Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2020, 21 (1): 18-37 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2020.002  

In 1929-30, British missionaries active in central Kenya sought the help of the British colonial government in banning and eventually eradicating the Gikuyu tradition of female circumcision. This was met by an uproar amongst the Gikuyu population, many of whom protested in the form of the Muthirigu dance song, giving rise to what is known as the ‘female circumcision controversy.’ Contemporary sources demonstrate the numerous contributions to the debate on the issue, including from missionary societies, colonial officials, British women, and Kenyan men, who all incorporated the controversy into their various agendas, be it concern...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2020, 21 (1): 38-62 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2020.003  

Gender based violence (GBV) refers to any form of sexual, physical, psychological, or economic harm or threat to harm another that is rooted in gender based inequalities and unequal power relations. GBV violates human rights, significantly hampers economic productivity and development, and threatens health and wellbeing of millions worldwide. The WHO notes that over 35% of women worldwide have experienced GBV, however, in Uganda it is up to 74%. While several efforts have been put in place to address GBV, the most popularly used approach in Uganda is women’s economic empowerment (WEE). This paper critiques the WEE approach for prevention of GBV...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2020, 21 (1): 64-88 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2020.004  

Development narratives posit that through entrepreneurship, young women can become empowered economic agents, instrumental to the development of their communities. As feminist scholars have pointed out, these narratives serve to homogenise, depoliticise, and ahistoricise the category ‘young woman’ and to naturalise the inequitable global structures in which it is embedded. To universalise young womanhood is to ignore the ways in which young women's lives are shaped by their cultural contexts and by structural constraints. As a result, most development schemes targeting young women as entrepreneurs fail to recognize the ways in which engaging...

Gender a výzkum / Gender and Research 2020, 21 (1): 90-115 | DOI: 10.13060/gav.2020.005  

This article documents evidence from a qualitative study in which 67 in–depth interviews and a focus group discussion were conducted with aging and old market women. The study focused on what ‘old’ means, how aging and old market women redefine the meaning of ‘old’ to gain economic independence. The findings indicate that the meaning is still greatly attached to physical changes; there are differences in how different individuals respond to the changes, some challenge the gender stereotypes and prejudice attached to old age and show resilience. Indicators of resilience among market women included: an active economic...