Kenya’s Maasai women fight poverty with literacy

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - For many rural communities such as the Maasai who hail from Kenya’s Rift Valley region in the Kajiado County, illiteracy among women has always been on the rise due to cultural practices.

As the world marks International Literacy Day on Wednesday, indigenous communities in Kenya still face challenges in accessing education. Sept. 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1966 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies, as well as the need for efforts towards more literate societies.

A villager, Grace Naisiae, 47, told Anadolu Agency that over the years, culture and traditions have impacted how education is disseminated in the heavily patriarchal Maasai community of Kenya.

Naisiae spoke of some barriers to education that are embedded in the Maasai culture.

“I grew up in Bartimaro here in the Kajiado County. In the past, early marriages were very common, maybe because of poverty or just because it was our culture.

"Families used to arrange marriages just after a young girl passed the childhood stage. As pastoralists, dowry is a very important source of wealth for us and our families,” Naisiae said, noting that incentives for early marriages are among the top causes of illiteracy.

Naisiae, who was married off early, has only studied up to the primary school level and has four children.

“Speaking from my experience, my father never believed in education because in our culture once you are married off you belong to the family that you are married to. So, for our grandfathers and elder generation, it is a waste to educate girls because she will go on to her husband’s family and it is their side that will benefit from her education,” Naisiae said, adding that she had to drop out of school after getting married.

“If you look around us, the terrain is not favorable to walk for long distances. Even now, we have children who don’t go to school. Our area is very arid. In our culture, we believe we are custodians of livestock, especially cows. As pastoralists, everyone has something to do. Boys and sometimes even girls will have to look after these animals and this will entail traveling very long distances in search of pasture and water for the animals. This has also been a cultural barrier to literacy because people believe in wealth from livestock,” she added.

She noted that cows are very important in the Maasai culture and communities drink cow blood during special occasions such as weddings, the birth of a baby, and the rite of passage. All this is done without harming the animals and the food is considered sacred, she added.

Another woman from the area, Terry Naipanoi, 46, also noted that female genital mutilation, which was sold as a rite of passage to young Maasai girls, has also contributed to illiteracy. “After circumcision is marriage, almost immediately, so people used to drop out of school. It does happen sometimes even today.”

“We are nomadic, so moving from place to place also affects education. If you move to a far part of the land you won’t be able to walk to school,” Naipanoi added.

- Adult literacy programs

In modern times, literacy among the indigenous Maasai community has improved as the government works with the county governments, local leaders, and community elders to spread a culture of fighting poverty through education.

Adult literacy programs have been rolled out across the Kajiado County to boost literacy levels. Enrollment of women in adult literacy education programs has been high, which has empowered them through informal learning.

“We have so many adult literacy programs which have helped us understand how to use mobile phones and how to be proficient in languages such as Swahili and English. With such programs, we have improved our businesses because we are no longer illiterate. There is a joy that comes with reading and writing,” Naipanoi said.

“Culture is good, but it gets outdated with time. Being ranked as one of the most illiterate regions in Kenya is sad. Maasai women have seen the power of education and we embrace it and have always taught our children the benefits of education,” she added.

Grace Naisiae, another Maasai woman, said: “There used to be just a few jobs we could apply for. In Kenya, Maasai people are famous for being security guards. This is changing due to literacy. Now we have more opportunities offering employment, including teaching others from the community how to read and write.”

“We are fighting poverty with education. Our women are opening their own businesses. We are learning about technology and are boosting some of the work we do such as knitting and making traditional jewelry by selling them online.”

- Mothers’ role in education

According to a report by Lucy Maina, the Africa Educational Trust's Kenya country director: “To bridge the equity gaps and resolve the learning crisis in most of rural Africa, the role of mothers cannot be underplayed. Funding for adult literacy is therefore justified: first, because of the individual outcomes especially for mothers; and, second, because of the benefits for their children.”

Speaking to community leaders at a past event, Kajiado County Governor Joseph Jama Ole Lenku urged the Maasai people to embrace education, adding illiteracy levels in his county were at 48%.

“There was a task force we came up with to check the standard of education in the county and it showed that the standard of education was unsatisfactory,” Lenku told elders, speaking in Swahili.

Lenku called for concerted efforts to boost literacy levels in the county, saying the county government will offer support to those in need, and urged the youth to enroll in technical and vocational institutions.

“We have decided to work together, from me, the governor, to parents, teachers, and students to change this narrative so that our children can find a way to develop and empower themselves tomorrow.”