| dc.description.abstract | From a global perspective, gender mainstreaming has been embraced as a strategy to
magnify and propagate women’s rights to achieve gender parity. The United States has
been hailed to be making significant progress in advancing gender equality. However, it
continues to grapple with endless gender inequalities despite the enormous progress. From
Africa’s perspective, gender mainstreaming has received a significant attention as
exemplified by the implementation of gender-related policies. However, the
implementation has been weak as women continue to be constrained by socioeconomic,
political and cultural hurdles and Kenyan women are not an exception. According to the
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, women’s political participation in the Rift Valley area
is notably low compared to other regions. Despite having similar gender mainstreaming
policies, Nakuru County has more women in political representation than Narok County.
This study aimed to uncover the reasons behind these disparities. The study’s objectives
were to examine the nature of gender mainstreaming policies, evaluate the extent of
women’s political participation towards the attainment of peace in Nakuru and Narok
counties, explore opportunities for women’s political participation towards the attainment
of peace in Nakuru and Narok counties, and investigate the challenges to women’s political
participation towards the attainment of peace in Nakuru and Narok counties. The research
was grounded in radical feminism theory, structural violence theory, and political
development theory. Philosophically, the study was grounded in pragmatism philosophical
approach. The study deployed descriptive survey research design which was aided by both
qualitative and quantitative methods. The target population comprised of 384 household
heads, derived through Fisher’s formula and sampled using simple random technique, key
informants including the security personnel, county officials dealing with gender issues,
CSO officials, elected and non-elected political leaders and conflict management experts
who were purposively sampled. Data was collected using questionnaires, focus group
discussions and key informant interviews. Qualitative data collected was analysed
thematically and presented in verbatim quotations while quantitative data was analysed
using inferential and descriptive statistics with an aid of SPSS version 28 and presented in
frequencies, percentages, graphs, tables and pie charts. The results found that socially
constructed ways of life negatively affected gender mainstreaming to promote peaceful
coexistence and did not accord women equal opportunities, as a gendered approach to
peace building was lacking in Narok. Women in the study areas still face several hurdles
including underrepresentation, strong cultural and social norms, and weak legal structures
pertaining to gender mainstreaming. These factors not only hinder their participation in
politics but also in peace building. The study also found that women’s political
participation presented untapped opportunities including the need for women’s
empowerment, strengthening of the existing genders mainstreaming policies and the
potential for collaboration of both genders to attain peace and enhance effective political
participation of both genders. The study concluded that there are progress and on-going
challenges in achieving gender parity in political representation. A stronger political will
and better support systems have seen more women participate in politics, while Narok
requires more effective implementation of gender mainstreaming policies. | en_US |
