Engendering Cooperatives to Address Structural Violence among the Maasai of Kajiado Central Sub-County, Kenya.
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Date
2019
Authors
Wambua, Faith Mbulwa
Hamasi, Linnet
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AJCDT
Abstract
Structural violence in the form of gender inequalities is reproduced by well-meaning
cooperatives that fail to consider resource access and ownership dynamics in
communities. In many patriarchal communities resources are gendered, creating
boundaries for these genders that give them power. Among the Maasai, milk and its
products belong to women as the cattle belong to the men. Rapid urbanization and
climate change, seems to have led to loss of men’s ability to fulfil their provider societal
expectation, as their herds had become smaller and could not be sold with ease as they
provided a constant income from milk sales in cooperatives. This study sought to
answer the question of how engendered cooperatives address structural violence in
Kajiado Central Sub-county. The study utilized descriptive survey research design
which allowed for the use of mixed methods approach. The milk cooperatives were
purposively sampled while the respondents were randomly and purposively sampled to
describe and compare the benefits derived from cooperative membership and nonmembership. It was established that women’s space in the livestock production industry
had improved tremendously with the introduction of the cooperatives. Women were
earning a steady income from sale of milk. However, the change in the power relations
between Maasai men and women resulted in vulnerable Maasai men who indirectly
engaged in the milk business considered a female domain to mitigate their societal
expectations. Those who felt that they could not be engaged in that space, became
physically violent, neglected their duties or divorced and separated from their spouses.
In conclusion, cooperatives are critical empowerment tools that need to
comprehensively empower all. Engendering cooperatives should move beyond
tokenism to critically reviewing gender identities, power relations and roles. This
would, expose diverse agencies and vulnerabilities hence a comprehensive
empowerment.
Description
Article
Keywords
Engendering, cooperatives, milk cooperatives, structural violence
Citation
WAMBUA, F., & Hamasi, L. (2019). Engendering cooperatives to address structural violence among the Maasai of Kajiado Central Sub-county, Kenya. African Journal of Co-Operative Development and Technology, 4(I), 48-55. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.58547/1.v4iI.12