HOW ADULT EDUCATION IS EMPOWERING WIDOWS IN RURAL KENYA IN THEIR EFFORT TO OVERCOME MARGINALIZATION

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A bolack woman wi

TGF October newsletter – Empowering Widows with education to overcome marginalization.

The Goat Foundation has taken note of how the Kenya Adult Learners’ Association (KALA) plays an important role in promoting micro-enterprises and advancement in the informal business sector as a way of alleviating widows’ unemployment and high rural poverty in Kenya. We are cognizant of the fact that helping widows in the pursuit of socio-economic emancipation is a multi-pronged approach that requires the input of many stakeholders. 

 

The World Bank states that strong job growth is only possible with the legitimization of the informal business sector, which can increase household productivity. Accordingly, the Economic Empowerment Programme implemented by KALA tackles the vulnerability of farmers to climatic conditions – a serious challenge to development in rural Kenya – by equipping widows with skills which allow them to engage in other income-generating activities besides farming.

By focusing on widows in rural areas as a target group, KALA’s literacy programme addresses some of the country’s major problems: educational shortcomings, poverty, unemployment and social marginalization.

 

The Economic Empowerment and Functional Adult Literacy Programme has been implemented by the Kenya Adult Learners’ Association (KALA) in various rural areas of Kenya. The programme aims to provide hands-on training to economically empower widows by equipping them with basic literacy and functional skills. Economic empowerment refers to entrepreneurship and management training, which enables the target group to pursue income-generating activities. Such activities lead to important supplementary income, thereby reducing the dependency of households on income from weather-dependent activities such as farming.

Aims and Objectives:

  • Improve the lives of widows through functional literacy by increasing the enrolment of learners in literacy classes;
  • Facilitate entrepreneurship and management training for widows and facilitators;
  • Improve networking and sharing of experiences among groups/members through peer learning exchange programmes;
  • Initiate a capital savings grant to widow groups;
  • Provide learning and teaching materials for the literacy classes; and
  • Monitor and supervise small businesses and literacy classes.

 

The first area is the empowerment of widows’ groups through the application of economic and literacy skills (functional adult literacy).

The second aspect is based on developing economic literacy skills where adult learners acquire reading, writing and arithmetic skills, while KALA integrates supplementary entrepreneurship and management training outside the traditional reading and writing context.

The third component of the KALA literacy programme is a supplementary kitchen-garden programme, which is meant to improve widows’ knowledge of agricultural production and food provision. In addition to contributing to widow’s empowerment, the kitchen-garden programme has domestic importance, as women are the main providers of food at the household level. Due to unpredictable weather patterns, subsistence farming cannot always guarantee a sufficient food supply, or indeed a surplus income. Issues of poverty and hunger in rural areas are therefore alleviated through the kitchen-garden project.

 

The fourth aspect focuses on health. In order to improve health conditions in rural areas, the KALA literacy programme includes primary health education, as well as information on HIV and AIDS control, prevention and care. Widows also learn about the care of orphans and vulnerable children, enabling them to provide children with basic health care services.

The empowerment of widows through literacy has meant that they have become more actively engaged in decision-making at the household level, and widows can pursue and advocate their own interests. One impact of the programme has been the alleviation of women’s marginalization within society, as improved literacy has given widows’ a greater level of social, economic and political status.

ADVANCING WIDOW’S RIGHTS TO LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES THROUGH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

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A group of people smiling standing next to a woman holding a goat by its leash

Widows have a right to own property

Over the last decade, Kenya has taken some steps to promote fairness and secure women’s rights within the institution of marriage. The promulgation of the progressive 2010 Constitution and the enactment of the Matrimonial Property Act of 2013 (‘MPA’) have been significant steps in the right direction. The act abolished the unconstitutional marital powers of the husband and placed husbands and wives on equal footing. Men and women who are married in civil marriages in community of property must now consult each other on all important financial transactions, as equal partners. 

Before the Act was passed, the common law concept of “marital power” gave the husband the right to control the joint estate. Even though half of everything belonged to the wife, the husband had the authority to administer the estate on behalf of the couple.

Section 5 gives equal power to spouses married in community of property: to dispose of the assets of the joint estate; to contract debts for which the joint estate is liable; to administer the joint estate.

Section 6 states that “a spouse married in community of property may perform any juristic act with regard to the joint estate without the consent of the other spouse”. 

Provides women married in a community of property equal access to bank loans and ownership of property without the consent of their partner.  

Makes the age of consent for entry into civil marriage 18 years for both sexes, and provides that men and women are equal before the law.

Provides that immovable property, such as a communal house, must be registered in both spouses’ names. The sale of such property has to be approved by both parties. Likewise, the act provides for equal guardianship over minor children of the marriage.

When a marriage in community of property ends, any liabilities are settled out of the joint estate. If the marriage ended in divorce, the remainder of the estate is normally divided equally between the spouses. 

If the marriage ended due to the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse keeps his or her own half-share and the deceased spouse’s half-share is distributed in terms of the law of succession or intestacy.

 

In marriages out of community of property, the assets and debts of the husband and wife remain separate. Ownership of property remains with the person who acquired it. If the marriage ends, each spouse retains his or her own separate belongings.

The Act also makes it clear that both husbands and wives in marriages out of community of property bear responsibility for making contributions to household necessities in proportion to their resources. Both spouses are jointly and severally liable to third parties for all debts incurred by either of them for necessities for the joint household. A spouse who has contributed more than his or her fair share for such necessities has a right of recourse against the other spouse.

