Kenya

Gender in Electricity Policymaking in India, Nepal and Kenya

Citation:

Govindan, Mini, Debajit Palit, Rashmi Murali, and Deepa Sankar. 2019. “Gender in Electricity Policymaking in India, Nepal and Kenya.” In Energy Justice Across Borders, edited by Gunter Bombaerts, Kirsten Jenkins, Yekeen A. Sanusi, and Wang Guoyu, 111-35. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Authors: Mini Govindan, Debajit Palit, Rashmi Murali, Deepa Sankar

Abstract:

Electricity is regarded as a basic amenity fundamental to improving human well-being and overall economic development. It also contributes to improving gender parity and social inclusion, especially in situations where women are challenged by harsh living conditions. This chapter examines how gender issues that were considered are addressed in the policies related to electricity in India, Kenya, and Nepal. The analysis reveals that whilst more than half of the reviewed documents were devoid of any explicit mention of gender concerns, an increasing number of electricity policies are now reflecting gender considerations. The predominantly “gender-blind” approach towards the potential benefits of electricity access emanates from a reluctance to explicitly acknowledge gender based differences in needs in creating equitable outcomes. The assumption that electricity access itself is enough for associated benefits to trickle down, that too equitably for men and women, stems from limited awareness. This is aggravated further by the absence of documented evidence on the merit of including gender elements in electrification policies and programmes. Based on the review of existing electricity policies, this chapter provides specific recommendations for incorporating gender in the electricity policies with a view to support and address the broader energy justice concerns. 

Keywords: electricity, gender, women, policies, energy justice, India, Nepal, Kenya

Topics: Development, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Households, Infrastructure, Energy, Justice Regions: Africa, East Africa, Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Kenya, Nepal

Year: 2019

Gendered Land Rights, Legal Reform and Social Norms in the Context of Land Fragmentation - a Review of the Literature for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda

Citation:

Andersson Djurfeldt, Agnes. 2020. “Gendered Land Rights, Legal Reform and Social Norms in the Context of Land Fragmentation - A Review of the Literature for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.” Land Use Policy 90: 1–10.

Author: Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt

Keywords: land tenure, land rights, Sub-Saharan Africa, gender, social norms, legal pluralism, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

Annotation:

Summary:
“Recently, concerns have been voiced regarding the rapid increases in rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa and their consequences for rural livelihoods and food security (Headey and Jayne, 2014; Jayne et al., 2014) as pressure on land increases in already land-constrained countries. Generally speaking, the literature shows a number of parallel tendencies as demand for land increases: the marginalization of weaker groups’ claims to land and a growing push towards individualized tenure arrangements. While intersectional aspects related to marriage, age, ethnicity and migrant status must be born in mind, from a gender perspective, women in sub-Saharan Africa have historically been discriminated against in property rights systems that either view women as property or severely curtail their property rights by assigning them rights to land through adult males, such as husbands, fathers or sons (Joireman, 2008). Such discrimination would be expected to be accentuated by growing demand for land, as the property rights of adult males take precedence over those of women.
 
While contemporary processes of population growth and commodification of land more generally are expressed in dwindling farm sizes in a number of African countries such tendencies should also be situated in relation to increasing policy experimentation with privatized land rights more generally, either on individual or communal basis. Here, the literature suggests that formalization of land rights may enshrine gender-based discrimination through formalizing the customary land rights of male right holders. Simultaneously, however, legal reforms in several countries, at least ostensibly, have attempted to improve land rights for women.
 
The aim of this article is to review the literature on women’s rights to land in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda against this broader backdrop of fragmentation, commodification, individualization of land rights and legal reform. The review explores a set of research questions, which take their point of departure from the hypothesized links between gender-based discrimination and the parallel processes of land fragmentation and privatization, but also explores the country level empirics of such discrimination in the context of recent legal reforms. The following questions underpin the analysis
 
- Does gender-based discrimination exist in the land tenure systems and land use practices found in these countries?
 
- If so, what role do formal and informal legal mechanisms and social norms, respectively, play in upholding this discrimination?
 
- How do growing demand for land and privatization of tenure affect rural livelihoods from a gender perspective?
 
