Review by Choice Review
In this compelling history of African women in colonial Kenya, Kanogo (Univ. of California, Berkeley) uses archival research and oral interviews to explore the debates over clitoridectomy and bridewealth; the changing nature of childbirth and motherhood; the impact of mission education; the evolution of women's legal status; and the struggle for control of African women by African men, European missionaries, and the colonial administration. She argues that while women were restricted in their choices by community, kin, and the wider colonial order, they also demonstrated agency. They took advantage of new openings in the system, running away to mission stations and urban areas. They challenged male elders and so-called customary law through the colonial legal system, and they sought Western education and entrance into new professions. In short, while all Africans suffered constraints and limitations under colonial rule, African women in some instances were able to negotiate beneficial new arrangements. The reconstruction of African womanhood from 1900 to 1950 reflected broader issues of continuity and change, tradition and modernization, and community and individual independence that characterized colonial rule more generally. This is an important contribution to Kenyan historiography and women's studies as a whole. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Scholars, graduate students, and college and university libraries. E. S. Schmidt Loyola College in Maryland
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
