The Royal African Society

The Colonial Idea of Women and Direct Intervention: The Mau Mau Case
Author(s): Marina E Santoru
Source: African Affairs, Vol. 95, No. 379 (Apr., 1996), pp. 253-267
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal African Society
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 (1996),95, 253-267
Affairs
African
THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND
DIRECT INTERVENTION: THE MAU MAU
CASE
E SANTORU
MARINA

THEPARTICIPATION OFKikuyu women in the Mau Mau movement has

been the objectof severalworksin the last decade. Most of the published
literatureon women and Mau Mau makesuse of oral sources as the main
way of testifyingto the experienceof women, hoping therebyto avoid any
misrepresentationof women's role in nationalism.l
The most recentworkshave also emphasisedthat colonialismwas crucial
to the transformationof the role of women, principallybecauseit createda
set of ideas aboutwomen in orderto impose specificroles on them. Cora
Presley's work on Kikuyu women is highly effective in explaininghow,
duringthe colonialperiod,the interactionbetweenwomen and the colonial
power influenced the participation of women in politics. Her main
argumentis that 'There was a basic transformationof women's roles from
1880 to 1962 because of Kikuyuwomen's significantinvolvementin the
"politics of protest" from the 1920s throughthe Mau Mau period'.2 In
her view such involvement was partly due to colonialism. Tabitha
Kanogo too has recently stressed the importance of colonialism in the
constructionof genderroles and consequentlyin influencingthe represen-
tation of the role of women in nationalism.3 Kanogo's earlierwork on
Kikuyu squatters and Mau Mau, which devotes a section to women
fighters,tried to challengethe male image of women by documentingtheir
own testimonialson their actual involvementin protest. The works of
both Kanogo and Presley provide first-rate data as far as women are
concernedand give interestinginsightsinto the implicationof the colonial
perceptionof Africanwomen in Kenya.
Presleymaintainsthat the 'dynamicof colonialismfor women in Kenya'
has not become yet a separatefield of study. Howeverrecentliteratureon
The authoris gratefulto DavidAnderson,MarshallClough,JohnLonsdale,and IrmaTaddia
for theirhelpfulcommentson the paperpresentedat the 36th ASAUS meetingof whichthis
articleis a revisedversion.
1. C. A. Presley,'KikuyuWomen in the "Mau Mau" Rebellion'in G. Y. Okihiro(ed.)
In Resistance:Studies in African, Caribbeanand Afro-Americanhistory (University of
MassachusettsPress,Amherst,1986); 'The Mau Mau Rebellion,KikuyuWomenand Social
Change', Canadian3rournalof AfricanStudies22 (1988); Kikuyu Women,the Mau Mau
Rebellion andSocialChangein Kenya(WestviewPress,Boulder1992). T. Kanogo,Squatters
and theRootsof Mau Mau: 1905-1963 James Currey,London, 1987); 'KikuyuWomen and
the Politicsof Protest:Mau Mau', in S. Macdonald,P. Holden, S. Ardener(eds.), Imagesof
Womenin Peaceand War:Crosscultural and historical (Macmillan,London, 1987).
perspective
2. Presley,KikuyuWomen,theMau Mau Rebellion, p. 1.
3. T. Kanogo, 'Colonialism and Gender: Depiction and control of African women'
OrientaliaKaralitana2 (1993).
253

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254 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

women and Mau Mau is importantfor our understandingof whetherand

how gender is relevantto the interpretationof the Mau Mau movement.4
Moreover,being based mainly on oral data, such evidence constitutes a
primarysourcefor the evaluationof the responsibilitiesthat women held in
the organizationof the Mau Mau war. What emergesfrom these studies
is the close link betweencolonialpractice,the role of women in the African
society and their political involvement. The woman's journeytowardsa
mature political role is highlighted by Presley in women's progressive
reactionagainstthe colonialists'exploitationof their work. By means of
this reactionwomen developed a political consciousnesswhich permitted
them to 'negotiate' their status during the later colonial period. Their
contributionto Mau Mau is the proof of this politicalconsciousness.
Anotherimportantaspect of the influenceof colonialism,alreadynoted
by Kanogo and White, is the female gender construction created by
day-to-daycolonial administrativepractices. In this sense the Mau Mau
movement, or more precisely the reaction against it, representsa clear
example of how the colonial governmentused repressionto attempt to
impose the constructionof gender function.
Basing my own observations on the important conclusions already
reachedby other earlierstudies, I shall try to point out how the Mau Mau
movementbecamea specificmeansfor colonialinfluenceupon women and
theirpoliticalrole. The progressiveinvolvementof women in the political
spherewas realized,as Presleydemonstrates,by way of the transforrnation
of woman's economic role (such as workingfor Europeansettlers), and
reachedits zenith withinthe Mau Mau movement. The colonialreaction
to this involvementwas simplyto punish it. Indeed, by the repressingof
Mau Mau it was possible to reconstruct an indigenous society which
consciously transformedthe role of women within it. The women's
rehabilitationbecame the main instrumentwith which to re-educatethe
Kikuyucommunity;and underlyingthis re-educationprogrammeone finds
the colonialists'ideas and their interpretationof women and their roles.
This articlefocuses on the colonial interpretationof the role of women in
the movement, and on the conception of women which led to this
irlterpretation,and which colonial administratorstried to impose during
the Emergencyin Kenya.
Given the fact that Kikuyuwomen did indeed participatein Mau Mau,
we need to ask why this participationappearedas being so differentfrom
that of men. Colonial sources on Mau Mau and the Emergencyprovide
a strikingexample of how women's politicalroles can be misrepresented.