A sizeable literature exists with respect to the first two questions, and most attention will therefore be paid to these. While the literature on livelihood changes is limited, contrasting theoretical perspectives highlight the link between privatized tenure and livelihood outcomes (whether positive or negative). As such the inclusion of this question is warranted despite the relative lack of literature on the topic.
 
The article begins by describing the methodology including the selection of countries and sources used. This is followed by a description of gendered patterns of land control and ownership. A theoretical section follows, outlining theories related to land rights and privatization and individualization of tenure and the presumed linkages between redressing gender discrimination in land rights and positive outcomes such as raising productivity and improving child welfare. A descriptive section introduces the tenure systems, land legislation and the current situation of women’s access to land in each country, tracing the inequities and discrimination that are present in the contemporary tenure, market, and inheritance systems for land. Following this descriptive section, I synthesize the findings for the countries overall, identifying the formal and informal mechanisms through which discriminating practices are perpetuated and if and how they have been affected by recent legal reform efforts and changes in land policy. Finally, I discuss the gender consequences of these developments for rural livelihoods” (Andersson Djurfeldt 1-2).

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

Year: 2020

Empowering Women Through Land Rights: Connecting Economic Empowerment, Control Over Assets, and Sexual Negotiation Within Kisumu County, Kenya

Citation:

Shaffer, Madison. 2019. “Empowering Women Through Land Rights: Connecting Economic Empowerment, Control Over Assets, and Sexual Negotiation Within Kisumu County, Kenya.” Paper presented at APHA's 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo, Burlington, VT, November 2-6.

Author: Madison Shaffer

Abstract:

This project aims to gain a greater understanding of the current state of women’s land rights in Kisumu County, Kenya. It will discuss how current interventions are impacting women’s empowerment and their ability to negotiate safe sex. Property rights can provide women with a secure place to live, a place of economic activity and reduces dependence on men. Property ownership can also serve to empower women and “give them greater bargaining power at the household, individual, and community level...increasing agency” (Dworkin,2009). Unfortunately, men have almost always been favored in land rights in traditional land allocation and in customary law. In 2010, Kenya’s new constitution, article 60, eliminates gender discrimination in law, customs, and practices related to land. Since this, little research has evaluated the relationship between land rights and female empowerment in a Kenyan context. Through the Kenya Demographic Health survey data I was able to formulate semi-constructed interviews, and a questionnaire to analyze the impact land rights has on women’s empowerment. Empowerment was measured on a 0-1 scale based off a set of indicators drawn from the World Bank (Malhotra et al., 2002). Regardless of the clear legal standards now in place, gender-biased public attitude and limited utilization of legal services still lead to women systematically being denied their rights to land. This project utilizes Fundamental Cause Theory to describe how interventions that involve the community through legal training and education on human rights can help support women’s land claims and lead to empowering women in their own sexual, and nonsexual, health going forward.

Topics: Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Health, Reproductive Health, Rights, Reproductive Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2019

Recovering Bioenergy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Gender Dimensions, Lessons and Challenges

Citation:

Njenga, Mary, and Ruth Mendum, eds. 2018. Recovering Bioenergy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Gender Dimensions, Lessons and Challenges. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute.

Authors: Mary Njenga, Ruth Mendum

Abstract:

There is a strong link between gender and energy in view of food preparation and the acquisition of fuel, especially in rural areas. This is demonstrated in a range of case studies from East and West Africa, where biochar, human waste and other waste resources have been used to produce briquettes or biogas as additional high-quality fuel sources. The synthesis of the cases concludes that resource recovery and reuse for energy offers an alternative to conventional centralized grid projects which, while attractive to investors and large-scale enterprises, do not necessarily provide job opportunities for marginalized communities. Reusing locally available waste materials for energy production and as soil ameliorant (in the case of biochar) in small enterprises allows women and youth who lack business capital to begin modest, locally viable businesses. The case studies offer concrete examples of small-scale solutions to energy poverty that can make a significant difference to the lives of women and their communities.

