he leaves NARC and becomes an attorney, we will choose him. 309 twke mujumbe ng, nake auma KANUn na atwke Attorney General, tkamnyuva. Ala mesupport ? maimwa ou nkwtha twene mbee. Na vai kmena k nthn na isya uw?o la w nthn, thku ngtavyekla ksumbuaa, lakini nwi thna lklaa va? Atongoi. Ndkakengwe n mnd. Wanengwe mbesa ya, waetewe jogoo ya, nweew?a su nsyo mbesa syenyu, n haki yaku ya mbesa isu. Ya jogoo mwait. Na etha ve mnd tananeenengwa, klyai and ma -----ala mananenganae noketha matwaie msy kwoo, maklyei mnengwe n haki yenyu. Eka nalke rafiki wakwa vaa oke amkethye naysyo kyo. Speaker 2: Mbaitu mwaseo? Crowd:  twiaseo. Speaker 2: Nyie kwa sytwa ntawa ----- kwit n vaya-----. Nneena ndall, ushindi wa NARC nwavtkie. Kwoou ksupport NARC nkwithwa tw katka serikali la w serikalini la wkte Makanzeti nimatesawa ovaa nmnoonie opinion polls. Nmnoonie kana Kibaki ekya fifty something, ona Moi akoya kula isu ndavikya, nnd atiwa na matambia maasa viu. Kwoou nyie nvaa ndvoya kula tkne NARC ni. Vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. Ona ala me KANU, vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. ONA ala me KANUn vatingwa mnd taathnwa n KANU. Elewai ou. Onola wi KANUn, vatingwa mnd utaathnwa n KANU. Those who support ----- should tell him that because we are foresighted. And there is no hatred in it. And see the truth in it. The bad thing let me tell you what is disturbing you. But do you know where the problem comes in? Leaders. Do not be cheated by anybody. If you are given money, eat it! If you are brought jogoo, eat it! Have you heard? That is your money it is your right, eat that money. And if there is someone who was not given ask the people of ----, those who were giving (out money) may be they took to their homes. Ask them so that you may be given because it is your right. Let me invite my friend here to come and greet you. My people, are you well Yes we are. My name is --- from -----. I wish to say this: The NARC victory is long overdue. To support NARC is to support the government that is coming. Newspapers are sold here you saw the opinion polls. You saw that Kibaki is at fifty something even if Moi stole those votes he would not reach that target because he would be left very far behind. So I am her asking for votes. Let us vote for NARC. There is no one who has not been disturbed by KANU. Even those in KANU, there is n one who has not been disturbed by KANU. Understand that. Even the one in KANU, there is no one who has no been troubled by KANU. 310 Na nmnoonie and onthe kla vand mait meenda change. Change kla kkwendeka ethwa ---ndaneenyuvwa MP wsa mnyuva president saa siana? Mnd kwoo ndaanyuvwa ona ndaangame tui, ai mwasya mwasya enyuvwa angame nth ata? Kwoou serikali la wkte ni serikali wa NARC, ---- nethi kwthwa mnd mnene. --- - ataa KANUn mwait wvaa na nau? Wkata KANUn, kuma kya ndsoma ---e KANUn, wkata KANUni? Wkta kwkenga ona wekala vu. ---- e vaatha nde vaasa, anataa KANUn, anesie semba ndatka ya mwisho eetha mand mathkie. Yu wkata KANUn, e? Ala manataa KANUn damu nmaumie KANU. Kwoou we wkata KANU etha ene nmaumie? Nyie n vaa ndasya ni tkne kula NARC nnd serikali la wkte n wa NARC. Makeni wtha mwakosea inchi nima mkalea kna ----. Nnd nweteelwe kya anenge kvla knene. Isu ti mboya sya thatasya kana weta, etha nkengana kyumwa k kykte, kwoou mkese valkya and. Mkamba akengiwe, kw? ksle vaa Emali nmwnakyonie, kng?ithasya malaa Athiriver, nngkengana? Crowd: Aiee, now?o. Speaker: Kw? kyumte Kilimanjaro kng?ithya malaa navaa now?o kw? kyaaie! N ndembeete, nna onaku Nyandarua kyumwa ku kng ndkna campaign. And asu mena ia, mena pyrethrum, mena mbembaa, lakini mena kya mwing vi nnd Moi ndaameka lel. And you have seen every one of our people everywhere wants change. Given the kind of change wanted, if someone was not elected as an MP, how can you choose such a person as a president? A person was not elected in his area, he is not even in charge of a village, how can you say he can be elected to lead a country? So the government that is coming is the NARC government, ----- is going to be a senior person there. ---- used to stay in KANU, mother and father present here, what are you doing in KANU? From my schools days ?in KANU what are you dong in KANU? You are cheating yourself even if you stay there. ----over there used to be in KANU and ran away the last minute, when he found that things had gone bad. So what are you doing in KANU? Those who used to be in KANU have left what are you still doing in KANU? e? Those who used to be KANU blood have left what are you still doing in KANU? So what are you doing in KANU if the owners have left? I am here saying that we vote in NARC because the next government is for NARC. In Makueni you will have wronged the whole country if you do not vote for -----because he is being waited for to get a big seat. Those are not just prayers or just otherwise I would be lying. So do not let people down. The Mkamba has been cheated about the water that passes here at Emali. You have seen it water the flowers in Athi river. Am I lying? No it is true Water comes from Kilimanjaro to water flowers and here, there is such serious shortage of water! I have travelled (widely) I was in Nyandarua in the past week campaigning. Those people have milk, they have pyrethrum, they have maize but they have much poverty because Moi has not given them roads. 311 I nnd Moi ndameka lel. Kwaua ia ytawa nth nnd vai ngali kinya ku. Kwouu kya mwe waetiwe wkla vand vonthe. Ndkone koithy vaa twthyoka. Nanaku Western, myai tano mthelu, kula kumbatu umaa. Nth nzeo vi lakini and asu mena thna mwing vi tkla; nnd wa Moi synd ila syna mbesa onaetha ni sukal; and make meta sukal makalea kva koti, sukal la wumte vaa na la wumte western. Etha n vamba ndsoma vaa mana vamba, Moi nwaminie. Vaingwa knd Moi tielye (crowd cheering and whistling). Kwoou and oonthe menda tvnde twambe serikali nza na kla mnd akavaitka. Nyie tayunkte vaa, vai knd nnengetwe n mnd, na ndkambtye knd nnd serikali n twenda vetanga. Twenda serikali la nkwenda ktethya wananchi, matwke kw?. ---- nwaweta vaa asya vaingwa musy te na kana kasomete lakini katwe wa. Mawia asu mate n kwtha Moi aetie and atndu nmo mekalaa kaliv nake. Vatingwa mkamba waanengwa kvla serikalini ateo Mlu Mtsya. Vaingwa mkamba waanengwa kvla, ndkakengwe n mndu. Kwoou n mamke mtkne kula, na tkna kula, na muikese kwkwenga nndu serikali la wkte