4. See also L. White, 'Separating the Men from the Boys: Constructions of gender, sexualit;y,
and terrorism in Central Kenya, 1939-1959', ffournalof African HistoricalStudies 23
(1990). J. Davison, VoicesfromAJutira: Li?vesof ruralGikuyuwomen(Lynne Riener, Boulder,
1989).

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 255

However,going beyond this misrepresentation,we need to askwhetherthe

experience of women in Mau Mau) and more generallyin any Kenyan
nationalistmovement, was reallythat differentfrom the male role. The
colonialinterpretationis that it was. Two levels of analysiswould seem to
emerge:the real significanceof women's participationin Mau Mau; and
the colonial response to womens activismin the movement, as this was
perceivedby the colonial authorities.
The premise of this article is that the Mau Mau movement was the
strongest expression of Kikuyu nationalism. 'Nationalism' is a very
generaland inclusiveterm. Neverthelessit maybe used in a selectiveway,
to emphasizethe action within and for the communityratherthan simply
the reaction to colonial rule. This action refers to the creativework of
men and women. It refers to the ways in which a colonized population
desires to shape its Cnation';how it conceives its and the 'community,5

manner in which it debates and argues out such a definition6 If this

perspectiveis accepted)it can be shown that the colonialinterventionwith
regard to women activists succeeded in limiting and transformingsuch
. . .

partlclpatlon.
The participationof women in Mau Mau may be considered as a
demonstrationof the maturityof these womens political consciousness.
The political involvement of women in anti-colonialactivity reached its
peak during the 1950s. At the same time) activismin Mau Mau had a
configuration which was different in nature from earlier political
activism. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s women's protests took the
form of opposition to particularsituations,7since the confrontationwith
the colonial authoritieswas limitedto definedspheresof intervention. As
we know from the workof Cora Presleynwomen'spoliticalprotestin those
years startedwith labour. It was in reaction to the exploitationof their
labouron the Europeanestates that they developeda political conscious-
ness which they subsequentlyexpressed in political organization. The
support women gave to the Kikuyu political organizations,from the
Kikuyu CentralAssociationto the IndependentSchools movement, was
confirmationof their increasingresponsibilityas political subjects. This
involvementgrew duringMau Mau, and women contributedsignificantly
to Kikuyunationalism. On the colonial side, the governmentconceived
women's militancy as being linked simply to the general Kikuyu unrest.
Given this point of view, women's protests were considered as an

5. B. Anderson, ImaginedCommunities: Refectionson the originand spreadof nationalism

(Verso, London, 1983).
6. J. Lonsdale, 'The Moral Economy of Mau Mau', in B. Berman, J. Lonsdale (eds.),
UnhappyValley:Conflictin KenyaandAfricadames Currey, London, 1992), Book Two.
7. See F. Mackenzie, 'Political Economy of the Environment, Gender and Resistance under
Colonialism: Murang'a District, Kenya, 1910-1950', Canadian3rournal of AfricanStudies25
(l991).

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 256 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

instrument of men's political action and thus lacking any autonomous

politicaldetermination. This attituderemainedtheirprincipaltouchstone
duringMau Mau. Although,as we will see, the colonialauthoritieswere
also forced to recognize,for the first time, that women were to be fought
separatelyfrom men.

