Changing the narrative and gendering Kenyan political history: Jael Mbogo's fight for parliamentary elections in the 1960s

Autor(en)

Anais Angelo

Abstrakt

In 1969, Jael Mbogo was among the first women to campaign for a parliamentary seat since Kenya became independent in 1963. Her opponent was Mwai Kibaki, a young and promising politician, then minister of finance and who later became Kenya's third president. Though she had been the head of the most powerful women's organisation and regularly wrote opinion pieces in one of the biggest national newspapers, Jael was fairly unknown. And yet, her name made the headlines as she almost defeated Kibaki in an election tarred with irregularities. But her campaign has remained a mere footnote in a historiography that only focuses on winners and pays little attention to the women who vied for, but never rose to, positions of power. Building on Jael's articles and oral testimony, this article explores the genesis of her political commitment to women's social and political empowerment and reconstructs her campaign for the 1969 parliamentary elections. It argues for a shift away from a conceptualisation of politics and political history that solely focuses on (male) winners in favour of a history that makes space for resilient and wilful female leaders.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Afrikawissenschaften

Journal

Women's History Review

Band

33

Seiten

76-94

Anzahl der Seiten

19

ISSN

0961-2025

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2023.2208411

Publikationsdatum

2023

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

601007 Geschichtliche Landeskunde, 504014 Gender Studies, 601028 Geschlechtergeschichte, 602001 Afrikanistik

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Gender studies, History

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 5 – Geschlechtergleichheit, SDG 4 – Hochwertige Bildung

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/46158e07-6e17-446a-ad19-859e233cde4e