My research aims to explore the use of social media in Kenya as an educational tool for

women’s rights and as a platform for fighting against women discrimination. Like in many third
world countries, gender equality in Kenya is far from being fully achieved. In March 2014,
amidst the protests of many women, the parliament of Kenya passed a bill to legalize polygamy
in the country, claiming that it was going to protect women and children. In November 2014,
videos of women being stripped by men in public went viral. These are just few instances of
discrimination against women that are happening in Kenya. Unfortunately, there are some
women in the country, especially in rural areas, who are not aware that these are cases of
discrimination. My research will therefore examine how social media can be used to educate
such women on their rights and help them protest over these issues of discrimination. I will
travel to Nairobi and Loitokitok in Kenya, where I will interview different women groups from
both rural and urban settings respectively, so as to get both perspectives on how to use social
media to achieve gender equality. As a computer science major, I hope to use the results from
my research to build an informational website for women in Kenya.
Kenyan women need to find an effective way to politically and personally protect
themselves from discrimination. In the stripping case mentioned above, women in the country
successfully used social media to campaign against their discrimination. They flooded the
President’s Facebook account with messages of protests. In Twitter, a campaign called “#my
dress, my choice” was launched to protest against women being stripped in public. Most
importantly, a mother’s group called ‘Kilimani Mums’ used social media to organize a protest in
the streets of Nairobi where more than 200 women turned up. The police finally intervened and a
mass arrest was made on the men who were responsible for stripping women in public. Just as
social media was successfully used in the stripping case, I want to find out whether women in
Kenya can use social media to protest against other instances of discrimination like polygamy. I
believe that social media can be used as a stepping stone towards achieving gender equality in
Kenya. It is important to note that most Kenyans can access social media due to the high
prevalence of mobile phones in the country. Moreover, buying daily internet bundles for mobile
phones is cheap, so most people in the country can afford it.
In African Women & ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies), Ineke
Buskens and Anne Webb talk about the use of ICT in advocating women’s rights. They use a
case study of leaders from five women groups in Zambia who use mobile phones to empower
other women through calling and text messaging. They call their members to notify them of
common advocacy issues and text them regarding events such as court hearings that affect them.
This method can also be used in Kenya but it is not as effective in reaching a wider audience as
social media. That is why my research is focused on social media because it is the best way to
unite women from all over the country, and rally them to protest over issues that affect all of
them.
In eight weeks during summer, I hope to find out ways in which social media is being /or
can be used as an educational platform or a tool to fight discrimination against women in Kenya.
I hope to find out if women in the rural villages have access to social media and use it on a
regular basis. Most importantly, I want to find out what women think about the state of gender
equality in the country and what can be done to make sure that it is fully achieved.
I am a native speaker of Swahili so my proficiency in the language will allow me to
interact with my interviewees freely and effectively. In Nairobi, Kenya, my interviewees are
from two organizations: FIDA (Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya) and WRAP (Women’s
Rights Awareness Program). FIDA is an organization that is committed to the creation of a
Kenyan community free from all forms of discrimination against women by providing legal aid
and women rights education. WRAP is a non-governmental organization that identifies and
educates the community on causes and effects of gender violence. These organizations are
crucial to my research because their involvement in fighting women discrimination in the
country. I plan on interviewing two members from both organizations for at least one hour. I
would like to know from them if their organizations use social media in their activities and if not,
whether they are planning to do so. What type of social media they use, how frequently they use
it and whether it is effective? I also plan on shadowing them during their groups’ activities both
in the office and in the field. I have attached email correspondences between me and these
organizations in the appendix.
I also plan on interviewing the leader of the ‘Kilimani Mums’ group. This is the group
that organized protests over the stripping issue in Kenya. Their leader is the mother of a friend
and I have a verbal confirmation that she will let me interview her and one other members of her
group. Before the stripping issue, the ‘Kilimani Mums’ was just a small group of mothers who
mostly used social media to educate, train and support themselves. These women were angered
by what was happening in the country, and decided to use Facebook to organize a protest in the
streets of Nairobi. I plan on asking them how they managed to garner enough support online and
use it offline in the streets. I also want to find out whether the protest was a one-time thing or if
they are planning to do the same thing for future issues that affect women nationally. Most
importantly, other activities that they are involved in to help fight women discrimination in the
country.
In order to get a rural perspective to my research, I will travel to my home town, a small
town called Loitokitok, located at the border with Tanzania. Here I hope to interview six
members from three different local women groups; two members from each. My mother has
already organized my meetings with these women. I will find out whether they have access to
social media, and whether they know how to use it. If not I will offer to teach them if they are
willing, and tell them to teach other members of their groups. I also want to find out their sources
of educational information pertaining to gender equality. If they are not using social media, I will
ask if they are willing to adopt it. If they are also willing, I will help them connect with both
FIDA and WRAP via social media, just in case they ever need their help.
With the data from this research, I hope to uncover useful conclusion that will help me
set a Non-Profit Organization with a few friends called ‘Jenga Mwanamke Afrika’. This is
Swahili for empower the African woman. JMA will be geared towards educating women in
Kenya about their rights and freedoms, and giving them an avenue where they can organize
peaceful protests when their rights are violated. As a computer science major, I am also hoping
to use the results from my research to create an informational website for women in Kenya.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. BBC News- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30093816

2. African Women & ICTs by Ineke Buskens & Anne Webb
3. Daily Nation- http://mobile.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/Rise-of-Kilimani-Mums/-
/1950774/2531682/-/format/xhtml/-/ew6bdwz/-/index.html
4. http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/1813-9450-5988