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IDIOT L BOTO

ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE STRUGGLE FOR KENY N INDEPENDENCE

During the 1950s an anticolonial struggle took place in Kenya between Africans who

had been colonized by the British. The causes of the revolt dated back to the very earlydays of colonial occupation. From 1895, when Kenya was declared to be a crown colony

of Great Britain, Africans were dispossessed of their land, forced to pay taxes to the new

colonial state, and compelled to become low-paid laborers for European settlers and

various government enterprises. In addition to economic and political changes, the

colonial government, often encouraged by European missionaries, introduced social

changes that supplanted customary laws affecting marriage, education, inheritance,

land ownership, and religious practices. By the end of World War II a vigorous nationalist

movement had emerged in Kenya.

This movement was connected to the continent-wide anticolonial movement because

Africans in the colonized areas were eager to eliminate European hegemonic control of their politics, economies, and cultures. Kenya was also one of the African colonies that,

like Algeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, and Guinea-Bissau, had been

established as a white settler colony. The presence of white settlers added a special

dynamic to colonialism in Kenya. Because the government was controlled by its

European settler population, with the exception of South Africa, there was more

race-based discrimination in Kenya than in other British colonies. In fact, the conditions

in Kenya were very similar to the apartheid conditions in South Africa, where black

Africans were forced to carry passes in order to be outside of their assigned areas, were

socially segregated, barred from jobs that were reserved for Europeans and Asian

immigrants, and unlike Europeans in Kenya, were unable to participate in politics

through voting.

The nationalist movement, led by Harry Thuku, Peter Koinange, and Jomo Kenyatta,

began shortly after World War I. Leading both rural and urban dissidents, these

nationalists established political associations—the East African Association (1920s), the

Kikuyu Central Association (1925-1940), the Kenya African Union (KAU; 1944-1951), and

the Land and Freedom Army (1950s)—which eventually became broad-based grassroots

coalitions. The Land and Freedom Army was commonly known as the Mau Mau

movement. During the first thirty years of the nationalist movement, the politicalassociations utilized several strategies to affect social and political change. These

included petitioning the government for lower taxes, improved education, and an end to

race-based discrimination in voting, land ownership, and employment. The groups also

used mass protests and labor strikes. Two decades of associational politics yielded

little change. During World War II, even these moderate African political associations

were banned by the British government, which argued that their existence would aid the

German war effort. After World War II Africans turned to more militant tactics and the

the Land and Freedom Army rebellion began. The goals of the Mau Mau movement were

to regain land and achieve freedom from Great Britain. The tactics of the Mau Mau

fighters included armed insurgency, which had not been seen in Kenya since the first

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resistance to colonial occupation had ended.

In the late 1940s African militants began to take oaths that required initiates to swear to

be loyal to their fellow black Africans, to maintain the secrets of the organization, and to

fight Europeans. Because of widespread inductions, mass meetings, and attacks onAfrican loyalists and Europeans, the government declared a state of emergency in

October 1952. Thousands of African men and women fled to the forests and established

Mau Mau guerilla bases. Over 10,000 Africans lost their lives during the rebellion. Many

more were imprisoned during the war that lasted from 1952 until 1956. Although military

operations ended in 1956, men and women

W NG RI M TH I

Born April 1, 1940

Wangari Muta is born in Nyeri, the capital city of Kenya’s Central Province. She is thethird of six children and the first daughter to be born in the family. Maathai’s parents

were peasant farmers and members of the Kikuyu ethnic group. At a very early age she

became interested in politics and activism. At a later age she formed the famous green

belt movement that fought alongside other nationalist parties for independence in Kenya.

The green belt movement taught women their rights and created a sense of nationalism

and awareness in the women. Till date the green belt movement still stands.