Child Brides - Kenya

In Africa the monetary value of bride price, or bride wealth, is linked with marriage. Bride price is a sum, either in cash or kind, used to purchase a bride for her labour and fertility.


In the context of poverty, the practice of paying bride price can encourage early marriage. Young girls, a resource with which their parents can attain greater wealth, are married off a young age, for the bride price and also as a way for parents to lessen their economic burdens.


Although the legal age of marriage for both women and men in Kenya is 18, about a quarter of Kenyan girls are married before their 18th birthdays, and the number is higher in rural areas. Girls traditionally move to their husbands’ homes, where they often have little status and even less access to information and services related to family planning and reproductive health.

Masai girl-bride

More than 80 percent of married girls ages 15 to 24 in Kenya have given birth. That compares to just a third of sexually active but unmarried Kenyan girls in the same age group. In addition, the earlier a girl gets married, the earlier she has a baby, and early first births are the riskiest for women. In Kenya, the median age at first birth is 16 for girls who are married at 14 or 15, 18 for girls married at 16 or 17, and 19 for girls married at 18 or 19.

Child Brides - Africa

Despite many countries enacting marriageable age laws to limit marriage to a minimum age of 16 to 18, depending on jurisdiction, traditional marriages of girls of younger ages are widespread. Poverty, religion, tradition, and conflict make the rate of child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa similar to that in South Asia.

In many ethnic systems, a man pays a bride price to the girl's family in order to marry her.  In many parts of Africa, this payment, in cash, cattle, or other valuables, decreases, as a girl gets older. Even before a girl reaches puberty, it is common for a married girl to leave her parents to be with her husband. Many marriages are related to poverty, with parents needing the bride price of a daughter to feed, clothe, educate, and house the rest of the family. Meanwhile, a male child in these countries is more likely to gain a full education, gain employment and pursue a working life, thus tending to marry later. In Mali, the female/male ratio of marriage before age 18 is 72:1; and in Kenya it is 21:1.

Young bride with no bright future

The various UN-commissioned reports indicate that in many Sub-Saharan countries, there is a high incidence of marriage among girls younger than 15. Many governments have tended to overlook the particular problems resulting from child marriage, including obstetric fistulae, premature births, stillbirth, sexually transmitted diseases (including cervical cancer), and malaria.

In parts of Ethiopia and Nigeria, numerous girls are married before the age of 15, and some girls are married as young as the age of 7. In parts of Mali, 39% of girls are married before the age of 15. In Niger and Chad, over 70% of girls are married before the age of 18. In South Africa, the law provides for respecting the marriage practices of traditional marriages, whereby a person might be married as young as 12 for females and 14 for males.

Early marriage is cited as "a barrier to continuing education for girls (and boys)". This includes absuma (arranged marriages set up between cousins at birth), bride kidnapping, and elopement decided on by the children.

Source:Wiki-Africa

Wangari Maathai - A Dramatic Story - Part 2

Dr. Maathai was raised in the rural highlands of Kenya, educated in the United States during the 1960s civil rights era, and the first female to receive a PhD in East Africa, Maathai discovered the heart of her life's work by reconnecting with the rural women with whom she had grown up.

Women in the Green Belt Movement planting seedlings

They told her that their daily lives had become intolerable: they were walking longer distances for firewood, clean water had become scarce, the soil was disappearing from their fields, and their children were suffering from malnutrition. Maathai thought to herself, "Well, why not plant trees?" Trees provide shade, prevent soil erosion, supply firewood and building materials, and produce nutritious fruit to combat malnutrition. With this realization Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization encouraging rural women to plant trees.


A seemingly innocuous idea, Maathai soon discovered that tree planting had a ripple effect of empowering change. In the mid 1980s, Kenya was under the repressive regime of Daniel arap Moi under whose dictatorship group gatherings were outlawed. In tending their nurseries women had a legitimate reason to gather outside their homes and discuss the roots of their problems. These grassroots women soon found themselves working successively against deforestation, poverty, ignorance, embedded economic interests, and political oppression, until they became a national political force.


Contd...

Polygamy - Good Economic Sense? Part I

Zuma with one of his wives

President Zuma dancing at one of his weddings

In many African countries, polygamy is legally practiced, accepted and embraced. A number of heads of state openly practice polygamy. 

President Zuma with his wives

For instance, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa (aka JZ) has been married five times and has 20 children. President Zuma considers himself a traditionalist and makes no apologies for practicing polygamy.

Reed Dance

King Mswati III of Swaziland, one of the last remaining absolute monarchs in the world has 14 wives and 23 children. This 43 year old monarch has been known to select his wives from the Reed Dances which primarily have nothing to do with him. The Reed Dance is a traditional ceremony for Swazi maidens to pay tribute to the Queen Mother by bringing tall reeds used to build windbreaks around the Queen Mother's residence. Although King Mswati III gets a lot of flack for his many wives, he does not hold a flame to his father King Sobhuza II who had 70 wives, 210 children and at the time of his death in 1982, over 1000 grand children.

Queen Nothando Dube

An embarrassing scandal broke out in last year when the 22 year old Queen Nothando Dube, considered one of the most beautiful of Mswati's wives, was caught having an affair with the Minister of Justice. She is now under 24-hour surveillance for the rest of her life.

Masai women

In Eastern Africa polygamy is also embraced and seems also to be growing not only among the Masai, who still maintain every aspect of their traditional culture but even among the so called elite. The Kenyan President, Kibaki, denied having two wives which angered many Kenyans and particularly the Gikuyu elders who know the second wife and were present at the traditional wedding ceremony. Kibaki was looking to please his Western counterparts who would not conceive of an LSE Alumni practicing polygamy.

Arguments for Polygamy:
There are various arguments given for this form of marital practice. They range from trying to accommodate a gender imbalance, where there are more females than males due to natural and un-natural causes, to economic benefits for the women. One recent argument that is being used as a justification by Christian religious leaders is that some of God's finest men (e.g. Moses, David, Solomon) were polygamists. These "men of God" are their role models!

In Southern Africa elders also use polygamy to warn young men that they could lose out on love if they do not behave. "In order to win a girl, you must be a good boy," said one elder. "Responsible young men become responsible husbands".

I do not see how this is an argument for polygamy, but there you have it.

The gender imbalance has been refuted as holding no water and is considered archaic.

Next segment we look at the economic argument. For the most part is makes some sense. Look out for the next posting.


Resources:
Vote Polygamy

Wife No 12 Caught in bed...

Bare-Breasted Virgins...

HuffPost

KONZA - NEW AFRICAN CITY

KONZA where Africa's silicon Savannah begins!

This is the slogan for the marketing video of this small Kenyan town south of Nairobi that is about to be transformed into a "new African City". Kenya, now publicly considered as one of the new high growth economies, is marketing itself as the new technology hub in Africa.  Konza is envisioned to be a 2,000 hectare technology city that is modern, inclusive and sustainable.


It is projected that in the next two decades Kenya will be a middle-income country with a sizeable middle class with robust retail, industry and technology centers. This is all thanks to the submarine cables and fiber optic networks. The government is using this platform to attract new investors, particularly ICT investors. The projected GDP growth-goal is 10%.


The development blue print spearheading this process is the VISION 2030 manifesto which is geared to transform employment markets, improve the infrastructure as well as build institutions.

Masai Mara Lions

Kenya, well known for its wildlife safaris, the Masai and its cash crops (coffee, tea etc) experienced rapid growth in the first few years of this century but it slumped in 2008/2009 following the volatile 2007 presidential elections. Projected 2011 GDP growth is expected to be 5% which is unacceptable for an economy with a young, fast-urbanizing population.

Masai Moran

The Economist ran a series last month called Petri-dish economies. These are economies that exemplify global trends. Kenya was featured as one of those economies that is revving up the pace. Kenya, unlike most African nations, does not have natural wealth like minerals or oil for export. It is clear that the economy cannot be sustained by its agricultural exports and the tourist market is not dependable. So far, growth gains have come from macroeconomic stability and deregulation but the government's macroeconomic policies have been shaky and inflation has accelerated. In the meantime, the budget deficit is running above 6% of GDP. These factors stagnate economic growth and so the idea of a export-led manufacturing economy was developed and embraced by the leaders. Kenya has the right geography to adopt this East Asian economic model. The country has a coastal location with a quick sea route to Europe as well as reasonable proximity to India and other fast-growing Asian markets. Thus VISION 2030.

Sunset in the Savannah

Vision 2030 is the governments strategic development plan that sees the country becoming a manufacturing hub. Although there has been some success, the country has poor infrastructure especially at the port in Mombasa. The power supply is unreliable, corruption is rife and labor costs relative to productivity is quite high.  This is no surprise to any Kenyan or entrepreneur living in the country.

The more promising short-term route is regional trade integration. Kenya continues to boast the biggest economy in the East African Community (EAC) - which is a trading bloc.  The EAC has a market of 130 m people and a combined GDP of more that $70 billion. Trade between its members is tariff-free and labor mobility is imminent. 45% of Kenya's trade is now with other African countries and that share is growing fast. But again, infrastructure and red tape are a curse.

The manufacturing share of the economy will stagnate until there is suitable and reliable infrastructure. However, one area of the economy that has been soaring is the service industry led by information and communications technology. It has been growing at a rate of 20% a year! This is largely because of the impressive mobile-money revolution, a technology that has not taken root in the Western economies yet. Kenya has one of the highest rates of mobile-phone penetration and dominated by M-PESA, by far the largest network of mobile-phone-based money transfer. According to the World Bank, Kenyans transferred $7 billion, the equivalent of 20% of GDP, via their mobile phones in 2010.