'Passivezving'and militants:statingthe idea of Mau Mau zvomen

As has alreadybeen said, what we know about women's responsibilities
in Mau Mau comes largelyform oral testimony,8whereascolonial docu-
ments reveal only a general but ill-defined awareness of a female
presence. In fact these documents do not concentrate on women as
specificsubjectsof Mau Mau action;neverthelessthere is some important
evidence that the involvement of women was more specific than has
hitherto been assumed. Also when speaking only incidentally about
women the documentswould seem to contradictthe widespreadopinions
propagatedby the colonial authoritiesvis-a-viswomen.
The firstimportantelement is that women followedthe Mau Mau rules
by takingpart in oathingcampaigns.9 As an immediatemeans of accept-
ance of the movement,the oath was also a culturalfeaturethroughwhich
the Kikuyu recognized their ethnic community. The fact that women
sharedthe oath with men was new to the Kikuyutraditionand at the same
time led the governmentto realizethat women were part of the movement
in their own right. As an instrumentof ethnic and culturalcohesion the
oath guaranteedsupport for guerrillaactivity and, more generally, for
the objectivesof the movement. Throughthis peculiarlinkwomen gained
new responsibilitieswhich made them availablefor the struggle against
colonial power.
Besides the participationin oathing campaigns,the activity of women
can be traced in all sectors of Mau Mau. Among the Kikuyu, women
were the major component of the so-called 'passive wing'. By 'passive
wing' colonial administratorsmeant the network which was established
amongthe populationto give supportto the 'militantwing'.l? The former
was considered an integral part of the movement and essential to its
existence, but nevertheless distinct from those 'active' in the armed
8. See note 1.
9. Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, AfricanAffairsDepartment AnnualReport1950;Kenya
National Archives (hereafter KNA) ARC(MAA) 2/3/36 VII, CentralProvinceAnnualReport
l95o. Kanogo in her 'Kikuyu Women' asserts that 'there were no female oath adminis-
trators' (p. 86), but a note on the arrest of Wanjiko w/o Gaitho, oath administrator, can be
found in the Public Record Office (hereafter PRO). WO 276/333. Kiambu Sitreps, Jan.
1954-March 1954. It is true, however, that in some cases the oath was imposed on women
by force, see Davison, Voicesfrom Mutira, pp. 79 and 103. For a discussion of the
significance of oath-taking ceremonies in Mau Mau see: M. Green, 'Mau Mau Oathing
Rituals and Political Ideology in Kenya: a re-analysis', Africa60 (1990).
10. KNA. ARC(MAA) 2/3/36 VII. CentralProzvince AnnualReport1954.

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 257

struggle. This distinctionwas at the verycore of the colonialunderstand-

ing of Mau Mau. In the attemptto define the movement as a 'rebellion'
againstcolonial governmentand to restrainsuch rebelliousintentions,the
colonial authoritiessaw Mau Mau as the product of the action of a few
leaderswho, by exploitingthe politicaland social questionat issue, triedto
control the whole population.
The movementhas many heads and we are dealingwith a hydra. There is the
exploitationof grievancesconceming land, housing and wages; and many of
them have much force. There is the attempt to gain control over the whole
Kikuyutribe by attackson those who refuseto take the Mau Mau oath.l1

The distinctionbetween fightersand supporterscould thus substantiatea

paradigmaccordingto which a few leaders could force the grassrootsto
act. The 'passive wing', in this view, became a separate object of
repressionwhich needed to be isolated from the 'militantwing'.
The colonial reaction against the 'passive wing' is a useful indicator
of the way in which the colonial authoritiesconceived the involvementof
women in Mau Mau. Administratorsknew that Kikuyu women gave
supportto the guerrillasin severalways: 'the part playedby women to aid
the terroristswas considerable. They not only fed them but carriedfood
to gangs in the forest.'12 Nevertheless the government was unable to
identify women as a distinct and homogeneous category inside the
movement. They referred,for example,to Kikuyuwomen as 'spies', and
'couriers',l3as the 'eyes and ears of Mau Mau'.l4 Police reports say
women were encouraged'to make friends with members of the security
forces with the object of obtaininginformationand ammunition'.l5 The
broaderdefinition 'passive wing' was used in an attempt to characterize
women's presence in the movement. By definition it implied a lesser
determination,since 'passive' was equated with 'coerced'. But at the
same time, such an interpretationwas instrumentalin securing specific
forms of punishment. Women's roles in support of the movement were
recognizedas pivotal, albeit to some extent manipulated;and the repres-
sion of this 'passivewing' was a way of severelyweakeningthe movement
as a whole. The government carried all this out quite deliberately.
Among the most effective measures were the control of crops, and the
concentrationof workersin special areas and a closer administrationof
those reserveswhere women were more active in providingsupport.
In particular,the policy of villagizationled to the reorganizationof
communicylife and the imposition of new roles on women. Under the
11. 822/444. Reportson situationin Kenya1952.
PRO.
12. ARC(MAA) 2/3/36 VII. CentralProvinceAnnualReport1953.
KNA.
13. ARC(MAA) 2/3/36 VII. CentralProvinceAnnualReport1954.
KNA.
14. DC/KBU 1/44. KiambuDistrictAnnualReport1953. See also Presley, Kikuyu
KNA.
Women,theMau Mau Rebellion, p. 130.
15. PRO. WO 2761279. Reportby SpecialBranch.

