Kang’ung’u, Francisca KitondoIchani, Xavier Francis2023-10-242023-10-242023Kang’ung’u, F. K., & Ichani, X. F. (2023). Gender Mainstreaming Policies and Women Participation in Peace Support Operations: A Case of Kenya’s Contingents in African Mission in Somalia, 2011-2020. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 7(3), 34-60.http://cedred.org/jais/images/april2023/PDF_Kangungu__Ichani_Gender_Mainstreaming_Policies_and_Women_Participation_in_Peace_Support_Operations.pdfhttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/27059ArticleGender mainstreaming as means of widening women participation in peace support operations is increasingly attracting scholarly attention. This study aimed at investigating the influence of gender mainstreaming policies on women participation in peace support missions using the case of Kenya’s contingents in the African Mission in Somalia from 2011 to 2020. Specific objectives were to analyze the UN rationale for women participation in peace keeping operation in the context of Kenya, to assess enacted gender mainstreaming policies for women participation and their influence on women participation in peace keeping operations and to evaluate how inclusion of women in peace keeping operations influenced the overall mission outcome of Kenya’s peacekeeping operations contingents in the African Mission in Somalia between 2011 and 2020. Guided by the liberal feminist theory and primary and secondary data gathered and analyzed using mixed approaches of qualitative and quantitative research, this study found that despite the UN Security Council resolution 1325 expanding peace support operations by incorporating inclusion of women in its operations, the proportion of women in peace support operation is still low. However, there is increased involvement of the women in peace support operations in the Kenyan contingents in Somalia. Secondly, Kenya has enacted gender mainstreaming policies including gender units and gender coordinators, training programs, gender sensitivity programs and workshops. Thirdly, deployment of women in the peace keeping contingents added value to the overall outcomes of African Mission in Somalia by reinforcing skill sets, increasing acceptance by the host country and reducing gender-based violence. Therefore, the study recommends increased integration of women in peace support, increased awareness on the role of gender mainstreaming policies in according women equal opportunities to participate in peace support operations.enKenyaSomaliaWomen ParticipationPeace Support OperationsGender MainstreamingKenya Defence ForcesArticle