nwa NARC. Kwoou wkenge wkale KANUn, nanakwa all, aa mamanager ma vaa a KANUn amwe n Kalonzo Msyoka, long n Mand ona ndanakalla kvla nnaktiie. We yu wikata KANUn? Neenda twambe mwaka  mpya tw kat ka serikali su. Nnd nyie kwa nnthnaa no KANU Yes because Moi has not given them roads. When it rains milk is poured down because no vehicle can get there. So most of this poverty is everywhere. Do not think we are the only ones here. I was in Western five months ago, where tobacco is grown. A very good place but they have more problems than us; because of Moi. The things those are marketable, even if it is sugar; his people are selling sugar and not paying tax, sugar from western. Like cotton, when I was in school they had cotton here but Moi has finished it. There is nothing Moi has left (crowd cheering and whistling). So all people want us to change and start a new government and everyone will benefit. Like now the way I have come here, no one has given me anything and don?t ask me for anything because we want to get rid of this government. We want a government that wants to help the citizens, put water for us. ---- has mentioned here that there is no home without a child who has gone to school and lacked a job. Those jobs are lacking because Moi has brought foolish people: they are the ones who stay close to him. There is no Mkamba who was given a job except Mulu Mutisya. There is no Kamba (person) who was given a seat except Mulu Mutisya. So tomorrow wake up and vote for us, and let us vote, but do not be cheated because the next government is the NARC government. So you cheat yourself and stay in KANU, and I have told you that the managers who used to be in KANU, some include Kalonzo Musyoka, the other is Maundu (previous Makueni MP) who has just left his seat. What are you doing in KANU? I wanted us to start this new year in that government. 312 Na nesla nza n ya siiisiisi, ndnesla n ya lami. Na Moi aanangie nzia n yonthe na nkyo ktumi and onthe manaisye serikali yngamle vu. Uketha nnavtkie vu vaa yu ona nds. Sukulu tkta vingaa, masivital ntavingie. And measya at nmasomaa makanzeti vaa mbesa ila inaviwe, billion inya inaviwe macontractor movng nkana metewe vaa mye, mbesa isu mwale ya. Kla mwe anaviwe ngili maana atano, minomwe vaa mimwtye. Ngili maana atano mainanengiwe sya kka kwtya kula, kla MP wa KANU, kwoou nommwtye akamwaa nnd isu n mbesa syenyu. Lakini n no mbaka tamke mwe tkne kula mwe. Nnd serkali la kte twataa ---- vo, we ntws tkeetha tngame Maken sawasawa. Ntws enthn, ---- evo, mkamba wenda kng kya? Wenda kya wamsy? Notkne---- vaa n mnyanyawa. Nng ndmws, nonmkne kula lakini nmkna kla akekalae kya kwtawa back bench. Ve maana ma? Crowd: Aiee! Speaker 2: N my friend na ndkengana. Na tkne NARC nnd nyo y serikali ya ni, serikali la enda ete change. Everybody nyo tkna. Twasukumiwe twatwawa konan n Moi (long pause). Wva ona w KANUn nns wmusukume. Thi kne kula kwa KANU yaku nnd nnengiwe mtu, mvuko tat. Mvuko su ya matuk meana? Miaka tano mwanaa mwait kathna mno tena vi. Maka tano keetha w thnan nnd wa mtu tat nengiwe kana silingi ana. The reason for this is that I have trouble because of KANU. And I passed the very bad road and not the tarmacked one. And Moi has spoilt this entire road and that is why all the people have said that the government should stop there. If he had gone beyond that point, now I don?t even know, whether we will close the schools, we have already closed the hospitals. People claim they read newspapers ?the money that was paid to ghost contractors so that you can be brought in order ?to eat?, you should eat that money you have one here, ask him to give you some. Four billion and each KANU MP was given five hundred million to search for votes, so you can even ask him to give you some of the money because it is yours. But tomorrow we must wake up together and vote together. Because when we take ---- to the next government we know we will be n charge of Makueni properly. We know that he is in, Mkamba what else do you want? What else do you want my brother? We can vote for ?, he is my friend. I can vote for him but why should I vote for him so that he goes to sit at the back benches in parliament? Is there any point? No! He is my friend I?m not cheating. And let us vote for NARC because it is the government of tomorrow, the government that wants to bring change. We were pushed to the corner by Moi (long pause) Wherever you are, if you are in KANU, I know you are pushed. Go and vote for your KANU because you were given flour. Three bags. How many days are you going to eat those bags? In five years you will suffer a lot my brother. 313 Silingi ana ikwkata katka miaka tano. Silingi ana kwka ata? Ndkekenge mwanaa mwait wvaa na mwait, nau wvaa. N kura nkwa NARC Professor evaa nmws nmsomu mbiti kaakaa. Na akasomea mao. Ntws nnnewa kvla k maana. Nataa okitaa siasa tat knd wambe yoo. Atuaa vu. Na ndna mbng nendaa voya kula na ndmwa twmw twnenyu. Na tkeetha kndni k n twnenyu tishangla. Kya Wote, ktangaaswa, tiumkenga, ntws NARC nnthi through. Kuma Preisdent, MP mbaka Councillor, nnd and etha nmanoie n KANU. Shukurani. (clapping) Speaker 1: nyw mts kana ene KANU nthy? Crowd: Nmaansya nyie, we ona ndws KANU. Mweene KANU ana nyie na mheshimiwa wtawa -----. Na ntnatiie, mnd la wvaa KANUn eka ata? Nitnatiie KANU. KANU neekie masavu takwata mbait, la naendie kete mnd kuma tee wa parliament taanoeya KANU. Na nw?a matasya, a and ala manaumie KANUn, a and oonthe nandu ala mana kko kya KANU. Tuna kko kya KANU naye 99 twamatwae kvla vate, twamatwae kvla matekyenda. Akamba ma Maken manengane kvla ku matekyenda na kyatwawa n ----, ana kko? Akamba ndmtavisye kana Moi nnavththy Akamba? Mwsyoka vthwa n serikali wa Uhuru Mbait? (long pause) Na kula syenyu nomkna n kwa ktoo kla kmbka, kwa ----, kanzala la wvaa wtawa - ---, na mikuna kwa president wtawa ----. In five years you will be in trouble because of three bags or a hundred shillings. What will one hundred shillings do for you in five years? Don?t cheat yourself my brother and mother present here. Tomorrow the vote goes to NARC. The professor is here and you know he is read to the highest (nimusomu mbiti kaakaa). And he has studied law. We know that he will be given that seat. And he has been fighting for politics it is not something e started yesterday. He has been there. And I do not have much to say I wanted to request for votes and tell