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 258 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

EmergencyRegulationswomen were forced to work for the scommunal

service'.l6 Women's labourwas exploitedto makevillagesinaccessibleto
guerrillas,with the diggingfor exampleof trenchesto 'protect'them, and
to carry out work which was fundamentalto the continuation of the
Emergency. The hardship of labour conditions shows that communal
labourwas more than merelya servicefor the public 'good'.17 For as part
of the Emergencypolicy, it was a punitive measure as well;l8 a direct
outcome of the repression of Mau Mau which the government was
pursuingas its primaryaim. Punishingwomen was thus instrumentalin
neutralizing the 'passive wing'. This explains why the government,
although not differentiatingits policies towards women as it had done
duringthe earlieryearsof administration,attemptedto identifywomen as
an autonomousenemy who had to be fought for the first time on a large
scale. The governmentwas able to do this by going througha processof
successive 'identifications'of differentgroups of Kikuyuwomen. In this
way, colonialauthoritiessingled out fromthe 'passivewing', the categories
of Mau Mau adherents'wives, the 'female domestic servants'working
outside the Kikuyu Land Unit, and 'unattached' women living in
Nairobi. All these categories were affected by specific Emergency
Regulationsseekingto preventor limit any militantaction on their part.l9
In the first case, women were consideredpotential supportersof Mau
Mau because of their relationswith members of the movement. In the
second, women workerswere compelled to bear an identificationdocu-
ment known as their 'Employment History' in order to check their
movements in or outside the Kikuyu area. As regardswomen living in
Nairobi, it was after operation Anvil, in April 1954, that 'unattached'
women were required to prove that they were in employment and
satisfactorilyhoused in orderto be issued with a passbook.
In contrastto these categories,therewas the more clearlydefinedgroup
of women terrorists,who were caught in the forest whilst engaged in
violence or armed actions.20 Here again, we can see the dichotomy of
'passive'and 'active' in which the colonial governmentbelieved strongly
and which thereforemade differentstages of punishmentpossible during
detention. Such definitions were also an attempt to find an inclusive
16. KNA. OP Est. Reg. 1/985 Unrest, Communal Service, passim.
17. See Davison, Voices
fromMutira,pp. 151, 102-3, and 161. KNA. OP Est. Reg. 1/982.
Factsrelatingto conditions
of workaffectingwomenand children.
18. The government was called to deal with the question of the exploitation of women's
labour only in 1955. Defending its decision to employ women in communal labour, the
government stressed the similarity of this work with the activities traditionally performed by
women. KNA. OP Est. Reg 1/982. FactsRelating.
19. PRO. WO 276/170. CentralProvinceEmergency Committee Meeting211811953. PRO.
CO 822/729. TheEmergency (KikuyuFemaleDomesticServants)Reg7wlations 1953. KNA. CD
7/755 Issue of Passbooks to Kikuyu Embu and Meru Women in Nairobi, passim.
20. PRO. CO 822/454. Daily Reports on the Mau Mau situation in Kenya, passim. PRO.
CO 822/455. Daily Reports on the Mau Mau situation in Kenya, passim.

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 259

definitionof the female component in Mau Mau in the hope of resolving

the basic contradictionof the colonial policy regardingwomen. This
stated that women were victims and instrumentsof male rebellion;but at
the same time their activitieskept the movement alive. Hence women,
although corruptible and 'weak', were themselves dangerous enemies.
This legitimizedcolonial reaction againstthem. In fact, administrators,
whilst exertingtheir power over women, were unable to provide a clear
definitionof the 'female enemy'. At the very beginningof Mau Mau the
generalthought was that women, as well as children,were forced to take
the oath:
The brutal forcing of women and children to take the Mau Mau oaffi is now
common practice (. . .). There can however be no doubt dat they are being
forced into Mau Mau in large numbers and dare not object for ieir sex or age is
no safeguard.2l

But as the Emergencycontinued, the attitude towards women changed.

They came to be considered as a 'particularproblem and one to which
special attention must be paid, since it appearsthat it is the women, as
much as, if not more than the men, who are keepingthe spiritof Mau Mau
alive'.22 Thus, the involvement of women was increasinglyseen as a
pervasivepresence,which had its originsin the influenceof the men. But
their role grew strongerduring the Emergency,when the 'passive wing'
became crucialto the existence of the movement.
The basic idea, then, which emergesfrom colonialsourcesand from the
interpretationsof individualadministrators,was that women were regarded
as not being completelyawareof the significanceof Mau Mau. This had
two main implications;first, women needed 'protection' (and detention
and rehabilitationprogrammeswere aimed at imposing this protection
in differentways); second, that women's experiencein Mau Mau could
not be consideredas action in the sense put forwardat the beginning of
this article. Colonial thought on women's involvement denied any
contributionto the process of creatingthe Kikuyu'nation'.
In his seminal work on Kikuyupolitical thought, Lonsdale arguesthat
Kikuyu ethnicitywas constructedthrough argumentsabout 'civic virtue'
which depended on specific issues of obligationand authoritywithin the
communicy.23 The Mau Mau movement itself was strictly linked to
arguments about 'civic virtue': indeed it grew out of these. From
Lonsdale's work, we can infer that women too were involved in such a
debate,becausemany specificissues of obligationand authorityconcerned
women directly. Some colonial impositions before Mau Mau, such as
21. PRO. CO 8221437. Intimidation
of and attackson Government
servants,crownwitnesses,
womenand childrenby Mau Mau.
22. PRO. CO 822/701. Information
to theKikuyu,EmbuandMeruin CentralProvince,p. 1.
23. Lonsdale, 'The Moral Economy'.

