FACTORS HINDERING PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE BUILDING; A CASE STUDY OF KENYA

Abstract

Despite the fact that women have often been on the frontlines of urging the end to conflict and providing the support that allows their families and communities to survive, they have mostly remained on the periphery of formal peace and reconstruction processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors which hinder women participation in international conflict prevention and peace building using the case study of Kenya. The study aimed at finding out the socio- cultural as well as political factors hindering women participation in international conflict prevention and peace building with a case study of Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey as it was deemed the best strategy to fulfil the objectives of this study. A descriptive study enabled extensive collection of secondary and primary data. Secondary data was collected from an in-depth literature review while primary data was gathered through interviewing participants in Nakuru District. Analysis was done through content analysis. The study has found that social cultural as well as political factors hinder the participation of women in conflict resolution and peace building. The study thus adopts the alternative hypothesis which holds that women role in conflict prevention and peace building efforts is significantly hindered by social-cultural and political factors.