Annotation:

Table of Contents:
1. Gender and Energy and the Rationale for Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) for Energy

Ruth Mendum and Mary Njenga

2. Human Waste-to-fuel Briquettes as a Sanitation and Energy Solution for Refugee Camps and Informal Urban Settlements
Tyler Karahalios, Catherine Berner and Mary Njenga

3. The Impact of Gendered Roles in the Briquette Production and Supply Chain: Lessons Learned from Green Heat Ltd, Uganda
Gabriel Okello, Vianney Tumwesige, Ronald Angura, Daphne Nasige, Dorothy Kyomugisha and Mary Njenga

4. Adoption and Economic Impact of Briquettes as Cooking Fuel: The Case of Women Fish Smokers in Ghana
Solomie Gebrezgabher, Sena Amewu and Mary Njenga

5. Biogas as a Smart Investment for Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood Enhancement
Judith Libaisi and Mary Njenga

6. An Assessment of the Business Environment for Waste-to-energy Enterprises and How it Affects Women Entrepreneurs in Kenya
Solomie Gebrezgabher, Avinandan Taron, Jack Odero and Mary Njenga

7. Gender and Improvement of Cooking Systems with Biochar-producing Gasifier Stoves
James K. Gitau, Ruth Mendum and Mary Njenga

8. Women in Energy: Perspectives on Engaging Women Across the Energy Value Chain: The Case of wPOWER
Ruchi Soni, Wanjira Mathai, Linda Davis and Mary Njenga

9. Gender as Key in Community Participation
Megan Romania, Mary Njenga and Ruth Mendum

10. Challenges and Solutions for Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Integration in Research and Development
Ruth Mendum, Ana Maria Paez and Mary Njenga

11. Take-home Messages on Gender and Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) for Energy
Ruth Mendum and Mary Njenga

Topics: Age, Youth, Displacement & Migration, Refugee/IDP Camps, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Households, Infrastructure, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana, Kenya, Uganda

Year: 2018

Gender Audits: An Approach to Engendering Energy Policy in Nepal, Kenya and Senegal

Citation:

Clancy, Joy S., and Nthabiseng Mohlakoana. 2020. “Gender Audits: An Approach to Engendering Energy Policy in Nepal, Kenya and Senegal.” Energy Research & Social Science 62 (April): 101378.

Authors: Joy S. Clancy, Nthabiseng Mohlakoana

Abstract:

Gender audits are an approach for putting gender on the policy agenda and are an alternative to gender budgets being less dependant on experts in government finance.

This paper explores the effectiveness of gender audits as an approach to mainstreaming in the energy sector which has lagged other sectors in mainstreaming gender. The assessment takes the experiences of an international network on gender and sustainable energy that aims to get gender onto the energy policy agenda. Since there is no standard audit methodology, the network developed its own.

The paper uses an analysis of qualitative data, reviews of audit reports and key informant interviews to answer two questions. As a result of gender audits, have gender issues or attending to women's particular interests been incorporated in energy policy? Did participation in an audit build the capacity of national actors to contribute to gender mainstreaming in the energy sector? Detailed data comes from network countries conducting audits: Kenya, Senegal and Nepal, with supporting evidence from 8 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

The gender audit methodology used is partially effective in integrating gender issues into government energy policy. Pragmatic, conceptual and political barriers to gender mainstreaming continue to operate. Adopting gender-aware policies occurs rapidly in organisations that participated in the audits. Male employees more readily accept gender policies when they see that policies also benefits men. In the audit countries, a group of national gender and energy experts has been established able to contribute to mainstreaming gender in the energy sector.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, gender audits, energy policy, engendering policy, knowledge networks, gender capacity, mainstreaming effectiveness

Topics: Gender, Gender Analysis, Gender Budgeting, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Asia, South Asia Countries: Kenya, Nepal, Senegal

Year: 2020

Three Sides to Every Story: Gender Perspectives in Energy Transition Pathways in Canada, Kenya and Spain

Citation:

Lieu, Jenny, Alevgul H. Sorman, Oliver W. Johnson, Luis D. Virla, and Bernadette P. Resurrección. 2020. “Three Sides to Every Story: Gender Perspectives in Energy Transition Pathways in Canada, Kenya and Spain.” Energy Research & Social Science 68. doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101550

Authors: Jenny Lieu, Alevgul H. Sorman, Oliver W. Johnson, Luis D. Virla, Bernadette P. Resurrección

Abstract:

Transitions toward a low-carbon future are not only technical and economical, but also deeply social and gendered. The gendered nature of energy transitions is often implicit and unexplored. As a corrective, this paper explores energy pathways by applying concepts from innovations and gender studies. We examine gender perspectives and niche energy innovations which could disrupt the regime. The regime represents the mainstream pathway that includes the dominant gender perspective and energy system. We explore different gender perspectives of energy transition pathways by applying an Alternative Pathways framework that includes: (1)  on-stream pathways that exist within the mainstream pathway to promote equal opportunities for women and men, as well as niches for energy innovations without challenging the high-carbon energy regime; (2) off-stream pathways that depart from the mainstream and promote differences across different genders while creating niches outside the energy regime; and (3) transformative pathways that are fundamentally different from the previous mainstream and includes all gender perspectives in a new energy regime. Applying this framing, in Canada, we explored Indigenous perspectives in the oil sands sector; in Kenya, we studied largescale renewable energy impacting Indigneous communities; in Spain, we evaluate the movement away from fossil fuels and towards renewable technologies. The framework helped to identify that mainstream pathways represented the dominant male perspective while woman's perspective were largely left out. Such absence generate energy pathways that are disconnected from local realities, lack public buy-in and slow-down a sustainable energy transition.

Keywords: energy transition pathways, renewable energy, gender, women, intersectionality, Indigenous people

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Africa, East Africa, Americas, North America, Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Canada, Kenya, Spain

Year: 2020

Gender, Social Capital and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Variability: A Case of Pastoralists in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions in Kenya

Citation:

Omolo, Nancy, and Paramu L. Mafongoya. 2019. "Gender, Social Capital and Adaptive Capacity to Climate Variability: A Case of Pastoralists in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions in Kenya." International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management 11 (5): 744-58.

Authors: Nancy Omolo, Paramu L. Mafongoya

Abstract:

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between gender and social capital in adapting to climate variability in the arid and semi-arid regions in Turkana in Kenya. 
 
Design/methodology/approach: This paper undertook literature review of secondary data sources, conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). The statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data for the quantitative part of the paper. 
 
Findings: Vulnerability is influenced by age, gender, education and disability. Elderly women are considered to be the most vulnerable to climate variability and change because they are the poorest in the community, followed by elderly men, the disabled, female-headed households, married women, men and, finally, the youth. Less than 30 per cent of women and men in both Katilu and Loima are able to read and write. The cross-tabulation results show that there is a statistical significant relationship between gender, age and education level and climate change vulnerability. This implies that gender, age and education level have a significant effect on climate change vulnerability. 
 
Research limitations/implications: The research coverage was limited to only two regions in Turkana because of time and economic constraints. 
 
Practical implications: The lack of attention to gender in the climate change literature has time and again resulted in an oversimplification of women’s and men's experience of climate risks. Improved development assistance, investments and enhanced targeting of the truly vulnerable within pastoral societies demand an acceptance of underdevelopment in arid and semi-arid regions in Kenya because of historical imbalances in investment; the recognition that vulnerability of pastoralists is neither uniform nor universal and the need to consider differences like age, gender and education. Policy-makers should understand that pastoralists in the past have used indigenous knowledge to cope with and adapt to climate change. The current-recurrent and intensity droughts require investment in modern technology, equipping pastoralists with relevant information and skills to make them resilient to climate change and implementing existing and relevant policies for northern Kenya. 
 
Social implications: This paper draws from several other efforts to show the critical relationships between gender, social capital and climate change. They are tracking adaptation and measuring development framework; ending drought emergencies common programme framework; and feminist evaluation approach. 
 
Originality/value: This paper is important in identifying the link between gender, social capital and adaptation to climate change.

 

Keywords: gender, adaptation, climate variability, pastoralists, Turkana

Topics: Age, Agriculture, Development, Poverty, Education, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2019

Scaling Up Gender Mainstreaming in Transport: Policies, Practices and Monitoring Processes

Citation:

Njenga, Peter, and Nite Tanzarn. 2020. “Scaling Up Gender Mainstreaming in Transport: Policies, Practices and Monitoring Processes.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Transport 173 (2): 64–75.