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260 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

terracingunder the managementof the chiefs in the 1940s, were opposed

by women. But that oppositioncould also havebeen a chanceto question
an older form of authority,that of the Kikuyumen of the household who
had traditionallyoverseenwomen's tasks within the community. It was
during these years, in 1947, that women founded a female wing at
Githungurischool.24 As Presley points out, 'women decided to build
kirirzwithout men's help' and most of these women were to be prominent
fighters (both 'passive'and 'active') in the Mau Mau war.25 Building a
school for girlswas more than a protestagainstcolonialeducation. It was
a way of hardening Kikuyu women's ideas about self-masterythrough
education. It was a way of arguingabout gender in terms of a specific
issue. Were these argumentsstill a determiningforce duringMau Mau?
Accordingto colonialrepresentationwomenwerenot ableto understand
the real extent of Mau Mau because they were unawareof being manipu-
lated by men. On the Kikuyuside, Mau Mau was a way of creatingthe
'imagined community', through an internal debate as well as through
reaction against the colonial power. If before Mau Mau women took
part in this internaldebate throughspecific issues (a phenomenonwhich
might alreadybe considered as an active contributionto the 'imagined
community'), then their new involvement in the debate over questions
about Kikuyu political legitimacyversus the colonial state, or about its
young leaders prevailing over an older generation, superceded their
potentialexploitationof specificallygender questions.
More women were involved in the opposition to colonial rule but this
oppositionwas being groundedincreasinglyin generalthemes ratherthan
in woman-relatedquestions. This makes women's involvementin Mau
Mau appear highly contradictory:while there was no directly woman-
relatedissues, women themselvesacquiredgreaterpoliticalresponsibilities;
yet they were not able to develop a political discourse centred on those
specificissues which, in earlieryears, had characterizedtheir 'nationalist'
experiences. Moreover,if we considerthat in the Mau Mau movement,
previouslysharpdifferencesin termsof gendersubordinationwere to some
extentlevelled out, then women were still not able to use this social shift
to negotiate new gender relations. The Emergencypolicy strengthened
such limitations through the colonial idea of women's weakness and
manipulationwhich made women a 'specialproblem'.

Detentionand rehabilitation
How hardand how drasticthe directinterventionon women was during
the Emergencyis well documented by colonial sources. Thousands of
women were arrested and detained under EmergencyRegulations, and
24. Presley, Kikuyu Women, the Mau Mau Rebellion,pp.101-3.
25.Presley, Kikuyu Women, the Mau Mau Rebellion,p. 101.

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 261

sentencedfor Mau Mau offences. On the one hand, arrestswere aimed at

singling out the female Mau Mau adherents, through the screening of
detainees. On the other hand, the EmergencyRegulationswere used to
cut the vital links between population and guerrillas. Women arrested
were detained mostly in the prison camp at Kamiti. Throughout the
period of the Emergencythe number of women detained grew rapidly.
Accordingto the Ministryof CommunityDevelopment,843 detaineesand
862 convicted 'femalesupportersof Mau Mau' were being held at Kamiti
in December 1954.26 Two monthslatertherewere 925 women convicted
of Mau Mau offences and 365 'for other offences, mainly passbook
and entering Nairobi without a pass'.27 On 1 November 1955 female
detainees in Kamiti numbered 1,647 and Mau Mau female convicts
were 592.28
The distinctionbetween women convicted and thus servinga sentence,
and women detainedsimply on the groundsof accusationwas relevantto
the application of different treatment in the process of rehabilitation.
However, it did not lead to differentiationin the attitudes of colonial
authorities:both categorieswere accusedof supportingthe movement. It
was this 'crime' that had to be punished first, but without taking into
considerationthe distinction between proper 'Mau Mau offences' and
other offences under the Emergency Regulations. Indeed, the Regu-
lationscoveredsuch a broadrangeof actionsthat all Kikuyuwomen'sroles
during the Emergency became crimes. Some sentences on women
chargedunder EmergencyRegulationsshow again that the point at issue
was not so much the crime with which they were charged,but was rather
the question of the support given to Mau Mau.29 With regardto trials
againstwomen accusedof being 'membersof an unlawfulsociety' (as Mau
Mau was defined by the courts), the decisive element was the non-
denunciationof a particularevent which was enough to be regardedas
evidence of effective cooperationwith Mau Mau.30 The same was true
regardingwomen chargedwith consortingwith persons in possession of
arms (anotheroffence under EmergencyRegulations). These latterwere
seen as being responsiblefor guerrillaencounterswhere their supportive
roles were increasinglyaccredited.3l Even for women chargedwith con-
trollingammunitionor wichmurderthe attitudewas no different.32 The
26. KNA.MD 14/66. Female detainees.
27. KNA.CD 7/103. From Kamiti to OJ0cerin Charge Womens Rehabilitation,2 Feb. 1955.
28. KNA.CD 7/103. Kamiti Prison and Detention camp. Female Populationfigures as at 1st
November, 19S5.
29. KNA. AG RR 11. Mau Mau Cases. KNA. Leg.Aff. 1/683, 1/715, 1/930, 1/966,
1/1082,1/1120.
30. KNA.AG RRll/40. Nduta w/o Ndiran. KNA.AG RRll/52, Crownvs ffoy Njeri wlo
Wachira et al.
31. KNA.AG RRll/62. Regina versus Hunyu w/o Ndabi.
32. KNA.Leg.Aff.l/715. Wangui Kimani. KNA. Leg.Aff.l/1082. Wanjikowlo Mukiri.
KNA.Leg.Aff.l/930. Wangui d/o Xohana et al.

