Volume 7, Issue 2, August 2014, Pages 111–120
Peter Gutwa Oino1, Samwel Auya2, and Cyrillah Luvega3
1 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Egerton University, Department of Peace, Security and Social Studies, Egerton (Njoro), Kenya
2 Maasai Mara University, School of Social Sciences, Department of Social Studies, Religion, and Community Development, P.O Box 861-20500 Narok, Kenya
3 Assistant Lecturer, Maseno University, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, P.O.BOX 333, Maseno, Kenya
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Despite their fundamental socio-economic responsibilities, rural women still have less access to knowledge, assets, services and participation in decision-making. These inequalities affect their ability to carry out critical roles in their communities leading to rural poverty. In Kenya, women groups form the majority of local initiatives. Although women groups are the solution to the local problems, there is little support they receive from the government and other development stakeholders, hence their inability to address rural problems. Besides, there are limited studies particularly in Kenya on women groups' contribution to rural development. This paper is a portion of the outcome of an empirical descriptive study conducted in Nyamusi Division in Nyamira County by the authors. The sample was drawn from ten registered women groups and fifteen informal women groups in the study area. The unit of analysis was a women group. This paper critically examines the relationship that exist between rural community-based approaches (in this case-women groups) and rural development. It also looks at the barriers that hamper women's development efforts in community interventions. This paper concludes that if given opportunity, women have the potential to change their own socio-economic status as well as that of the communities in which they live in for the reason that women groups act as an effective instrument for rural development. Once women groups have sufficient solidarity, experience and unity of purpose in their undertakings, rural development is achieved. This paper recommends policy frameworks that not only promote community-based approaches for rural development, but also encourage sustainability and equal participation of all genders in development.
Author Keywords: Women Groups, Rural Development, Kenya.
Peter Gutwa Oino1, Samwel Auya2, and Cyrillah Luvega3
1 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Egerton University, Department of Peace, Security and Social Studies, Egerton (Njoro), Kenya
2 Maasai Mara University, School of Social Sciences, Department of Social Studies, Religion, and Community Development, P.O Box 861-20500 Narok, Kenya
3 Assistant Lecturer, Maseno University, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, P.O.BOX 333, Maseno, Kenya
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Despite their fundamental socio-economic responsibilities, rural women still have less access to knowledge, assets, services and participation in decision-making. These inequalities affect their ability to carry out critical roles in their communities leading to rural poverty. In Kenya, women groups form the majority of local initiatives. Although women groups are the solution to the local problems, there is little support they receive from the government and other development stakeholders, hence their inability to address rural problems. Besides, there are limited studies particularly in Kenya on women groups' contribution to rural development. This paper is a portion of the outcome of an empirical descriptive study conducted in Nyamusi Division in Nyamira County by the authors. The sample was drawn from ten registered women groups and fifteen informal women groups in the study area. The unit of analysis was a women group. This paper critically examines the relationship that exist between rural community-based approaches (in this case-women groups) and rural development. It also looks at the barriers that hamper women's development efforts in community interventions. This paper concludes that if given opportunity, women have the potential to change their own socio-economic status as well as that of the communities in which they live in for the reason that women groups act as an effective instrument for rural development. Once women groups have sufficient solidarity, experience and unity of purpose in their undertakings, rural development is achieved. This paper recommends policy frameworks that not only promote community-based approaches for rural development, but also encourage sustainability and equal participation of all genders in development.
Author Keywords: Women Groups, Rural Development, Kenya.
How to Cite this Article
Peter Gutwa Oino, Samwel Auya, and Cyrillah Luvega, “Women Groups: A Pathway to Rural Development in Nyamusi Division, Nyamira County, Kenya,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 111–120, August 2014.
