Change and Continuity in Land Tenure System and Gender Relations in Nyeri County, Kenya (1895-2013)
Loading...
Date
2024-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
In many human societies, rights to ownership of land, control and use determine the
bargaining power of women in the society and the household, as well as determining
their economic condition. Control of land and its efficient use are determined by the
availability of land resources and existing social and institutional structures. This
study examines changes in land tenure systems and gender relations in Mukurweini,
Nyeri County, between 1895 and 2013. Land alienation among the Kikuyu, the
subsequent consolidation of land and the individual registration greatly impacted the
land tenure systems among men and women. The women were greatly affected due
to the existing patriarchal system that undermined/dictated the right of women to land
ownership. Being a historical study, this thesis highlights how the patriarchal land
control of land in pre-colonial Kikuyu land determined the immensity of land access
and use by the women and investigates land policies initiated by the colonial
government in respect to ownership, access and control of land by Kikuyu women. It
interrogates land policies in Kenya between 1963 and 2013 and their impact on
Mukurweini women’s access to and ownership of land. The study further examines
the ramifications struggle for and institutionalization of the new constitutional order
in Kenya between 1992 and 2013. The study is based on the assumption that the pre colonial patriarchal land tenure system heavily determined the limited land access,
use and control by the women of Mukurweini and that, the colonial land policies
introduced in Kenya only served to perpetuate the existing patriarchal control of land
among the Kikuyu. These policies were continued under the Kenyatta regime which
remained basically patriarchal in regard to access, control and ownership of land by
women. The third premise argues that the Moi regime initiated significant changes in
respect to women and land matters, which in turn became a springboard for the
thorough reforms realized in the new constitutional order in Kenya. Gender analysis
was used as a tool of analysis to explain the land tenure system and gender relations
in Mukurweini. The study adopted the historical design as well as the descriptive
research design. The instruments of data collection included questionnaires,
interviews, and materials from secondary sources and government records which
include archival documents from the Kenya National Archives. It is argued that the
establishment of colonial rule engendered new socio- economic trends that
culminated in the partial abandonment of the Kikuyu pre-colonial land tenure system.
This thesis concludes that the socio- economic relations between females and males
in terms of access to and control over land as a resource has changed over time and
decision making has also been influenced by the metamorphosis within the period of
study
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of A Master of Arts Degree in History of Kenyatta University. November 2024
Supervisors:
1.Edwin A. Gimode
2.Susan W. Mwangi