Redefining the Societal Role of Women Among the Bukusu Community of Bungoma County in Western Kenya (1945-1923)

Abstract

This text delves into the redefinition of the role of women among the Bukusu of Bungoma County in western Kenya from the year 1945 to 2023. The paper’s main objective is to investigate the origin of the change of roles of women among the Bukusu people. The research holds the hypothesis that there is an origin for the prevailing transformations of roles of women among the Bukusu. It makes use of existing literature such as books, journals, articles, magazines, and newspapers, and existing observations. This research is significant in adding new knowledge to the anthropological studies of women with a particular focus on the Bukusu women of Bungoma County in Kenya. The research design employed in the article is historical methods with the utilization of books, journals, and research works as secondary sources that will back and complement the author’s observations. The article establishes that changes in the roles of women in the Bukusu community emanate from missionary activities, colonialism especially the colonial cash crop economy, and political modernization in the region.

Keywords

• Bukusu people
• the role of women
• Kenya