you that we are together, we are with you. And we will be with you in this thing tomorrow celebrating. It will be announced at Wote when it is announced, we are not cheating you. We know NARC will go through, from President, MP up to the Councilor, because they are tired of KANU. Thank you (clapping) You do not know that we are the owners of KANU? I mean me, you do not even know KANU. The owner of KANU was me and the honorable member called----. And we left, what is the person here who is still in KANU doing? We left KANU. KANU made a mistake when, our people, when it went to bring someone from outside parliament who did not work hard for KANU. I hear them saying that the people who left KANU, that those people were the dirt of KANU. Were we the dirt of KANU and yet in 99 we took them a seat when they did not need it? The Kamba of Makueni gave that seat when they did not want it and it was taken by,---- was he dirt? Akamba, did I not tell you that Moi disrespected Kambas? Will you then be disrespected by Uhuru?s government our people? And give your votes to a Councillor who is present here known as ----, and vote for a president known as ---- 314 (crowd cheers) Na ekai uvua ng, mbait tmtavya vaa ttkva ng. Aiee, look, nkalaa vala ve mauw?i mbwaa kasll. Nnziaisye neetha kasll kaa nnatiie vala ka nkatwwe ku nsembe nende vaa ve kasl kaa kang, (laughter) Na mnd la temanya kana serikali wa NARC nkwakka nenda maassure nesa kana n sua yithi tha keethuksya kana wtha serikali wa NARC nlikile ona athkmi ma serikali, nmetklile matmwenda, na nvo masaa. Nmwoona ttonia asikal NARC vaa mavtte police ma police kona makna salute, nnd nmes nmekna msumb wtawa Kibaki salute, na aimatembelea na aikaka. Ttulea mwanake la ng e vaa w?o wtawa ---- ttmlea vaa n msy. Nyie takwa ndimlea. Lakini, lakini, a mwana siasa shupavu takwa a ndaaka mbtya kula, na ndmsupport, ndimsupport, ndimnenga support, nmnenga nnd wa kya? S: Rainbow! Crowd: rainbow! S: Rainbow Serikali la kte wthwa w serikali wa enenth ndwthwa serikali wa mkola. Serikali la kte wthwa wwa w?o nnd and ala mokte serikali wa NARC nmeyavte ya kana nmekwenda change. Na mbait wakengwa we, wathi kna serikali wa KANU kula, nenda ktavya wtha wakuna kla tes nnd kula su yaku nykwaa. Crowd cheers And do not joke around my people. No, look, I like to stay where there are wasps I?m like a bird. I looked and saw this bird has left the home where it was, let me run so that I go to this other bird. (laughter) And the person who does not recognize that the NARC government is being strengthened, I want to assure them that tomorrow before the sun sets, you will listen and you will find out that the NARC government will be in, even civil servants have agreed that they do not want it and yet they benefit from that. You have seen us show the salute to the police passing by and they salute back because they know they are going to salute a president known as Kibaki and he will visit them and inspect a guard of honour. We are truly not rejecting the other young person here known as ----. We are not rejecting him, this is home. Like I cannot reject him. But, but a major politician such as me, he has not come to ask for my vote. And I support him, I support him, I give him support, why should I support him? Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow The next government will be one of the local people, it will not be a government of thugs. The next government will be one of truth, because the people coming in NARC have vowed that they want change. An my people if you are cheated you go and vote for the KANU government, I want to tell you that you will have voted for what you do not know, because your vote will be lost. 315 KANU n nzoloko, nnnaye vi  nyama nnatia tvnd nille vuvu saanin, kwani vaa kove mnd naye KANU nesa kmbta? Ava, vaa kove mnd naye KANU nesa kmbta mbait? I? Vaa vai mnd naaya KANU nesa ninyie ndale tha numte vu, lakini nnnamtiie mbait. Na nnd serikali wa NARC la kka n koko kla kkya wtha wna and asomu k kla knd kyonthe k sawa sawa. Wtha ona vaa nasya ttmina matuk maing ttasembete na lami vaa kakwatana vaya (long pause) Nasya ----ena mvango mseo easya ona kkeetha parliament, ythwe parliament ya k nth ythwe ona sub-location. Uketha wona parliament ngamwe n kamjumbe kaku ka k nth kamanyaa maslai maslai mamwene nth. Mutikww?a  nmvango wambya? Rainbow! Crowd: Rainbow! S: Rainbow! C: Rainbow! S: (Soloist): Yote yawezekana Crowd: Bila Moi, S: (Soloist): Yote yawezekana Crowd: Bila Moi KANU is a cock. I ate the meat and left only little bones, I have placed it on the table. Is there someone here who has ?eaten? KANU more than me? Where is he/she? E? There is no one who has eaten KANU well, I shouldn?t have left there, but I did my people. And because the next NARC government which will come tomorrow morning will have learned people, everything here is fine. I believe we will not finish many days before we run on tarmac to connect over there (long pause). I think he has a good plan. He says we will have a mini-parliament even at sub-locational level, so that you have your parliament with an MP at the grassroots who also knows the needs f the common person. Can?t you hear that is a new plan? Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow! S: (Soloist): Everything is possible Crowd: Without Moi, S: (Soloist): Everything is possible Crowd: Without Moi 316 Appendix xvii: Opposition rally (meeting 3) Speaker 1: Nwavika ----la mvangte mnenge kula. Kiu nneyie nnenyu yoo na matuk asu menavu tinanganga. Na nasya kana kula nmnengeleelye syo na ila ing minengeleelye--- na ila ing ----. Na nnnavangie nnenyu na atongoi ala mavaa. Kwoou and ma ----, nkenda Mheshimiwa ndakese umuhutubia kw kvindu, nyie nd ula ngwenda mkindlla nkana, kula ii syenyu ntmvoya kwa ndaa nyie na ----, na nd nait timwatha thkmi mseo, la twmthkma and ma ---- tte na seleke nnake. Na syndu ila syka imesye vinya, nd vu mheshimwa akanengeleelasya, ---- vaya mtwen, n mndme able. Jogoo! Asante sana, asante sana. Thank you very much. Ind kwoou and ma ----, kmeyoo namvoya kula nnmvoyie yaktosha na nasya nmtunenge kula. Yu nyie ndnoneeni mwing nnd ntuneeyanie ioo na matuk asu menavu tina, kana kula nmtne. Mwamba vata la wenyu mnene nkwona Mheshimiwa vandn vaa, naye veo nd w vinya, kenda kna kula vaaya kwa ---- mtaamwka metho nomvaka mwthe mwna tulu, na ku nkyo twooka vuta, nkyo twooka vuta wthe ndkwasya mnd