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This book examines the practice of widow inheritance in order to explore the intersection between power, gender and sexualities in Kenya.
Using widow inheritance amongst the Luo of Kenya as a case study, the book explores the role of body politics in the construction of gendered subjects and nations. Widow Inheritance and Contested Citizenship in Kenya unpacks how 'respectable femininities' and 'wayward sexualities' become the 'sites' within which national and state politics are ritualized and where tensions resulting from non-hegemonic performances of both gender and sexuality are 'resolved'. The empirical research that underpins this book is qualitative and grounded in feminist methodology, challenging the erasure of women's narratives in hegemonic epistemologies.
Widow Inheritance and Contested Citizenship in Kenya will be of interest to students and scholars of African gender studies and women's rights.
List of contents
1. Gender, Sexuality and Culture 2. Dominant Discourses on Widow Inhereitance 3. Widow Inheritance and Gender Identity 4. Discursive Boundaries: Building Nations 5. Gendered Language and Culture 6. Conclusion
About the author
Awino Okech is a lecturer at the Centre for Gender Studies, School of
Oriental and African Studies, London and a Senior Research Associate with
the African Leadership Centre, Kings College London.
Summary
This book examines the practice of widow inheritance in order to explore the intersection between power, gender and sexualities in Kenya.
