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(Top) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Coordinates: 0°38′N 37°38′E

History
For the suburb of Nairobi, see Umoja, Nairobi.
Geography and demographics
Umoja Uaso ("unity" in Swahili, the Uaso Nyiro is a nearby river),[1][2] is a village in Kenya. The village,
Population Umoja
founded in 1990,[3] is an all-female matriarch village located near the town of Archers Post in Samburu
Economy Village
County, 380 km (240 mi) from the capital, Nairobi. It was founded by Rebecca Lolosoli, a Samburu
Education woman, as a sanctuary for homeless survivors of violence against women, and young girls running from
Government forced marriages or female genital mutilation. The women of the Samburu people do not agree with
violence and the traditional subordinate position of women.
See also

References They run a primary school, cultural center and camping site for tourists visiting the adjacent Samburu
National Reserve. They create and sell jewellery to benefit the village.
External links

History [ edit ]

Samburu women have a subordinate position in their society.[2] They are not allowed to own land or Nickname: Village without men.

other types of property, such as livestock. Women themselves are considered property of their
husbands.[2] They can be subject to female genital mutilation, forced marriage with the elders, rape,
and domestic violence.[4]

In 2003, Amnesty International reported credible evidence of numerous rapes of Kenyan women by
members of the British Army for decades.[5] A case was brought up against the British military for the
rapes of over 1,400 Samburu women. The case was "cleared".[6] [7] These women were abandoned by Umoja
their husbands because they were considered to be "defiled."[8] Other men drove the women out of
their houses fearing they would now contract sexually transmitted diseases from their raped wives.[9]

After many women found themselves without homes, they created Umoja.[10] Rebecca Lolosoli is one
of the founders of Umoja,[11] and came up with the idea of creating a village for women when she was
recovering after being beaten for speaking out against female genital mutilation.[3][12] Eventually fifteen
women came together to found the original village in 1990.[3][13]
Coordinates: 0°38′N 37°38′E
In response, some men established their own, eventually unsuccessful villages nearby.[14][10] The men
tried to set up a rival craft business or would try to dissuade tourists from stopping at Umoja.[15] The Founded 1990

women eventually bought the land the men were occupying.[16] Government
• Type Matriarchal village
The villagers first started out by selling vegetables they bought from others, since they did not know Website https://www.umojawomen.or.ke
[2]
how to farm themselves. This was not very successful, and the village turned to selling traditional
crafts to tourists.[16] The Kenya Wildlife Services took notice and helped the women learn from successful groups in areas such as the Maasai Mara, in
order to improve Umoja's business.[16] The women also had help from Kenya's Heritage and Social Services and the Ministry of Culture.[4]

After Lolosoli visited the United Nations in 2005, men in the neighboring village filed a court case against her, hoping to shut down the village.[14] In
2009, Lolosoli's former husband attacked the village, threatening her life.[17] For a time, the women fled the village for their safety.[17]

The women of the village currently own the land itself.[4] As of 2021, the village's application for a community title over a tract of grazing land is
undergoing government consideration.[12]

Geography and demographics [ edit ]

Umoja is located in north-central Kenya in Samburu County, near Archers Post.[4] The
village is made up of manyata huts[3] built from a mixture of earth and cow dung on an
abandoned grassland.[18] The houses are surrounded by a fence of thorns[13] and barbed
wire.[3]

The people of the village have an objective to "improve the livelihoods of women due to
rampant poverty and counter the problem of women being abandoned by their
families."[16] The village also takes in runaways or girls who have been thrown out of their
households,[16] and raises orphans, abandoned children and children with HIV.[16] The
village has also provided asylum for women fleeing violence from the Turkana District.[19]

Residents in the community must all wear the traditional clothing and beadwork of the
Samburu people.[20] Female genital mutilation is outlawed in the village.[20] Family outside their hut in Umoja.

Population [ edit ]

Men are permitted to visit the village, but not allowed to live in Umoja.[8] As of 2015, one man visited the village daily to do work tending to livestock.[13]
Boys raised in the village are asked to leave when they reach age eighteen.[21] Only men who were raised as children in Umoja may sleep in the
village.[20]

Some women flee to Umoja with children they already have.[13] Many have children while living in the village and seeing men from outside; having
children is seen as desirable, even when out of wedlock.[13][22] The village also takes in orphans, runaways, and abandoned children.[16] In 2005, there
were 30 women and 50 children living in Umoja.[8] As of 2015, there were 47 women and 200 children living in the village.[13]

Economy [ edit ]

Residents of Umoja are engaged in traditional Samburu crafts which they sell at the Umoja Waso Women's Cultural Center.[8] Crafts include colorful
beads,[13] a home-brewed low-alcohol beer analogue[citation needed] and more. The items are also available on a website.[23] The women also run a
campsite for tourists visiting the nearby Samburu National Reserve.[1][21] Every woman donates ten percent of her earnings to the village as a tax to
support the school and other needs.[2]

