Book

Voices from Mutira: change in the lives of rural Gikuyo women, 1910-1995

Lynne Rienner PublishersBoulder • Published In 1996 • Pages:

By: Davison, Jean.

Abstract
This book documents and analyzes the lives of rural women in a central Kenyan locality called Mutira. It provides detailed biographies of seven women selected for representing diverse households from three generations, spanning several decades (1910-1995). The focus is not lmited to what these women experienced in their everyday lives. It also discusses the various strategies each woman pursued to benefit from broader political and socioeconomic changes brought by colonialism, missionaries, and, following Kenya's independence in 1960, goverenment designed development programs. By doing so, the book provides a critical analysis of social and historical changes that have occurred in the Kenyan highlands from the point of the women themsleves.
Subjects
Life history materials
Community structure
Household
Division of labor by gender
Techniques of socialization
Puberty and initiation
Gender status
Gender roles and issues
Family relationships
Marriage
Real property
Revolution
Inheritance
Research and development
Missions
Education
Cooperative organization
culture
Gikuyu
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2008
Field Date
1983-1984, 1992, 1994
Coverage Date
1910-1995
Coverage Place
Mutira, Central Province, Kenya
Notes
Jean Davison with the women of Mutira
Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-270)
LCCN
95046622
LCSH
Kikuyu (African people)/Women, Kikuyu--Kenya--Kirinyaga District--Interviews/Women, Kikuyu--Kenya--Kirinyaga District--Social conditions/Rural women--Kenya--Kirinyaga District--Interviews/Rural women--Kenya--Kirinyaga District--Social conditions