Gender relations among Kenya’s Luo in Central Nyanza, 1945-1963

This paper contends that the numerous laws enacted in Kenya from colonial to post-independence periods have been the primary cause of women’s marginalisation in the private and public spheres. The Luo of Central Nyanza, for example, faces challenges in ensuring the active and equal participation of women in social, economic, and political matters, which is the cornerstone of this paper. As a result, this research aims to look at the impact of cultural image on gender relations among the Luo of Central Nyanza from 1945 to 1963. Furthermore, the authors argue that colonialism aided in the breeding of gender inequality among Luo men and women in Central Nyanz a, as evidenced by disparities created by missionary-sponsored schools in which boys were given preferential treatment. On the economic front, British colonial policymakers permitted men to grow cash crops while women were left to grow subsistence crops for family consumption with little to sell for economic growth and empowerment. Many young men with colonial education, such as Oginga Odinga, Achieng Oneko, C.M.G. Argwengs Kodhek, and others, were at the forefront of local and national politics Central Nyanza, at the expense of young women, except for a few, such as Grace Onyango and Grace Ogot. They acquired formal education under challenging circumstances. To elaborate on the essence of gender disparity practices spearheaded during colonialism and their effect on men and women’s social, economic, and political endeavours among the Luo of Central Nyanza, the authors used primary data from the Kenya National Archives as well as field information from informants interviewed in the current administrative counties of Siaya and Kisumu.