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262 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

colonialresponseto women's activityconcerneditself with involvementin

the movement, ratherthan with any single action carriedout on behalf
of the movement. The Emergencymade it possibleto punishthe decision
of women to join the movement;punishingactual crimes was a second-
ary matter. This may explain why the experiences of Kikuyu women
detainees were substantiallythe same, despite the obvious differences
which they derivedfrom the length of the sentences meted out.
Detention at Kamiti showed once more how contradictorythe colonial
attitude towards women was. While trying to define women's involve-
ment in the movement (an involvementwhich seemed to contradictthe
idea of Mau Mau as a narrowleadershipprojectwhichwas succeedingonly
throughthe agency of people influencedby it), the governmentpunished
female transgressionby violent means. On the one hand, this went
againstthe basic idea that women were weak and corruptible,as adminis-
tratorspurportedat the beginningof the oathingcampaigns. On the other
hand, it was justified by the fact that women, by their support for the
movement,were dangeroussubjectsin their own right.
Ideas and proposals about the necessity of rehabilitationprocesses to
which Mau Mau detainees should be submittedwere drawnfrom earlier
experiencein Malaya.33 The generalscheme of rehabilitationwas based
on a system of classificationof detainees according to their degree of
involvementin Mau Mau, and was deeply embeddedin the concept that
detentionipso facto worked. The so-called'pipeline'systemwas based on
the promotionof detaineesto higher grades of classification,so that they
might progressfrom detention to freedom. In 1954, the Commissioner
for Community Development, explaining the aims of rehabilitation,
noted:
It will be necessary to cleanse the women in the same way as the men before they
are permitted to rejoin them, as there is evidence that wives have in many cases
persuaded their husbands to take the oath and are often very militant. They are
also said to be bringing up their children to follow the Mau Mau creed. It is
therefore probably more important to rehabilitate the women than the men if the
next generation is to be saved.34
Insofar as rehabilitationwas conceived as a progressivereorientationof
Kikuyuwomen towardsprinciplesand ideas consideredsound by colonial
authorities,it coincidedwith detention. It is almost impossibleto distin-
guish between the two, since rehabilitationwas supposedto be the aim of
detention. The latterwas the main meansthroughwhich the government
destroyed the movement, and che desire to rehabilitate the Kikuyu

33 PRO. CO 822/703. Rehabilitation of Mau Mau adherents in Kenya, passim. KNA.

MD 14/66. Rehabilitation
of detainedpersons.
34. PRO. CO 8221794. Memorandum by Commissioner
for CommunityDevelopmentand
Rehabilitation,
6 3ranuary
1954.

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 263

detaineeswas based simply on the need to destroythe ideals from which

Mau Mau onginated:
An evil ideologyhas mpped these people. If they are againto be useful citizens
this ideology must be supplanted by a better and more powerful ideology.
(. . .) The re-orientationof these detainees seems to be in two parts: (i) the
planned breakdown of existing cohesion and morale; followed by (ii) ie
intensivepluggingof a superioridea.35
Simplifyingsomewhat,we may considerthe whole Kikuyudetention and
rehabilitationprogrammeas being based on two phases,first, 'destruction'
and then, 'construction'. Both required the active participationof the
Kikuyu,initiallyby renouncingthe movementand then by accepting'new'
values.36 The hardship of detention, the violence and the isolation,
succeeded where the colonial 'counter-indoctrination'failed. Screening
teams in Kamiti divided women into 'black' (Z category), 'grey' (Y
category) and 'white' (X category) detainees, who were then placed in
different compounds-Ng'ombe (Cows), Njau (Calves) or Hiti (Hyena).
The ' "veryblack", unrepentantMau Mau women, trouble makers'were
isolated in separate cells.37 Those who proved to be 'genuinely
co-operative' were rewarded with officers attending to their personal
requests,which might includethe locatingof theirchildrenor findingtheir
husbandswho were 'also imprisoned,who might be helped by lettersfrom
their wives who have confessed all'.38 According to British medical
officers,hygiene conditions were inadequateas was the women's accom-
modation in the camp and prison, both of which were overcrowded.39
This, then, was the context in which rehabilitationtook place.
At the core of this process was the individual,who, after rejectingthe
Mau Mau ideology, had to demonstrateher re-educationby dedicating
herselfto the activitiesof the camp. Workwas the firststep towards'new
life'. In the rehabilitationof women the emphasiswas placed on home
craftsand, to a lesserdegree,on manuallabour. Some of the women were
employed in jobs such as makingbricks or thatchinghouses in the camp
compounds. Sewing classes for expectant mothers were organizedand
also classes in which women were taught new methods of vegetable
production.40 The activitiesemphasisedin the rehabilitationprogramme
were intended to facilitatethe resettlementof women in the community
once they returnedto their village:
35. KNA. MD 14/66. Memorandum
on a visit to Kajado(observations
and recommendations)
513153.
36. PRO. CO 8221794. Memorandum by Commissioner for Community.
37. KNA. CD 7/103. KamitiPrisona DetentionCamp,MonthlyReport,3tune1956, p. 4.
38. KNA. CD 7/103. MonthlyReport3Fune1956, p. 2.
39. KNA. HEALTH 6/46. Kamiti Prison, passim.
40. KNA. CD 7/103. MonthlyReportfor 3tanuary1955. PRO. CO 822/794. Baring to
LennoxBoyd, 27 September1955, Workalreadyestablished
amongwomenand childrenin the
detentioncampsandprisons.

