MATRIARCHY...with Rebecca Lolosoli

 

I want to tell a story of a matriarchal village in Kenya called the Umoja Village, consisting of Samburu women from the Samburu tribe in Northern Kenya. Samburu women have been living under a harsh macho system for centuries. The Samburu girls have been forced into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and into marriages with people old enough to be their fathers or grandfathers. Their traditions have suppressed them and subjected them into being subordinates. In 1990, a woman named Rebecca Lolosoli founded the Umoja Village, where no men are allowed. How she formed a matriarchal society amidst a highly patriarchal system during that period represented the courage of a woman that bottled in so much suffering and brutality from a system that viewed her as secondary. It all began with her advocating for the rights of women being raped by British soldiers training near her home. Due to her voicing out her concerns, enraged local men beat her up until she was hospitalized. Shockingly, her husband did not protest her beating, prompting her to leave the marriage. Along with other women who were survivors of gender-based violence, she formed the Umoja Village. They faced a lot of opposition from the Samburu men and they even threatened to destroy the village. However, they remained steadfast. They depend on their independently owned enterprises for their sustenance. With their savings, they built schools, acknowledging the importance of education. We could all guess the responses of women towards the existence of Umoja Village- most were angry that their wives fled them, most were angry that it is a village being led by a women, as according to the Samburu culture, women are not able to lead themselves.  

(Rebecca Lolosoli’s picture)

The Umoja Village has also led to the formation of other villages, that allowed men into them, only if they rejected the Samburu tradition of subordinating women. Generally, roles change and women are the leaders, but basically they perform equal roles with men. The most important concept gathered from the story of Umoja and some of the villages formed hitherto is that women built a system that protected their rights and valued their independence. This particular system does not focus on the oppression of men, but rather is willing to work and live with men only if they denounce the dire Samburu traditions like FGM, polygamy and treating women like property. What started as a safe haven for women facing gender-based violence from their communities is now an establishment that is worldwide renowned and appreciated. Furthermore, the villages are tourist sites and depend mostly on tourism for economic development. Men who are allowed in such localities often find that they have ‘fewer’ problems with one wife as opposed to having several wives, and they appreciate and acknowledge the importance of women being in-charge. Well, some are forced to observe the ‘new rules’ as they live under the matriarchal system, while others honestly prefer the eradication of some oppressive cultural norms.

This factual story of Samburu women is a classic example of an effectual WID approach to development. This begs the question; does incorporating men (as in GAD) really solve the issue of toxic patriarchal systems? Or it just seems as a ‘…conservative backlash against feminism’ (McIlwaine & Datta, 2003)? And in this case, does modernization theory also play a key role in trying to make the lives of Samburu women better? And what really matters? The capitalist nature of development or development that holistically betters the lives of a woman- in terms if respect, dignity, and other societal values.   

 

 

References

McIlwaine, C., & Datta, K. (2003). From feminising to engendering development. Gender, Place and Culture, 10(4), 369-382.