ndwaamwona. Yu nwooka vandn vaa nake akindlle, kwtya kula syakwaa, na syakee, na sya ----. Ind yu nnd nyie nnnaneenie nenyu, ekai nthosye mnd mwe oou, twna iveti atati, ekai nmnengeleelye kveti okmwe, kmtumsye ovaniini, na kithosya mheshimiwa, ----. He has arrived----the one you have decided to give your vote. That I have already discussed with you in the past few days. And I believe you will give me the vote and the rest you will deliver to -- -and the rest to ----. I planned with you and the rest of the leaders here. So, people of ----so that the Honourable (title for the aspiring honourable Member of Parliament) does not address you in the darkness. The thing I want to emphasize is that, we are asking from your vote with all due respect me and d----, and then we promise you good leadership which we shall show when we work for you without a problem with him. And those things that become problematic, The honourable will pass on to ---at the top. He is an able man. Jogoo! Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Now people of ----from yesterday, I have begged enough for your vote and I hope you will vote for us. I do not have much to say because we had an agreement yesterday and the days earlier on, that you are going to give us the vote. You have told me that you would like to see the honourable here. Actually, there is a difficult thing as to go vote for ----without ever having set eyes on him. You must be lazy to do that and that is what we have come to wipe away, that is what we have come to wipe away so that you do not say that you have never seen this person. He has also come here to emphasize on the asking for the vote; mine, his and for ----. Since I have already talked with you, let me invite just one person, let me give you one woman to speak to you a little and to invite the guest of honour,----. 317 Eka mtumw?e n Chairlady wa Divison  wa KANU nothwa mtaamwona. U nwe Chairlady wa division nu yoonthe mbaka ---- na kwake n ----. K nkwo kwoo. Na kveti ktembeu mno k, nnd already kendaa kkai syokea India. I ndeke ii wonaa syivtla vaa kvtlaa nasyo, okkte ou, na nktati. Yu kwoou ekai kmwtye kula nokana tnenge Mheshimiwa mwanya ktinaloomanla wthe mimwene nesa. Na nasandi kwoond wambthuksya. (clapping) Speaker 2: Asante sana, asante sana kanzala la wamina uneena na and ma ---- na atuma ala mevo, aeni ma ndaaa, aa mwait, aa nauu, mwaseo? Crowd:  twaseo S: Mwiaseo yng? Crowd: I twaseo. S: Nenda mwa at, vinda y nvinda ya mvulukano, eh n ya muvulukano na ksio kk, kthkmaa na mathna na ve knd kmwe ngwenda kwamba mtavya ndanesa kka lika siasan. Ksio k k matna maingi mno nnd syana ila sya vaa Makeni ve thna, ivtaa vi vate ngi nnd wamathna, na sys ksoma vi nnd aa aeni ma ndaa maysa kwoneka. Ila kkwtwa kula na kkwthwa knd kmwe kkwitwa ?mwenge?, twambe sindanthya, mwenge onekaa nd, na atethasya kya? Nnd kuma twaambana na --- -ttamws kana akangama, nwaambe ktethya na twaamba kumsyallya kwoltu mno, na vaa ---- na vaa, ---- ti meni, ntethetye ---- vaa, ----vaaya ntethetye Let me introduce the Chairlady of the division in charge of KANU, may be you have never seen her. This is the Chairlady of the entire this division up to ---- and her place is -----. This is her place and she is already a very widely travelled woman who goes even up to India. These planes you see passing over here she passes in them even when she is so elderly, she really tries. Let her now ask you for votes so that you can give the Honourable (member) a chance before it is too late and when you may not see him properly. And thank you very much for listening to me (clapping). Thank you very much. Thank you very much, the councillor who has just finished speaking. And people of ----, and the men present here, distinguished guests, the mothers the fathers, are you well? Yes we are well. Are you well once more, Yes we are well. I wish to tell you that this is a period of confusion, e, it is one of confusion and this area works in problems. And there is one thing that I want to tell you before I get to politics. This area has problems because the children from here in Makueni pass very well but due to problems and they know how to read very well but the guests of honour cannot be seen, and then votes are asked for and when there is one thing being called ?lightning? Let us compare, when is ?lightning seen and how does it help? When we started with ---- and even when we did not know that he will contest, he started to be supportive and we started watching him very keenly and here he is not a visitor. He has supported here ---- and even over there----. When you start comparing to 318 vi. Uimvwananthya na ngania ng nnd wa wakna mnd ndtonya, nnengaa mnd agenda na meka make. Etha ni mujumbe, meka maku moneka n mmbani nnd tongoi w vaa ve and aa. Ki mkimangano wa mavia, kw mkutano ketha mbano wit nvatanwa, na masaa ala matialte nndmwe na maka l, nnd nnmanyie nmkwenda ttha, ntkwonana nneneenyu. Kila kingi ngwenda weta nikii, Mheshimiwa-- -ithy and ma Maken nd nthikie ou nathi syokea vand vetawa ----. Ndkwenda knd ateo nmthkme, na nns nesa wathi vaaya, wthi twka mnd wa mbendela, nnd visi ya wthwa w mseo (clapping and cheering). Na nnd kthi ku kwthwaa kw kseo, ekai nmtavye, ndvalukasya na ndka, ekta kwa vanini na aitia athi. ---- ntiwa na ngal ya ---- vaa ktheeyoni ?NARC NARC?, kwoou ekai nmtavye ndeto il, maalika na maangi, iveti----sisyai mnenge ---- kula. Wenmtonyana? Na ngi ya klika ktuon, na nnd mwana waku nwa NARC, ayamba kkwa ?Ete mwait ngwonie?, nvng iveti nsyasomie. Lika ktuon na wasisya weetha nvvanwa, yasya wenda ---- kw masaa. Eka savu ya kwtwa nzama. Nzama tikwenda. Nzama tikwenda, yasya wenda -- --. Utongoi wa seleke itonyeka. Navaa nna mnd wtawa ----kwa ----atwate mathna na - --amwasya na amnenge mathna, nd tnavlukanile ndatke ya mthya anatoka anatia mbesa, usu n mtongoi? Na la waendaa kwa ---na imwa nkka mthkma, wva vinya na vinya nand aa? Kana mwasya ata nd? someone else because I cannot manage the work of abusing people, I give someone an agenda to together with their problems. If it is an MP, your actions are seen by those present in the meeting here. Going about throwing stones such that meetings are no go zones, and yet the hours remaining are like two years, and I can see things are not so good for us, we will see each other. The other thing I want to mention is that, ?the honourable member? (addressing the Guest