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264 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

Thousands of women who would normally be looking after their homes, are
detained, but the programme of discipline and rehabilitation in Kamiti Camp is
such that one hopes that some of the detainees will, when they are released, be
more effective members of the communities to which they return. It will not be
the fault of the staff if they do not.4l

In fact those activities were conceived as being women-relatedand in

keepingwith the roleswhichwomen had playedin theirsocietybeforeMau
Mau 'ideology'had corruptedtheirminds. It was againa way of restating
the weaknessof women, who were seen as needingguidancethroughideals
and values which were imposed by the punitiveprojectcarriedout in the
detention camps
The 'construction'phase in the rehabilitationprocess relied heavily on
the impositionof new genderroles, and its realizationdependedprincipally
on the work of prison administrators. It was this action that shaped
the experience of women in detention; as a result of it, the experience
of women in Mau Mau was revised and thus deprived of the central
role it had previouslyenjoyed. Colonial reconstructiontended to set a
legitimizingframeworkagainstwhich female transgressionwas seen as the
outcome of an involuntaryinvolvementin the disorderscaused by Mau
Mau. Detention, rehabilitation,and resettlementhad the aim of proving
that women's participationin Mau Mau had never in fact been that
deeply-rooted.

Socialreconstruction:
a nezudefinitionof genderrelations
Luise White has alreadyunderlinedhow the repressionof Mau Mau
representedan attemptto constructa new social order.42 In fact, deten-
tion went beyond an immediate and punitive response to anti-colonial
protest. It created the foundations of a more definitive control of the
Kikuyu. The reconstructionof women was a necessarystep in reorgan-
izing Kikuyusociety. While detaininga largenumber of Kikuyuwomen
the governmentwas also worried about the women still supposed to be
operatingin the reserves. In fact, colonialofficials(the Commissionerfor
Community Development in particular)thought that the bulk of the
re-educationwork should be pursuedin those villageswhere such women
lived and worked, and to which their detainedhusbandsand sons would
return.43 They also claimedthat
More and more as the Mau Mau movement had developed women had come to
take a prominent place in it.... Where the men had been killed off the women
had in certain cases taken over the whole organization. It was therefore
41. KNA. CD 7/103. Notes on visit to Kamiti women's camp 3 3tune 1955, p. 2.
42. L. White, 'Separatingthe Men', p. 18.
43. KNA. CD 9/31. ProgressReport Rehabilitation.

