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The State and Sexual Politics: an Analysis of Abortion Discourses in Kenya http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/ Research Commons at the University of Waikato Copyright Statement: The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis. The State and Sexual Politics: An Analysis of Abortion Discourses in Kenya A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Waikato by JANE WAMBUI NJAGI 2013 ii Abstract Unsafe abortion, an issue that leads to over 2,000 deaths and health complications for more than 21,000 women annually in Kenya, remains largely unaddressed by the Kenyan state. Despite the significant public importance of abortion, there has been little or no scholarly attention directed at the role of the state in shaping sexual politics through its regulation of abortion. In this thesis, I undertake a feminist analysis of the Kenyan state to explore how the state, through its policy regime, shapes sexual politics. I argue that Western-based feminist theorisations of the state, although useful, do not fully account for the Kenyan state‟s treatment of the issue of abortion. Consequently, I draw on the range of scholarship in feminist theorisations of the state and in African politics to develop the Critical African Feminist Perspective on the state. Using this perspective, I undertake a discourse analysis of archival material, policy texts, and interviews with key actors in abortion politics. The analysis of the state over three phases – colonial, dictatorial, and democratic – reveals the neo-patrimonial character of the state, resulting in policies and practices that systematically ignore or marginalise issues affecting women. This study demonstrates that across consecutive governments, the Kenyan political elite, in an attempt to consolidate political power and popularity in the face of low levels of legitimacy and complex tribal politics, has deployed a tactic of “strategic ambivalence”, wherein the law criminalising abortion has been sustained but not enforced. State efforts have therefore been directed at presenting a positive image of itself to both pro- and anti-abortion actors, rather than substantively tackling the problem of unsafe abortion. The study establishes that although neoliberalism, capitalism and patriarchy play significant roles, neo-patrimonial politics is the key impediment to creating policies and institutions that will ensure Kenyan women‟s access to safe abortions. I note that although Kenya‟s new Constitution guarantees women better access to legal abortion, it has not conclusively addressed neo-patrimonialism, which is therefore likely to continue to have negative implications for sexual politics and issues of gender equality in general. iii iv Acknowledgements This was a long journey, full of pain and pleasure. I had companions, walking with me, holding my hand, opening my eyes, clearing my way. I would like to express gratitude to the following people, without whom this research would not have been possible: Auckland Medical Aid Trust (AMAT) for funding this study. Without the Trust‟s financial support, this research would not have got off the ground. My chief supervisor, Associate Professor Priya Kurian. I express heartfelt thanks for your advice and advocacy. My supervisors Dr. Carolyn Michelle, and Dr. Rachel Simon-Kumar. Your collective wisdom nurtured my growth as a researcher and enabled the success of this study. My children Njau and Nyakairu: They followed me to New Zealand and had to put up with lack of maternal attention while I was studying. Njau, a big hug for taking care of your sister in my absence. My family: I am indebted to my sisters and brothers for their endless support and prayers. Specifically, I thank my sister Ruguru, for travelling to New Zealand to watch over my children while I conducted my fieldwork in Kenya. Jim and Helen Findlay: I appreciate the love, care, and support that they have shown to me and my children during the course on my study. My friends and colleagues: I thank Ernesta, Nyamaamaa, Nwosu, Kunle, Maloba, Iribe, Alex, Dassia and Chandra, for the good times that we shared. Collegues and friends in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and in the Department of Political Science & Public Policy: I am indebted to you for the assistance and cooperation that I received. This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Mary Wanja and Charles Njagi; they are the role models of my life. v vi Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ................................................................................................ vii List of Figures and Tables .................................................................................... x Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.0. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background of the Study ......................................................................................... 2 1.2. The Legal Context of Abortion in Kenya ................................................................ 5 1.3. The State and Sexual Politics ................................................................................... 8 1.4. Post-Independence Kenya: An Overview of Political Regimes .............................. 9 1.5. Research Questions ................................................................................................ 12 1.6. Discourse, Policy and Gender ................................................................................ 14 1.7. Methodology .......................................................................................................... 14 1.8. Chapter Outline ...................................................................................................... 15 Chapter Two ........................................................................................................ 19 Accounting for the State in Abortion Politics ................................................... 19 2.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 19 2.1. Feminist Theories of the State ............................................................................... 21 2.1.1. Liberal Feminism and the State ...................................................................... 21 2.1.2. Radical Feminism and the State ...................................................................... 28 2.1.3. Socialist Feminist Theorizations of the State .................................................. 32 2.1.4. Post-structuralist Feminism and the State ....................................................... 35 2.2. Contribution of Western Feminist Theories of the State to the Present Study ...... 36 2.3. The Nature of Post-colonial African States: Neo-patrimonialism ......................... 40 2.4. Roadmap to a Critical African Feminist Theorization of the African State ........... 46 2.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 53 Chapter Three ..................................................................................................... 55 Research Methodology........................................................................................ 55 3.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 55 3.1. Feminist Qualitative Research ............................................................................... 56 3.2. Discourse and Discourse Analysis ......................................................................... 58 vii 3.3. Research Methods .................................................................................................. 62 3.3.1. Semi-structured In-depth Interviews ............................................................... 62 3.3.2. Document Collection....................................................................................... 68 3.4. Data Categorisation and Analysis .......................................................................... 70 3.5. Ethical Considerations............................................................................................ 73 3.6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 74 Chapter Four ....................................................................................................... 75
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