of Honour) we people of Makueni, the way I have gone round this place, till a place called---- , I do not want anything except to serve you and I know once you go to there I know you will become a person of the flag, because that office will be a great one (clapping and cheering). And because going there is a good thing, let me tell you I do not bring anyone down and I do not fear anyone who fails, and you saw ---- went there and was working with----. He thought he had become somebody, wait and see how tribalism is going to take him. You will be left going down in the car with ?NARC, NARC?. Let me tell you two or so words; women make sure you give your vote to ----. Will you really manage each other? And the jokes of going into the voting area and because your child belongs to NARC, he/she stars telling you let me show you mother, that is a lie women have become educated. Get into the voting area and when you see you are being confused, say you want ----. Do not agree top be seen in camera, in camera we do not want. Poor leadership is not possible. I was here with a person called ---- taking his problems and he went to ---- and gave him his problems and finally we had problems till he left the money, is that leadership? And when you use to go to ---- and tell them that you 319 Crowd: nw?o S: Naye su nkwtwa ---aendie vaa kwa ---- athi akenga iveti sya ---- ksemba kneenene, iveti isu itindaa vaa ite lu vaa ----ka we ndamaa, mwtinda mivotow?a n?aimwa ata wetha ntonya kenga kveti ndiwa? I? Na vand vau nvo vanavikiwe n ---- anatethya, anatethya nginya anatethya ----sisya masyao. Crowd: (clapping and shouts) S: Usu ti mnd wyumtye ktethya? --- anesile vaa mtuk aneetha keltu kekawau, kana kekawau aneeta inyaake, anakatwaa akeka nesa, mwendaa ata inyw? Crowd: Tendaa ou. ---- n wamvangoo, nekai nmtavye, ---- tknei kulaa, tkwate ---- nand ma Maken, tyone tand ma Kaiti nd meyonaa na Ndambki. Nnd ?ndanakengana. Nondmwe ---- ws ndes kolokolo, ona ila ttemwona k kana tthika k ndimmantha kvla, nns ethwaa akwatante, lakini wesa thi komana nake wtha n mnd wa ndaa, na nd aikwthuksya, kana mwasya ata vau? Crowd: nw?o. S: nka vaa kwa Uhuru. Uhuru ndetsya kvla thna nyie nnakwo naya mkate nnd nyie wa wakwa nokya, (laughter). Naya mkate mthenya, yanata? Ymvake blueband. Mama amba, ?Ikala vu?, twaya mkate ?Itina makava?. Na atwa la Kenyatta watha, oaimne kand, msumb Moi ooka oaimne kand, ithy twna ---- tendaa klya kya, tendaa klya. Ou anatwie tmnengee mwana kula na mikatinde misindana na mnd mk, yu kvs, na t wendoi ! Ind mmtwate va? Crowd: (shouting and cheering). are going to work for them where is the energy, and energy comes from the people? Or what do you say? It?s true. And that being mentioned went to ---- and cheated the widowed women those women stay here --- waiting for food, he does not farm. Why do you keep on being cheated by ---- what does he tell you if he can even cheat widowed women? M? And that is the place where ----went up to. He helped, he helped, till he helped, look at the products. Clapping and shouting Isn?t that someone who has sacrificed to help? He passed by recently and found a young girl with a sick child, he called the mother and did well to her. What do you people normally want? We like that. He is full of plans, let me tell you let us vote we get --- and people of Makueni we will be proud like the people of Kaiti who normally boast about Ndambuki. It?s the same you know, because he does not like or know bad things, even when we do not see him here, or when I am going around searching for votes for him, I know he is usually busy but when you finally go and meet him, you will find that he is a man of respect. Then he listens to you or what do you say? It is true. I will come here at Uhuru?s. Uhuru is not asking for the seat because of problems, I was there and ate bread because my work is entirely to eat (laughter). I ate bread with Blue band The mother told me sit down we ate and afterwards it would be paid for. And she told us when Kenyatta was alive, you had to bite something, even when president Moi came he had to have a bite. We are still asking. She told us to give votes for her son. Do not keep on competing with old people. Now a young fellow and it is not about love! Where are you taking him to? (crowd shouting and cheering) 320 Nota kt k k wendo nkkwka nd ngi, kewa kt k kthunguue vaaya ng, nayu mwa Kibaki atongosye vayu? Kana mwasya ata? Mwasisya Uhuru mwona ata? Tomwthuksyaa maletio, tomkww?a nd nguruma vaa kmi na il? Ttekwananga wa sisyai. Uhuru! Uhuru! Nenda kwasya at, ttekwananga wa, sisyai. ---- used to be in charge from here to ---- as councilor alone, syana ila syaandkiwe vinda ya ----, syaandkwa n ---- vinda ya ---- ve mwtu wa ---- waandkiwe vinda yu, na ang ndeweta. Mtiandka and vaa matindae matumanga and. Ou nw?o mkwenda? Nengai kula ----mtekwananga vinda, na ila ing nengai ----na mtseleka. Kwoou nyie ndimthooesya knd kthku. Nweew?a? Crowd:  Ind yu nenda mtia na ndasya at, ?n asante Mheshimiwa, and ma Maken nmeknenge kvla ukatthkma nesa, nmwonie nd vikie k na escort, Kkmn and makasya Moi kowooka??, Waaona aytya kula na anyanyae, Crowd: aiee S: Manaendaa tuk na kapick-up kamwe. Wona ata? Wonata ----, e? Tisawa? Kwoou tkwate knd natkwata klume na kya mina luma o anyanyae ma ---- nmembonia nmseo, nyie nenda tongoi wa ----. Nyie nvika vau nseo nnd wambthuksya, --- She told us to give votes for her son. Do not keep on competing with old people. Now a young fellow and it is not about love! Where are you taking him to? (crowd shouting and cheering) It?s just like this tree, it?s like being told about this tree getting buds at the top, and where are you telling Kibaki to lead? Or what are you saying? When you look at Uhuru what do you think? You do listen to the radio don?t you hear the way he roars in the morning? Without spoiling things please watch out. Uhuru! Uhuru! I want to say this, without spoiling things please watch out. ---- used to be in charge from here to - --- as councillor alone, the children who were employed during that time, were employed by --- - during the time of----/ there is a daughter of---- who was employed at that time, and you are not going to employ boys here who will be abusing people. Is that what we want? Give votes to---- without wasting time, and the rest give to ---- and you will not be disappointed. And I do not encourage a bad person to a seat if you do not know. I cannot sell you a bad thing. Now I want to leave and say that thank you. ?Honourable (addressing the Guest of Honour), the people of Makueni will give you the seat, and you will serve us well. You saw the way he arrived here with escorts. In Kikumini people wondered ?has Moi come?? Did you see ---- ask for votes with his friends? No They used to go at night with one small pick up. What do you think? Is it not alright? 