'Rehabilitation': a Critical Examination of The
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‘REHABILITATION’: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE DISCIPLINING OF STREET-CONNECTED GIRLS IN MOMBASA, KENYA WITHIN A CHARITABLE CHILDREN’S INSTITUTION by Michelle M. Johnston A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in the Department of Global Development Studies in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada July, 2015 Copyright © Michelle M. Johnston, 2015 Abstract In Mombasa, Kenya government officials, public figures, NGOs and wananchis (civil society) often decry the presence of street children, viewing them as both criminal and therefore as in need of discipline and reform, and as limited rights-bearing citizens deserving of education and a ‘work-free’ childhood. To address this social concern, charitable children’s institutions (CCIs), operating under the Children’s Act (2010) are granted authority by the Government of Kenya to remove and relocate children from urban spaces by institutionalizing them under the premise of ‘rehabilitation’. Despite widespread critique, the practice of institutionalizing street-connected girls in Mombasa, Kenya remains common, with few studies examining the longitudinal and gendered effects of such schemes within the current era of rights-based ‘development’. With attention to spatial, historical and sociopolitical specificity, I explore the complex, shifting and historically-situated relationship between the Wema Centre and the women who, as street-connected young girls, became the targets of ‘rehabilitation’ schemes aimed at their own transformation. Situating such programmes contextually within colonial histories of power, I use Foucault’s concept of ‘disciplinary power’ (1979) to unpack the aims and practices of the Wema Centre’s ‘rehabilitation’ scheme to analyze how and through what means the Centre desires to transform street-connected girls. In reflecting on their experiences of institutionalization, ‘graduates’, who have spent on average 11.2 years of their lives institutionalized, recognize various ways in which they have benefited from the CCI’s intervention. However, in being confronted with significant challenges that ‘rehabilitation’ does not address, they also articulate strong demands for change to the ways in which the Wema Centre operates, while continuing to devise their own strategies of managing the difficulties they face on the “outside” and upon exiting care. In this thesis, I draw together my findings in a way that presents the Wema Centre’s ‘rehabilitation’ scheme as it both: 1) trains street-connected girls in gendered, useful ways in order to ii create ‘ideal’ Kenyan women necessary to sustaining the social reproduction of the conditions of production within neoliberal patriarchal capitalism, and 2) depoliticizes the conditions in which poverty arises by leaving political-economic questions unexamined, allowing the Wema Centre to sustain itself within the development apparatus. iii Acknowledgements I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to some of the incredible teachers that have played a critical role in encouraging me along this academic path. To begin, I would like to thank and recognize my supervisor, Dr. Marc Epprecht, for his insights and guidance throughout this project, and the members of my examination committee: Dr. Villia Jefremovas, Dr. Karen Dubinsky and Dr. Andrew Grant, for their feedback and critique. Dr. Ishita Pande, while unable to formally sit on my committee, also provided valuable contributions while in the midst of writing. I am also grateful to Dr. Villia Jefremovas for her mentorship over the years and steadfast support during my (at times often) moments of self-doubt. Besides providing me with a remarkable introduction to the field of development studies six years ago, I am thankful to Dr. Paritosh Kumar and Dr. Karen Dubinsky for their guidance and encouragement. I value each of our discussions around how transnational adoption has come to shape our lives and the people we love. Few times have I encountered those who make me feel understood when it comes to my family, so for that I am deeply thankful. I am also indebted to the professors, staff, colleagues and friends who have been particularly influential in providing me with a sense of community and whose conversations have been both energizing and insightful: Noelle, Jess, Adam, Dr. Dia Da Costa, Dr. Mark Hostetler, Dr. Marcus Taylor, Karen, Barbra, Peta and Lorie. I owe special recognition to my parents, my sister Marta and my brother Rajan, who have been tremendous cheerleaders on my journey into postgraduate education and fieldwork despite missing birthdays, soccer games and family trips. I am especially grateful to my mother for her interest and willingness to discuss ideas, providing me with perspective when I needed it most, and her love and friendship. In Kenya, I am thankful to my dear friend and housemate, Faiza, whose kindness, generosity and openness to share details of what are sometimes painful and sensitive topics, made this project possible. I also thank Rose Macharia for her time spent beside me painstakingly translating interviews as I pestered her with questions. Additionally, I would like to recognize the staff and volunteers at the Wema Centre and at the Children’s Department for sharing their ideas, time and energy for this project. To the remarkable women whose perspectives and stories are shared within this thesis, I dedicate this work to you. It is my hope that this research may in some small way contribute to ensuring that young girls in Mombasa encounter conditions different than those which they experienced. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... vii Map of Mombasa County ............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Conceptual framework ................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 3: Histories of disciplining street-connected children: From vagrancy laws to child rights legislation ....................................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 4: The Wema Centre's 'rehabilitation' scheme: Exploring the logic of intervention, its aims and practices ................................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 5: Wema Centre 'Graduates': The practice of politics ..................................................... 82 Chapter 6: Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 102 References .................................................................................................................................... 106 Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 114 v List of Figures Figure 1: Classification of Policy Approaches evident towards Street Children Figure 2: The Wema Centre logo of the pre and post-intervention street-connected girl Figure 3: “I’m folding the overalls we made for Baraka Roses” (S09). Figure 4.1: “Here, I was from work, tired, didn’t have anything to eat and no money. We have to pay rent so I was wondering how my day would go and what I am going to do” (S03). Figure 4.2: “This is where I used to work; I’m a professional hairdresser…I’m working hard and saving money so I can open my own salon. I moved out of this salon because I don’t like to be treated badly by my boss” (S01). Figure 4.3: “Sometimes I feel pity for myself when I look at myself. I had an accident and it has been difficult to get help. I was cooking with the stove and I caught fire on my chest and arms” (S06). Figure 4:4: “If my neighbour wants to wash her clothes she puts them outside her door. When we both have washing we work together and then it becomes easy. She has a lot of children; she’s 24 years old and has three kids, so there’s a lot of washing” (S04). Figure 4.5: “This is my friend Jane. We go to the same Pentecostal church. She’s like a mother to me; she has two kids. One daughter is older than me. [If] I have washing to do I take Jeremy to her to watch him. Here is her business; she sells shoes and those things” (S11). Figure 4.6: “The Baba of Sean [Sean’s dad] and his friends also fetch water for their wives. If you love your partner you carry for her – it’s hard work" (S04). vi List of Abbreviations ACPF – African Child Policy Forum ACRWC – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child CBD – Central Business District CCI – Charitable Children’s