Authors: Peter Njenga, Nite Tanzarn

Abstract:

Four rural transport programmes, one each in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, were reviewed in respect of gender mainstreaming. National gender frameworks and transport policies were analysed for each country. The four countries have constitutional, policy and legislative frameworks that underpin the principles of gender equality. Gender mainstreaming measures have further been cascaded downwards into sector policies, including transport. The programmes reviewed showed good practices in integration of gender across the project cycle. However, it is notable that the programmes reviewed were donor-funded and thus were significantly influenced by the gender policies of the funding mechanisms. While it was not ascertained if government-funded rural transport programmes had similarly embedded gender integration issues, there is undoubtedly a good foundation that has been laid through the programmes reviewed in this study. This practice needs to be replicated and institutionalised so that it becomes a common norm across all transport programmes. An important part of this is for national governments to ensure sector-wide enforcement of the constitutional and legislative gender precepts. The case study programmes reviewed have put in place some good gender performance assessment tools, which provide examples of the tools that could be made mandatory as part of gender accountability in the transport sector.

Keywords: developing countries, knowledge management, public policy

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda

Year: 2020

Gender Mainstreaming for the Adaptation to Weather and Climate Extremes in African Cities

Citation:

Oluoko-Odingo, A. Alice. 2019. "Gender Mainstreaming for the Adaptation to Weather and Climate Extremes in African Cities." Journal of Climate Change and Sustainability 2 (1): 15-27.

Author: A. Alice Oluoko-Odingo

Abstract:

Although women constitute one-half of the human population and provide most labour in farming, they remain poor and most vulnerable to weather and climate extremes due to inequalities in ownership and decision-making on most important livelihood resources like land, assets and cash. Peri-urban farming offers an important adaptation strategy to weather and climate extremes and through gender mainstreaming, can become a vital tool for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development. The paper points out that although well-planned cities offer better services to urban communities and their hinterlands, the African cities, particularly, those in Sub-Saharan Africa have been accompanied by myriads of developmental and environmental challenges, which continue to perpetuate inequalities, discrimination and under-development. For instance, the lowincome communities live in risky areas without access to important services which increase their vulnerability to weather and climate induced hazards and disasters. The Paper discusses the links between gender mainstreaming, peri-urban farming, weather and climate extremes and sustainable development in Africa, where literature review is supported by fieldwork results for better policy formulations. This was an invited paper to the conference and is supported by a research gap on the need for gender mainstreaming in peri-urban farming to enhance equity and equality for sustainable development. The study was carried out in peri-urban areas of Nairobi (Machakos and Kajiado Counties) in Kenya. The results provide hope as these peri-urban areas seem to have some form of spontaneous gender mainstreaming that when positively supported would yield good results. The Article underscores the fact that a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be achieved by simply targeting the attainment of SDG 5 on gender equality and women empowerment, including SDG 13 on adaptation to climate change. 

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, weather and climate extremes, peri-urban farming, Sub Saharan Africa, cities

Topics: Agriculture, Development, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Urban Planning, Livelihoods, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2019

From Abandonment to Autonomy: Gendered Strategies for Coping with Climate Change, Isiolo County, Kenya

Citation:

Rao, Nitya. 2019. "From Abandonment to Autonomy: Gendered Strategies for Coping with Climate Change, Isiolo County, Kenya." Geoforum 102: 27-37.

Author: Nitya Rao

Abstract:

Access to resources, both material and social, are central elements in responding to social and environmental transition, and adapting to change, yet the ways in which such access is negotiated within and across varying household structures is not well understood. In semi-arid Kenya, persistent drought has made male incomes from pastoralism insecure, and contributed to women’s growing engagement with trade, farming and other independent enterprises, for survival. This has, however, raised questions about women’s dependence on men for household provisioning, and enhanced expectations of reciprocity in both production and reproduction within households. While demographers note the rise in female headship in sub-Saharan Africa, and female headed households are often the target of policy attention, the situation on the ground is much more complex. Polygamy, separation and consensual unions, multi-generational and multi-locational households, point to a growing diversity in gender and generational relationships, in rights, responsibilities and norms. Based on data from household surveys, focus group discussions and life history interviews with differently positioned women and men within pastoralist communities in northern Kenya, the paper explores the implications of changing household structures beyond headship, in particular the loosening of marriage ties, frequent separation and regrouping, on relational vulnerability and the micro-politics of adaptation in the region.

Keywords: marital strategies, Gender, drought, pastoralism, Borana, Kenya

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2019

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