321 vala ti tw ymw, Asante. Speaker 1: Usu nwe mtongoi wa KANU k, kau myakola. C: Ii ntwakola S1: Lakini nnd nngmena Mheshimiwa aysa lsa vaa kwa kvindu ketha mimwene nesa, naa ndthosya Mheshimiwa oalse vaa nlste nkenda amutubie amtavye mvangio yake. Tafadhali ---- maklyo ala Chairman wamina klya, tia wasnga, and ma ---- nmautwkte mno and ma ----. Mathna ala menamo no asu weew?a mawetwa. Crowd: (clapping) S: serikali woo vaya na sukulu na na haraambe vaya meo na mathna mana. Kwoou nd meka tia wameka mainatavya mathna maing nasu ma sukulu na sivital, kwoou ka masavu neenin waku, tie wamatavya nand tie wamatavya, nand nnathokya na kwa enenth ma ---- nmvea kwoond wambthuksyaa, nnd wakwtha ndsyoka neena ng yu usukan nnanenga munene. N asante, Karibu (long pause) Speaker 3: (Guest of Honour) eh mbait na enenth aka na ame na atuma na anake mwaseo? Crowd:  twaseo S: Mwaseo ng? C: Ii twaseo, S: Nakwa n mseo mbee nmvea mwing mno kuma vala n nnd wa yko yla mwekie ya Mlolongo yla mwangnie kula ya kyama kya KANU. Nmweekie nesa mnoo mwakna kula nesa, nginya ---- avta na kyama kya KANU. So let us take up something and keep it strong and when it is strong enough the friends of ----will show me the goodness. I want ---- leadership. If you have listened to me we are together. Thank you. That is the KANU leader here; you have heard enough of that? Yes we have. But because I do not wish to see the honourable member climbing the podium in darkness such that you cannot see him very well, so that he can address you and tell you about his plans. Please do address the questions that Chairman has asked, make sure you have answered and the people of----have supported you immensely. The problems that they have are only those that you have heard mentioned. (clapping) The government and the school had a Harames and they have certain problems. So what you plan to do for them please ensure you has done it. They have not told you that the most serious problem is that of school and the hospital. So plan in your speech leave them assured now I invite you and to the citizens, thank you for listening to me. And because I will not speak again as I have now given the opportunity to the boss. Thank you, welcome (long pause) Speaker 3: (Guest of Honour) Our people and the citizens, Women and men and old men and young people, are you well? We are well. Are you well once more Yes we are well. I am also well. Much appreciation from me for the action that you showed at the time of Mulinge when 322 Councillor ---- avta na kyama kya ----. Nmvea kwenyu ma ---- nmweekie nesa mno. Mwaendeeya na kwka nesa, wsa kwtha ona ithy tiyka nesa nnd ntkwata atongoi maw?o. N asante. Kala kang and ma ----, nngwtya pole mndekee nnd wakwthia tnaanwa nnenyu, yoo nomwmbeteele tooka twaselewaa, nsaa vika ta saa nyaanya, okla mwe eeumte ondn kwoou mbait, nmklya mtekee, nnd yoo ntwtatte kka lakini twakwatana nzan, nmwatekea? Crowd:  S: Nmtekea? C:  S: Asante C: Kala kang mbait, nasya nitwthtwe tineenania nenyu, ---- ndana ovaa? Na anake twathi vaya mwaan twaneenania, na twaeya ngewa tweetha na ma --- mw and aseoo na mw and alngalu nnd eyaa ngewa ngew?a syalika nenyu mindavya. Na nd wetha nonginya nsyoke ng tke neenania ng. Nmklya mtkne kula matuk mongo l na monza, ala mokte ta matuku atano kana ana. Mbait nngmvoya kula syenyu, mngne kula matuku mongo l na keenda nkenda tminklye kla twaambe matuku mongo l na ymwe vinda ya nomination, la mnatknie kula. Nmklya mngne kula matuku mongo l na monza mngne kula mmbandke wa mndwae mbunge. Nikenda nsyoke k nke mthkma. Mbait ngsyoka nmwa atii, kavindan kaa ti ndmantha, nmklya kla syenyu. you voted for me on a KANU ticket. They did very well and voted very well till ---- even went through on a KANU ticket. Councillor ---- went through on a KANU ticket, Thank you people of ----. It was very good you went on doing well. It will be us doing good for ourselves because we will get true leaders. Thank you. The other thing is that I wish to apologise, please forgive me because, we have been apart from each other. Yesterday you waited for me but when we came we got late, I arrived at 2am. Everyone was coming from doing something useful, We had tried to come but we got held up on the way, have you forgiven us? Yes. Are you going to forgive us? Yes. Thank you. The other thing our people is that we have been discussing with you. Wasn?t ---- here? And with the young men we went over there under the tree and we talked and found that you are good people and you are straight people because we talked and the conversations sank in and I want to come back so that we can converse again. I want to ask you to vote for us on 27th in the next five or four days. Our people, I beg for your votes so that we can complete what we started, on 29th, so that we finish what we started on the 21st during the nomination, when you voted for us. I ask you to vote for me, on 27th you voted for me and took me to Parliament, so that I can come back here and work for you. My people let me tell you that during this time when I am searching and looking, I ask for your votes. 