Mobile Banking in Kenya

The Konza plan has been made possible because of the recent arrival of submarine cables and the fiber optic network that has seen a collapse in the price and increase in the speed of data connectivity. All manner of services are now flourishing from independent television stations to one of the region's biggest call-centers. This move towards a service economy is reshaping Kenya's whole economy. One big question is whether that will be enough.

I also wonder how successful this Konza plan will be in the midst of a culture of rampant corruption and greed. There is a need for a new breed of visionary leadership that can steer this country into a middle to high income economy. Is this truly feasible?

KONZA - Marketing Video
The Economist

Uganda's Museveni - A Problem for Kenya?

In a photo taken on May 12, 2011 Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (Front - C) with his wife, First Lady Janet Museveni (2L) stands with heads of state including (from-L front row) Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya's former president Daniel Moi, (from L middle row) Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, Congolese President Joseph Kabila, Nigerian President Jonathan Goodluck and South Sudan leader Salva Kiir among other dignitaries during his swearing in ceremony in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, was sworn in for a fourth term as president of Uganda

President Museveni of Uganda will be inaugurated tomorrow, Thursday, May 19, 2011. His swearing ceremony last Thursday, May 12th, was attended by heads of State from the neighboring countries of Ethiopia, DRC, Kenya, Southern Sudan and Tanzania as well as the leaders of Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Museveni will begin his fourth term as President of Uganda having already served for 25 years. Museveni has lost his charm with the Ugandans and now that the economy is on a nose dive with high fuel and food prices, his opposition opponent, Dr. Kizza Besigye, is gaining more popularity with every strike Museveni makes against him. 

Dr. Kizza Besigye

Dr. Besigye, who was undergoing treatment in neighboring Kenya after being attacked by special branch police during a demonstration, returned on Thursday in time to join protestors at the swearing in ceremony. He has also sworn to protest during the inauguration ceremony tomorrow as a rejection of Museveni's presidential win which he says was a sham steeped with rigging. Dr. Besigye addressed journalists in Kenya last week and called on the Kenyan government to promote democracy in Uganda. He warned that an unstable Uganda will unleash a refugee and economic burden if the country collapses and added that the interest of any government in Nairobi should promote justice and stability in Uganda. Clearly, Besigye's remarks were geared towards Kibaki's government whose loyalty is to Museveni. President Museveni was the first head of State to send a congratulatory message to President Kibaki during the contentious Kenyan elections of 2007. He overtly opposed Raila Odinga's claims of having defeated President Kibaki. It is a known fact that Museveni does not like or get along with Prime Minister Odinga and the latter is not hiding the fact that he supports Museveni's nemesis, Dr. Besigye. So Besigye's remarks can be taken as a warning of consequences to President Kibaki's support of Museveni.

President Museveni

In 1986, Museveni wrote a book called "What is wrong with Africa?". In it he said, "The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power." Ironically, Museveni is about to start another 5 year term, having already served for 25 years and is ruthlessly putting down any form of opposition. Although the government will not admit it, all is not well in Uganda right now. The hard economic times being experienced in the country have provided fertile ground for the opposition to hurt the government by calling for walk-to-work protests, a guileful way of getting around the ban on demonstrations. Museveni banned demonstrations recently after having seen enough evidence of their impact in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and the Middle East.


Museveni's clamp-down on opposition politician Dr. Besigye has prompted more violent clashes. The tipping point was when Ugandans watched the evening news in horror at the sight of plainclothes police men smashing the politician's car windows and spraying him with chemical before dumping him on the back of a truck.


Museveni has forgotten what he wrote. He has become the problem for Uganda and if left unchecked may become a problem for the East African region. He has overstayed in power is now more of a liability than an asset to this small East African country.


BBC
East African Standard

Wikileaks - Sally Kosgei vs Kenyan Leadership

Dr. Sally Kosgei

Sally Kosgei, Kenya's former High Commissioner to London and retired President Moi's last Head of Civil Service certainly did not anticipate that her conversations in 2009 with US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger and Asst. Secretary of State Johnnie Carson would find their way in the leakages of US diplomatic secret cables.

Dr. Kosgey, who at the given time was Minister of Higher Education, condescendingly described President Kibaki as leader who did not read intelligent briefs and having no back-bone to carry out agreed reforms. She continued to dress down her cabinet colleagues including the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, stating he has "no office structure, no discipline in his life or schedule".

Johnnie Carson, a former US envoy to Kenya under President Moi, called Kibaki and Raila to apologise over the insipid reports, as soon as the Wikileaks saga broke. An embarrassing moment for Mr. Carson.

For Dr. Kosgey, tomorrow will be a difficult day as she is currently in New York with her Vice-President, whom she described as "a diminishing asset". They are in New York lobbying the UN to defer Kenya's cases at The Hague.

Clearly Kenya continues to have a fractured cabinet supporting poor and unstable leadership. This has stagnating effects on a potential emerging economy. Egypt is Kenya's neighbor to the north and the Kenyans are fed up.

Will the wind of change in the Sahel blow down south?

Other sources:

The Standard