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 265

necessaryto find an answer. Governmenthad found a partialanswerthrough

ie women's groupswhich had been started.44

In the reserves, in those villages built during the Emergencyunder the

'villagization'policy, the liberationof women fromthe 'Mau Mau ideology'
reliedupon the workof these groups.45 Througha widespreadnetworkof
clubs, mainlycomposed of loyalists,women were orientedtowardsspecific
tasks, especially the rearing of children and home care. After joining
these groups they were encouraged to learn 'instructionin all matters
aSecting their homes and to talk together concerning their common
problems. To many a vision of a new home, clean, tidy and happy had
been given.'46 Consciouslyor not, this was a gendermodel diametrically
opposed to that of the women who fought against colonial rule. At the
same time it was the foundationfor the new Kikuyucommunity.
The basic contributionof women to this communitywas reinterpreted
by colonial authorities,with its whole emphasisbeing laid upon domestic
activities as the basis for a happy family life. It was this reconstructed
family,withinwhich women were to play the key role of passingon proper
values, which was the first stage in the colonial administration'sreorgan-
izationof Kikuyusociety. The link between the 're-education'of women
and the post-Emergencyorderis thus clear.
The attention which the colonial authorities paid to women in the
reserveswas anotherpartof the overallprojectof destroyingthe movement,
with the hope of creating a new society. As in the case of detention,
workingon the re-educationof women in the villageswas a necessarystep
to deprivethe movementof its femalecomponent,and at the same time an
attemptto lay the foundationsfor a 'new' social system. Followingthese
lines, rehabilitationin villages was complementaryto rehabilitationin
detention camps. The anxietyof the colonial authoritiesfor a successful
resettlementof detaineesin the 'new' communitywas the other side of the
same question. That is to say, they had to makesure that no link with the
movementcould be reaffirmedafterdetention. This is why rehabilitation
and re-educationhad to be pursued both in detention camps and in the
villages. Nevertheless, evidence that this programme had realized its
objectiveswas to rely upon the attitudes of the Kikuyuwomen, on their
alleged acceptanceof the new ideals. This was the greatestlimitationon
the processof rehabilitation. Once colonialofiicialsintroducedthe newly
createdvalues, they could not preventrelationshipswithin the communiry
from evolving and developing. In other words, they could not in fact
44. KNA. MAA. 71822. Minuteon development and rehabilitation,
April1954.
45. They were mainly 'Maendeleo ya Wanawake' clubs. See Presley, KikuyuWomen,the
Mau Mau Rebellion, pp. 166-69 and A. Wipper, 'The Maendeleo ya Wanawake movement in
the colonial period: the Canadian connection, Mau Mau, embroidery and agriculture', Rural
Africana,29 (1975-76).
46. KNA. MAA 71822. Minuteon development.

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266 AFRICAN AFFAIRS

control the reinterpretationand reappropriationof old and new cultural

valuesby women themselves. The cooperationof the women who under-
went the rehabilitationprocess was not definiteproof of their real accept-
ance of the ideals imposed on them. As a memberof a screeningteam in
Kamitiput it: 'manyof the women have confessedbecausethey are tiredof
imprisonment, and not because they have been touched by particular
remorse or shame'.47 After all, it was still necessary to seek to guide
women's lives after detention, and to exert a steady control over them.
Some comments on young Kikuyuwomen made by a member of the
rehabilitationstaff in Kamiti, surelysum up the colonial attitudetowards
women:
It is obviouson the face of the disordersand dissonancesproducedin theirmind
by che evil and destructiveMau-Mau ideas, that their re-educationand the
re-constructionof theirpersonalityare a very difficultand importanttask which
requirestime and tact, in order to start in them a process of preparationfor
adulthoodwith a new and sound orientationto the familyand society life which
has been destroyedby Mau-Mau.48

Of course, these words may be consideredonly as the personalopinion of

one of the hundredsof Britishcolonialadministratorswho were engagedin
the work of 'reconstructingthe personalityof women'. But we cannot
ignorethe fact that the reificationof colonialgovernanceoften derivesfrom
the action of individualcolonialagents,whetheror not awareof the power
they wielded. Through such officials the governmentimposed its own
ideas of Kikuyuwomen, contradictoryas they were; policies which were
based on an idealized need to protect Kikuyu women which did not,
however,exclude repressionand violence.
Conclusion
The numerous stages through which these colonial ideas manifested
themselveswere as many as the ways in which the response to women
expressed itself. First, the presence of women in the movement was
explained as the product of their aptitude to accept superstition and
supernaturalelements (viz their participationin oathing ceremonies);
second, the difficulty on ie part of the colonialists of characterizing
women'sill-definedpresencein the movement,whichled to an explanation
of it in terms of generalsupportand even of influenceon their husbands'
and sons' decisions to fight. This in turn led to the considerationof
women as being vital to the resistanceof the movement. Finally, there
was the dual and contradictoryframeworkof the detention and rehabili-
tationsystem. On the one hand women were to be justifiedbecause they
werevictimsof the 'Mau Mau ideology',and thus in need of re-education;
47. KNA.CD 7/103.Release to Nairobi of detainees.
48. KNA.CD 7/103.Reporton female juveniles, Kamiti 6 September1956.

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 THE COLONIAL IDEA OF WOMEN AND DIRECT INTERVENTION 267

on the other, they were to be punished because of their opposition to

colonial power.
The reconstructionof women had to be completed along these lines, in
orderto fulfil the basic idea that women were weak subjects,who needed
protection and control. The new female roles constructed during the
Emergencywere intended to contributeto the creationof a new Kikuyu
social order;and they were also an importantfactorin replacingthe Kikuyu
way of constructinggender roles which had been based on traditional
cultural and social practices which colonial administrationhad at least
modified if not ruptured. The Emergencymade it possible to exert an
extensivecontroloverboth Kikuyumen and women througha programme
of social reconstructionwhich was at once rapid and radical. To make
it even more effective, colonial officials relied on the reconstruction
of Kikuyu women, thereby objectifying the idea that Mau Mau had
transformedthem and made them act in the same way as men.

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