Presentation Schedule
Collective Agency and Land Rights: Women’s Self-Help Groups as Drivers of Rural Transformation in Kenya (100825)
Session Chair: John Riofrio
Sunday, 4 January 2026 12:40
Session: Session 3 (Parallel)
Room: Hawaii Convention Center: Room 305A
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Self-help groups (SHGs) have long been the subject of research across Asia and Africa, especially for their role in promoting financial inclusion, empowering women, and strengthening household resilience. In Kenya, much of the scholarship on women’s self-help groups—locally known as Chamas—has centred on individual and household outcomes like savings, income generation, and food security. However, their broader influence as collective agents of change within communities has received far less attention. This paper shifts the analytical lens outward to explore how Chamas contributes to rural transformation—not only by advancing women’s land rights, but also by shaping local governance structures and challenging entrenched norms. This study draws on a large body of academic and policy literature, alongside qualitative insights from interviews with Chama leaders and community stakeholders in Kakamega County. It explores how collective action within Chamas helps raise legal awareness, mobilize women around land claims, and gradually shift deeply held gender norms. Framed through the lenses of Collective Action Theory and the Rights-Based Approach, the findings show that these grassroots women’s groups do far more than offer economic support—they are actively reshaping local power dynamics and advancing more inclusive models of rural development.The study's focus on impacts at community-level adds to the growing discourse on gender, land governance, and rural transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa. It offers a more nuanced understanding of the socio-political dimensions of women’s collective agency.
Authors:
Franciscah Anyona Omukiti, University of Tsukuba, Japan
About the Presenter(s)
Ms Franciscah Anyona Omukiti is a University Doctoral Student at University of Tsukuba in Japan
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