323 Nns nesa nmkwatante na and aing, nins nmndekea nnanaangte mnoo, ketha notangvinga nd nkwatya notamumbw?a. Nns nesa ame aingi, nnd niasya tw ame thanthat ala tkwtya kula vaa Makeni nmkomante namoo, mkaneenania namoo, ala methuksyaa, mkamethuksya. Nakwa ninyie  vaa ngvoya kula. Bwana ---- la n Chairman wa KANU nwanenavaa aasya nmneenantye nake. Mkaeleanwa mkaasya nmkna ?kula, isu n ndeto sya w?o mbait. N ndeto syaw?o mbait? Crowd: syaw?o S: Asante Yu nmvea kwa ---- nnd wa wa mseo naithy ithyoonthe nnd wa wendiwakka na wendi wakwenda kmantha tongoi mseo. Utongoi mlngalu. Utongoi teseleke. And aing nmanaasyaa ?KANU ymakosa, KANU y makoosa?. Ang mayasya ?KANU nyakw?ie Makeni?. Ind mbait KANU ykwo nanmmionete na nn, vaa ve NARC ----is the one here. Na nd nd and amwe mait mana kyaman kya KANU, matna aseo maneekaa mand mathuku mate masevya mand maand tenyu k Kenya. Naithy enenth tyendeeya na kma nnd wa meka maand mate na wendi wakwka nesa. Aing mamo nmanasembie mathi kyaman kya NARC. Nkwatya kana nmsomete kana mkew?a radio, iyasya kana atuma aing ala manekalaa kyaman kya KANU aa ---- na ang aing naa Kamotho, nmanasembie mathi masevya kyama kkwtwa NARC. Kyama k kkwtwa NARC knd naithy ame tttya kula na kyama ku. Na n I know very well you are connected to many other people, please forgive me I have spoken a lot till I have almost lost my voice, but I hope you can hear me. I know very well you have met many men , because I believe we are six men who are looking for votes here in Makueni, you have met them, those who are willing to listen I hope you have heard them. And now I am also here asking for votes. The KANU chairman has spoken here and said that you have talked together and understood one another. You have agreed that you will vote for ---- those are true words our people. Are those true words my people? They are true. Thank you. Thank you very much for good work and from every one of us, and because of your willingness to come and search for good leadership; straight leadership. Many people were saying ?KANU is on the wrong, KANU is full of mistakes?. And others say, ?KANU died in Makueni?. But our people KANU is there and you have seen it. Now NARC is here---- is the one here. And some people who were in the KANU party were not good people. They used to do bad things which could not make things better in Kenya. And we the citizens go on suffering because of people with actions stemming from bad intentions. Most of them ran away to join NARC. I hope you have read or heard on radio that many old men who used to stay in KANU such as ----and ---- many people like Kamotho, ran and went away to form a coalition called NARC. And this party called NARC, and we men ask for votes with that party, and the party was formed a few days ago, it is a party that men sat down and formed. 324 kyama knaseviw?e matuk matale. Ni kyama knekalilwe nth n ame manasevya, manasevya mvango yoo ttams manaandkana, na nd yu maooka maytya kula. Yu amwe mekwasya nmesemba malike Statehouse masindwa. Ve ang manekisye kanzala mavia ova oma NARC ona NARC isu oktwa makwata kvla nmevuta Asili, nmevuta Chief, nimevuta DO, na DC na PC na nd mavuta ame asu, mayttavya, makeekaa ata? Ila mand mathka k msy, kkeekawa ata? Na nd ame asu maisyoka matthwa na kyama kkwtwa NARC, kna alama ya nyia, ya mwaki, mekmia Musilii, Chief, na mena alama ya kya? Mwaki. Kwoou tsyaanie na synd imwe itetelea, mand amwe matetelea noketha mavangte tkwatia mwaki, nottha vatingwa vandu tsemba tkai nnd Chief ndevo, na Musili ndevo. I wsemba va la kthka? Na maisyoka mena alama ng ya rainbow, yo rainbow n nyam mia? Crowd: Utathi. S: Utathi, naw?o utathi wikaa ta? Crowd: Uvingaa mbua S:  vingaa mbua nayo mbua nyo tkwenda. Mand maing twale kwtha tw metho tikese kkengwa tkanw?e kwas na walku tyka a ?KANU yily, KANU yily?, KANU yilyata na KANU, ttindaa nayo miaka mongo na nattaakata? KANU ttuaa nayo miaka su na mand moonthe ma nth n, kwaka masivital, kwaka sukulu, syana ki sukulu, kvika (pause) valavala ii syit isevtwe, ni serikali ya KANU na valavala nvikie Wote vaa. Kwii serikali ya kyama kya NARC? and formed. They made their plans which we do not know about, they agreed to some things and then came looking for votes. Some say they will rush to State House, others threw stones at the Councillor, here belonging to NARC, and NARC tells us that when they get leadership they will do away with Assistant Chiefs, Chiefs, Dos, Dcs and even PCs, and when they sack those men, they will tell us what they will do then. When things get out of hand here in the homes, what will be happening? And again these men have a party called NARC which has the symbol of fire, they will get rid f the Assistant Chief, the Chief and they have the symbol of what? Fire. So let us watch out for things we do not understand may be they are planning to burn us, but there is nowhere we can run away to because the chief is not there, and the assistant chief is not there, where will you run away to when things go bad? And again they have the symbol of the rainbow, what animal is the rainbow? Rainbow. Rainbow and what does the rainbow do? It thwarts rain. Yes it prevents the rain and it is the rain that we want. On many things we should have our eyes open so that we are not cheated ?natukuaniw?e ikwasi na waliku?. Saying that KANU is like this or that and yet we have lived with KANU for 40 years and we have never fought? We stay with KANU and all the things of this world like building hospitals , building schools, children going to school, till these roads are made by the KANU government and the road has reached Wote. Has there been a government of the NARC party? 325 Crowd: Aiee. S: T nd wa kyama kya KANU? Crowd: . S: Alafu? Mand mang maing maing na salama wit na muo kwtha tikkita tikimangana na mavia. Kethwa serikali wa KANU ndwaangama imara daima wtha onaitu onait twalikile mathnan. Kwoou mbait mnd aineena kuhusu kyama kya KANU ambe syoka akatnga mtwe nzama, na kso k kit kya ---- kyaumie va? Kyataa nyam? na kyaumie va mbait? Kyataa serikalini wa kyama kya KANU? Aasya enenth make alafu?  e serikalini yiva? Crowd: Ya KANU. S: Kwoou mbait mnd aykla ayasya kna na kna kthku, vatingwa kyama kthkaa, kyama kthkmaa, kthkaa, kyama ksevtwe n and na wetha mnd nweeka kosa nawetwe nweeeka ata, nwekeekosa, mikasye kyama kya KANU nkthku. Na tya ekeo na walea kwtya ekeo tyoou? Eetya ekeo ndekekewa naa, enenth? Kwoou mbait, nngwasyat, tknei kula kyama kya KANU na tweeka ou wtha tweeka nesa na mbait, nngwenda ntmana mwai wa mbee twasevya serikali ya KANU nnd mwamba nmtkna kula. Mwatkna kula mbait, kna kanzala kyama kya KANU na mujumbe, wa kyama kya KANU na ikna musumb wa kyama kya KANU. Na ndna nzika onemw kana mwein wa mbee tknte kula ou tknite nesa viu, kana ndna nzika kana KANU kasevya serikali. Na No. Are we not under the KANU party? Yes. Then? Many many many things and our security and peace like we are not fighting or hitting one another with stones. If the KANU government had not stood firm we would also be in problems. So our people when someone talks about something about KANU they should think first and this area in ---- where did it come from? Didn?t it have animals before? Was it not in the KANU government? When he says the citizens stay there, then what? Which government was it? That of KANU. So you people, when someone gets up and says that a party is bad there is no party that becomes bad, the party works and is made up of people and if someone makes a mistake let them be pointed out, that he has done wrong. Do not say That KANU is bad. And you should ask for forgiveness, and if you do not that is it. If someone asks for forgiveness they will be forgiven by the citizens, so our people let us vote for KANU and if we do that we will have done well our people. And I would like to send someone in January when we have formed the KANU government because you have told us you will vote for us. When you vote for us, our people also vote for a councillor and the MP from KANU and also a president for KANU. And I have no doubt that if we vote that way we will have voted very well, or I have no doubt KANU will form the government. And when we vote for the government our people we will come to work, to work and work well for you without fear or favour. We will 326 twasevya serikali mbait tkooka tthkme, tthkme na timthkma nesa, vate wi?a na vate seleke. Natithkma, ttate na vinya wit w?onthe tsevangie maisha menyu monthe, natisevangia syndu ila ttmaa kwa maisha mait masivital, masukulu, makanisa, na nd mabarabara mait tisevangya. Thank you, n mvea mno. Na ekai nmtnge asanti na nnd nmwatia nmtkna kula nna myo mwing mno? Nakwa kneena avakwa ndimvtkya kla ngwasya vaa n voo wa sukulu, nd kla ndonya mwa nkana nth twkalite na vinya mwing ttetelemwa nandu nundu serikali ykwo. Ve mnd ethi aitelemia and a nethi aitemanga and aa ala mekuna kula kyama kla ktekyo, na mnd su eovaa noetya kula, kwa and ma mthemba su nomo mekimanagana. Ioo notkimangingwe vaa nzian n and asu. Na nd nna vaa Ng neew?a metelemia and mai kathi ukuna kula. Mbait nutelemwa muikathi ukuna kula? Crowd: Aiee. S: e? Mbait twvatane na and mamthemba su and meenda, twka ithokoo. Kanzala nwa ndilikania mvango la wnawetwa ni Chairman ---- nasya kla ndonya mwa kana wakeli, wakeli kanzala nkete mavala mongo l ma simiti ma kwaka sivital (wild cheering from crowd). Nmvea mno thwai na vinda seo na nd nd tlea kwonana, mwthwe na vinda seo mamke nesa matuk mongo l na thanthat, mkne kula na mikna kula kwa KANU nkenda anake maambe wa. We wona ve wa wsinda ---? Crowd: Aiee S: Na wona la ngtwaa Uhuru Kenyatta e msumb wakwa I, wona koeemwa? Crowd: Aiee. try with all our energy. To make our life better and to make things that we use in your life better, like hospitals, schools and churches. And then we make our roads better. Thank you very much. And let me thank you very much because you have promised us that you will vote for us. On my part, regarding schools, I can say that we have lived on earth with many problems without being scared by people because there is a government. There is someone going around scaring and telling people that he will cut up people who do not vote for the right party. And that person is here asking for votes. Those same people are the ones stoning people. Yesterday we were stoned by those people on the way. Then when I was in Nguu, I hear that they scare people, so that they do not go to vote. Our people can you be scared such that you do not go to vote? No. Our people let us keep away from people of that nature, people who like to cause chaos. The Councillor has reminded me of the plan which has just been mentioned by the Chairman. I believe all what I can say is that on Tuesday the Councillor will bring 20 bags of cement to build the hospital and the primary school (crowd cheers wildly). Thank you very much and just in case we do not see one another, have a good time and wake up well and vote wisely. Get up well on the 27th vote for KANU so that the guys can start work. Do you see anything that will defeat --- -? No And do you think anything will defeat Uhuru Kenyatta if I take anything to him as my president? No 327 S: Nayu temangwa ata mbait? Crowd: (clapping) S: Na mbait ndmtavya nesa mwakna kula nesa kw wakatat tkongama vaa na Uhuru tmkethye. Crowd: clapping S: Tkongama vaa tmkethye Speaker 1: Mnd la tnew?a Mheshiwa nwatnenga mavala mongo l ma simiti ma sivital na mvuko ng mongo l simiti wa primary la tnaknaa harambee. Na nd ndkavla, ma ---- knd kla ngwenda mwka matn nk, nnd kwo and methi maikna ndomo, soanai kel. Kyama k kyavikya mnth miaka mongo na tknengei ndaa, na muo wa enenth nvtkte mand onthe ndunian, muo wa nth. Kw nth syathnie ta Somali ethwa me miaka kmi na syana itaenda sukulu, nmwendeew?an knd kya ko su? Ntwanengeeleilwe kyama kya KANU na twaathimkaa nkyo tkute tafadhali tuikalulutkwe n and meenda tongoi. I. No ngatho sya kyama kew?aa ?Mwenge! Mwenge!? na indi mathonga and rajaa sya Kenya, twathongwa mwakin ta aa tasoeie kwkala muunyn. Na ekai nmtavye vai serikali koka kana msumb koka, oke ketee mbesa msy mikamwona ateo maendeeo asu ma malel ma kya ma masukulu, ndkona. Etha vvasya makaa kaendeea na vvya makaa, lakini namwa vau wkalite miaka yana ou nthn wa kyama tknengei ndaa, tknengei ndaa. How can we be defeated my people? (Clapping) And our people let me tell you that if you vote well we will stand here on Wednesday with Uhuru to greet you. Clapping We will stand here and greet you S: the person who may not have heard, the honourable member has given us 20 bags of cement for the primary school which we were having a harambee for. And as I finalise people of ---- the thing I want to put in your ears is this; because there are people who go politicking, think twice. This party that attains 40 years today let us respect it. And the peace of the country?s citizens surpasses all things in the world. There are countries that have had conflict like Somalia like if they now have ten years before children can go to school, would you like such a thing (to happen)? We have been given KANU and it has been blessed for us, we are carrying it now please let us not be derailed by people who want leadership. Yes, it just empty talk about a new party, you will hear ?Rainbow! Rainbow! And then they might throw Kenyan people into fire like us who are used to being in the shade. And let me tell you there is no government or president who will bring you money at your home. You will never see him but those aspects of development, like roads, schools, you will never see. If you burn charcoal. But I have told you that the way we have stayed in this party let us respect it.