went through the same oathing ceremonies.47 The inclusiveness of the ceremony
was a novelty because traditionally men and women occupied separate spaces,
especially during the day. However, female participation in Mau Mau was based
both on personal family struggles and collective needs of liberation. It was clear
that after her father’s property was destroyed and stolen, Kakie was very bitter.
She sought to play a role by taking part in a solution, Mau Mau.48
Kakie’s story is just one example of many that allow us to see how and
why people attempted to manipulate their environment as a result of changing
societal norms under colonialism. This story and the many others like it show us
the powerful role of gender in the Mau Mau movement. Kakie’s story is part of a
much broader and complicated gender conversations on women oathing to forge
a new society that embraced some values of the past. The power and death
threats of the oath may have prevented many men and women from providing
elaborate details of the oathing experiences.49 Many women that participated in
Mau Mau showed that it was possible to be silent but active contributors to one of
the most significant events in Kenyan history. Women were often silent because
they did not have the same channels for communicating their experiences since
the war was still being misinterpretated as primarily an African Kikuyu male
revolt. On top of this the post-colonial Kenyan government for fifty years after the
war had a Mau Mau ban making it difficult for ex-Mau Mau veterens to organize
and to widely dissimenate their stories. However, women like men, did find ways
to pass on their accounts to children, other family members, friends, and others.
47 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
48 Interview, S. Kakie, January 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
49 Interview, P. Musuo, February 2009, Machakos, Kenya.
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