Couples who have entered into antenuptial agreements sometimes use a variation of community of property known as the “accrual system”.

In this system, the property owned by the husband and the wife before the marriage remains their separate property, and property acquired during the marriage is administered as separate property. When the marriage comes to an end, husband and wife share equally all of the property and assets that were added to the household during the marriage. There is no sharing of losses, only of profits.

CASE STUDY – KNOWLEDGE OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BEING USED TO EMPOWER WIDOWS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA

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Woman dressed in green overall and boots bent picking plants on a farm

Sustainable agriculture is empowering widows in Kitui County, Kenya

Widows are a vulnerable demographic lacking in economic means, social capital and means to protect their individual rights. In recognition of their unique status as societal pariahs, community-based organizations in Kitui County came together and brainstormed ideas for creating sustainable livelihoods for widows living amongst them. Earlier on, it was evident that sustainable agriculture would be transformative and practical. It was a consensus that through a communal collaborative effort, widows could grow crops and raise livestock to guarantee them a source of food and income. 

Sustainable agricultural practices were intended to protect the environment, expand the natural resource base, and maintain and improve soil fertility in areas where it was practised. Based on a multi-pronged goal, sustainable agriculture was chosen as it increased profitability, and income, and promoted environmental stewardship.

Kitui region is located in the Arid and Semi-arid region of Kenya that receives little rainfall which is often sporadic. 

Among the activities undertaken were:

  • Rotating crops and embracing diversity.
  • Planting cover crops and perennials.
  • Reducing or eliminating tillage. 
  • Applying integrated pest management (IPM). 
  • Integrating livestock and crops. 
  • Adopting agroforestry practices. 
  • Managing whole systems and landscapes.

It should be understood that these widows were women previously displaced from their matrimonial homes, and they lacked the technical skill of utilizing scanty ecological resources to practice agriculture.

The introduction of this activity was therefore revolutionary in a sense. Previously destitute mothers could now look forward to harvesting their crops and selling them at local markets. The proceeds from this would then be used to pay for their children’s school fees, rent living quarters and purchase dignified clothes. The resultant social effect was the emergence of a class of empowered widows, who no longer looked at society with a bowl in hand, begging for sustenance. 

As a sustainable agricultural practice, the resulting effect was;

  • Increase in productivity, employment and value addition in food systems.
  • Protection and enhancement of natural resources.
  • Improved livelihoods that fostered inclusive economic growth.
  • Enhanced resilience of widows, whose socioeconomic ecosystem could withstand different economic shocks.
  • Adapt governance to new challenges especially as widows acquired social capital and economic power, they were able to hire legal aid to advocate for and speak for their rights.

The example of how widows were rescued from the throes of poverty and propelled to a life of hope and dignity is what the goat foundation aspires to and continues doing across the country. Scores of women have received a pair of goats from this foundation and the socioeconomic outcome has been similar. At the Goat Foundation, we felt encouraged to observe how different aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals were being attained by the simple act of communal cooperation, training and inculcation of relevant skills. It is for this reason that our foundation not only offers a pair of goats to widows, but we also provide crucial financial literacy training that ensures these women can start to grow their financial base through making informed decisions. 

 

HOW CBOs ARE ENGAGED IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE ‘CLEANSING RITUAL’ IN WESTERN KENYA

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A woman seated on a chair with ash smeared on her face. She is carrying a small child crying and beside her is a short girl standing

Widows are subjected to cleansing rituals in some parts of Kenya

When a husband passes away in western Kenya, it represents not only the loss of a spouse but also the passing of a provider for the family and a change in the woman’s standing within the community. In the traditional culture, the widow must undergo purification following the spouse’s passing.

The ritual requires widows to have sex with strangers who are sometimes HIV-positive and do not use protection. The sexual cleansing is done as part of the transition process for the widow to become eligible to remarry and is also conducted to cleanse the widow of evil spirits resulting from the death of her husband.

After the cleansing has taken place, the widow is expected to be inherited by a man, traditionally an in-law. In recent days, in-laws are now less willing to inherit a widow due to the economic burden, which has led to men who are not relatives asking for payment to perform the rituals.

Entrenched tradition, poverty, and hunger are some of the main challenges that these community organizations face in the quest to stop women from agreeing to participate in the cleansing. Poverty makes the widow agree to participate in the ritual so the man can take care of her and the children.

The CBOs that are non-profits are now supporting women’s groups that have come together to reverse the traditional practice. The groups meet once a week to offer solace, and advice to each other while preaching against the ritual to other women in the community.

As much as these women are doing something great to meet and try to stop the rituals, it’s not easy for them in the community. Many have faced death threats and some have been attacked for speaking against the practice.

The CBO has also formed men’s Barazas to try and speak to them and discourage the practice. The tradition, though, is so entrenched in the community that it’s very difficult to try and talk them out of it. The Kenyan government has also tried to enact an act that protects women against domestic violence and promotes gender equality but the act still goes on.

One of the interventions that the community-based organizations are carrying out to assist the widows in having a business of their own that can support their families is equipping these women with the skills necessary to enable them to make a living. Through their women’s organizations, the CBOs provide charity grants to help them launch businesses that say no to poverty and hunger.

The Goat Foundation is committed, in line with the sustainable development goals, to helping widows support their families through economic empowerment. We give the widow’s family a pair of goats as part of our contribution. Our intention is to give the recipients two goats—one male and one female—in the hopes that they will breed and produce additional goats.