The Land of No Men

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As the creation story goes, a man shall leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and they shall become one. Contrary to the story, in the lands of the Samburu in the Northern Kenya where the deserts merges with the foot hills of Mount Kenya, women have being living under a harsh patriarchal system where they have no say. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been an important culture in the community. Once a girl is circumcised, she is given away to a man to go and start their own family. This culture has seen girls as young as 12 years old married off to men as old as their grandfathers. However, Obama’s visit to Kenya in 2018 put women’s rights in the fore front of national dialogue. As he stated in his speech, “This traditions may have had value in the past centuries but have no place in the 20th century.”

Rebecca Lolosoli the founder of the village of no men and an advocate of women’s right was married off at the age of 18. Seeing the oppression of her fellow women who were victims of rape caused by the British men, she began speaking for the women rights. Local men angered by her voice that was beginning to raise awareness to the women, beat her until she was hospitalized. Her husband did not defend her he left her along with other women who were survivors of violence and created their own village in the year 1990 called Umoja.

The internet has brought the place to be known all over and people travel from far and wide to see how the land of matriarchal system survives. The women started their own small business of selling jewelry on the road as their source of income. The men however beat the women as they sold the jewelry and stole their money. As it was a custom long ago if the husband and the wife had a dispute the woman would ran back to her mother’s house where she would be returned to the husband and the issue settled by the clan elders if it was major or solved between them. Angry husbands now come in search of their wives but are beaten

up and dressed like women before they are chased away. The women have to stay up in shifts at night to protect each other.

The women of Umoja have also started a school that accommodates children not only from the women’s village but also from the other villages. The school educates the children and teach them that both women and men both have equal rights. Young girls who have reached the age of marriage and would like to have children are allowed to have relationships with the men from other villages and likewise with the men. The aged men and other men who have accepted the matriarchal rule are also allowed to live there as long as they have no intentions of over ruling the women. The women of Umoja build their houses communally

and constantly repair them with cow dung as the houses need constant maintenance.

The women of Umoja have proven for many years that they can live and survive on their own without the dependence of men. Rebecca Lolosoli was recognized and awarded by Hillary Clinton for her strong will power and determination for what she believes in. She lives to be an inspiration to women all over the world. And true to the saying, WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY.