Women Waging Peace in a Post-election Conflict: the Case of Naivasha, Nakuru County, 2007-2017.

Abstract

This project sought to examine women waging peace in Naivasha. Women are the most affected by post-election violence. However, Women are not visible in the management of these conflicts; they are sidelined from the peace-building processes in the Country. This is despite the crucial role that women play in day-to-day life as peacekeepers both in the family and in society at large. The study's goals were to analyse the relationship between women and electoral conflict in Kenya, to look into the roles performed by women in promoting peace in Naivasha, and to evaluate the success and obstacles faced by these efforts. The study used both primary and secondary data in a qualitative manner. Albrecht Schnabel and Amara Tabyshalieva's Defying Victimhood Theory, which was published in their book Women in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, was employed in this study. The theory has the idea that to achieve peace, mechanisms must be in place under which inequalities and injustices experienced before, during, and after the conflict are dealt with. The findings of the study were that women groups in Naivasha addressed the psycho-social wants of female survivors of the ensuing electoral skirmishes of 2008 in conjunction with international organizations, they were instrumental in managing the ensuing conflict by playing a moderating role in the conflict, they organized critical canvassing for structural measures to address the conflict and women were able to organize themselves into community-based organizations where they would undertake mediation and training activities, shared their experiences about mediation in very direct and physical ways such as telling the men to stop fighting and committing cross-ethnic arsonist attacks. Women organizations were also instrumental in managing the ensuing conflict by playing a moderating role in conflict. This entailed the provision of spiritual support and counselling to those affected by the conflict as well as providing humanitarian relief to the worst-hit areas. Hence women in Naivasha played a critical role in post-election conflict management, however, these roles continue to be overlooked.