The village suffered lack of income in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Education [ edit ]

In traditional society, children are engaged in tending livestock, but in Umoja, all children can get an education.[20] There is a primary school that can
accommodate 50 children.[15] The village has also been able to open a nursery school.[24]

Residents of the village go to other villages to promote women's rights and in order to campaign against female circumcision.[25]

Government [ edit ]

The women of the village gather under the "tree of speech" to make decisions for the town.[13] Lolosoli serves as the chairperson of the village.[16] All
women in the village have equal status to one another.[20]

See also [ edit ]

Women only space

Kenya portal
Umoja: The Village Where Men Are Forbidden
Feminism portal
Jinwar, a village run along similar lines in northern Syria

References [ edit ]

1. ^ a b "A Village of One's Own" . Herizons. 19 (2): 11. Fall 2005 – via 13. ^ a b c d e f g h Bindel, Julie (2015-08-16). "The village where men are
EBSCOhost. banned" . The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 2017-08-21.
2. ^ a b c d e Lolosoli, Rebecca; Armstrong, Lisa (October 2006). "It Takes a 14. ^ a b Wax, Emily (2005-07-09). "A Place Where Women Rule" . The
Village" . Essence. 37 (6): 165 – via EBSCOhost. Washington Post. p. 2. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2017-08-21.
3. ^ a b c d e Kosog, Simone (27 October 2012). "The Village Without Men" . 15. ^ a b Pflanz, Mike (16 July 2005). "Thriving women-only village is attacked
Toronto Star. Retrieved 21 August 2017 – via EBSCOhost. by jealous locals" . The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
4. ^ a b c d Dyer, Ervin (9 September 2016). "In Kenya's Umoja Village, a 16. ^ a b c d e f g h "Interview with Rebecca Lolosoli" . Satya Mag. June 2007.
sisterhood preserves the past, prepares the future" . NBC News. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
Retrieved 2017-08-22. 17. ^ a b Schell, Brittany (22 August 2009). "Gunman Attacks Women's Village
5. ^ "UK: Decades of Impunity: Serious Allegations of Rape of Kenyan in Kenya" . New America Media. Archived from the original on 21 May
Women by UK Army Personnel" (pdf). Amnesty International. July 2, 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
2003. Retrieved 24 April 2023. 18. ^ "All-Women Village Thrives" . Off Our Backs. 35 (7): 4–5. July 2005 –
6. ^ mag, Satya (2007). "interview with Rebecca Lolosoli". via EBSCOhost.
7. ^ Noor Ali (January 20, 2007). "British soldiers cleared of Kenya rapes" . 19. ^ "All-female Kenyan village houses abused women" . Al Arabiya News.
Archer's Post, Kenya: Reuters. Retrieved 24 April 2023. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
8. ^ a b c d Friedlin, Jennifer (March 2005). "Kenya: A Village of Sisters" . 20. ^ a b c d e Rubenstein, Hannah (4 April 2012). "Where Men Now Fear to
Marie Claire. 12 (3): 92 – via EBSCOhost. Tread | Inter Press Service" . Inter Press Service. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
9. ^ Lacey, Marc (2004-12-07). "From Broken Lives, Kenyan Women Build 21. ^ a b Karimi, Faith (January 30, 2019). "She grew up in a community where
Place of Unity" . The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved women rule and men are banned" . CNN.
2017-08-22. 22. ^ "Inside the Umoja community in Kenya where women rule — and men
10. ^ a b Wax, Emily (2005-07-09). "A Place Where Women Rule" . The are banned" . CBS News. March 6, 2019.
Washington Post. p. 1. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2017-08-21. 23. ^ "Umoja Jewellery - Traditional beaded Kenyan jewellery" . Umoja
11. ^ "Violence Against Women in Kenya" . Sister Namibia. 21 (4): 44. Jewellery. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
December 2009 – via EBSCOhost. 24. ^ "Women in the World: Rebecca Lolosoli, Kenya" . The Daily Beast.
abc
12. ^ Kirui, Dominic (March 23, 2021). "How an Extraordinary Women- 2011-03-06. Retrieved 2017-08-22.
Only Village Is Inspiring Land Equality in Rural Kenya" . Global Citizen. 25. ^ Crilly, Rob (11 November 2005). "A Village Women Can Call Their
Own" . Irish Times. Retrieved 21 August 2017 – via EBSCOhost.

External links [ edit ]

Official website of the film "Umoja, the village where men are forbidden"
The Land of No Men: Inside Kenya's Women-Only Village (2015 video)
Kenya : le village où les femmes font la loi — rfr

Authority control [hide]

International VIAF

National France · BnF data

Categories: Populated places in Samburu County Women-only spaces Women in Kenya Populated places established in 1990
1990 establishments in Kenya Violence against women in Kenya Feminism in Kenya Intentional communities

This page was last edited on 24 June 2023, at 20:08 (UTC).

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