Sailing against Headwinds: The KANU Regime, Kenyan Women, and the UN Women’s Decade, 1975–1985

Abstract:This article focuses on the UN Decade for Women in Kenya, from 1975 to the two international meetings that its capital city, Nairobi, hosted in 1985 to mark its end. By utilizing newly accessible archival sources, the analyses of the overt and covert tactics the ruling party deployed during this period demonstrate that it suppressed women’s voices that posed a challenge to the sociopolitical and economic status quo. Instead, the administration focused on utilizing the decade to project a positive image internationally as well as for its short- and long-term financial hosting benefits from which the political class stood to benefit most. The result of the administration’s activities was the deliberate sidelining of the decade’s objectives and action plans. This article demonstrates exactly how and why an administration can undermine women’s rights even as it makes policy statements to the contrary and makes a show of supporting women-focused initiatives.