Gendered constructions of citizenship: young Kenyans’ negotiations of rights discourses
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Date
2012-02
Authors
Arnot, Madeleine
Chege, Fatuma N.
Wawire, V. K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Abstract
This paper contributes to the study of citizenship by interrogating how young
people in Nairobi (Chege and Arnot 2012) perceive their rights of citizenship. It
builds on previous analyses of the connections between gender, education and
poverty’s poor urban settlements by focusing on the political dimensions of the
young people’s lives. The findings are based on in-depth interviews with 24
young men and women (mainly siblings aged 16–25) from 18 urban households
which explored how they define their national identity and citizenship rights and
their expectations of the Kenyan government. All youth felt a connection with
the Kenyan nation and actively engaged with rights discourses, but secondary
schooled youth demonstrated a noticeably more reflexive and challenging
approach to the norms and responsibilities of citizenship. Young men focused on
the public sphere, emphasising voting rights, political corruption and their role in
leading community change, whilst secondary educated young women recognised
the importance of ‘freedoms’ associated with national membership, their rights to
choose within cultural traditions and the need to support their families. Gender is
shown to play an important role in framing their understanding of themselves as
citizens.
Description
Publisher version (Taylor & Francis) available athttp://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2011.637765
Keywords
Citation
Comparative Education Vol. 48, No. 1, February 2012, 87–102