Negotiated Spaces and Contested Terrain: Abagusi Women’s Quest for Political Participation Amidst the Survival of Patriarchy in Parliamentary Elections in Kenya Since 2010

This paper explores Kisii women’s participation in general elections since 2013. Contrary to scholarship that overemphasizes how patriarchal mechanisms keep women out of the political sphere, the chapter explores the experiences of women in their local context to show the reality of how the interplay between patriarchal structures and processes within the realm of Abagusi traditions and state projects, and the persistence of matrilineal practices and ideologies has contributed to the way women navigate the political space in Kisii county. We focus on how women negotiated the patriarchal electoral terrain in their positions as political ‘managers’ – as mobilizers and convincing agents. We argue that women’s political participation has been shaped by historical, social and cultural processes, and continues to be informed by gendered maternal ideologies that formed a crucial ground for negotiation and renegotiation of women’s political performances in the general elections. We conclude that while the prevailing patriarchal climate in Kisii county inspired largely by tradition and kin relations, limits women’s ascension into elective positions, it complexly provides them an opportunity to perform public politics.