Women, Marriage Alliances and Power in East Africa: Women’s Livelihoods and Men’s Power: Customary Lore and Women’s Agency in Colonial Kenya

Examining marriage alliances is key to understanding the notion of power in Africa. Widely analyzed in Western Africa, the topic remains unstudied in Eastern Africa. The panel will compare the life-courses of women, from elites to lower classes, as objects or instigators of the exchanges. The focus will be on the strategies put in place by women, once married, to participate actively in politics and the life of the community. We want to analyze the theme of the matrimonial unions, not as a tool used by leaders, but as a potential springboard of career and social advancement. It is also fundamental to include the historical context to apprehend the peculiarity of these alliances and to determine which factors contributed to the rise of these women, whether they became visible or remained in the shadows. Moreover, these individual careers are generally part of a collective advancement, of their families or networks. As well, dynastic, inter-confessional and/or inter-ethnic marriages were used to support leaders, confirm peace deals or ease regional tensions to favor trade or express recognition of a dominant power. Addressed in a historical perspective, they reveal the evolving relationships between various regional partners. In conclusion, we will consider the history of Eastern Africa from a new angle, examining the role of women as actors shaping the continuities, changes and geopolitical restructuring of the societies of this region.