| dc.description.abstract | There are few women who have been employed in governmental offices as head of departments for example in education, agricultural officers, and commissioners among others. This is contributed mainly by low level of education and in job opportunities which is controlled and dominated by men. Religiously, West Pokot women have not been empowered because most of the church teachings and doctrines undermines women and consider them to be weaker sex.
They are supposed to be subordinate to their husbands. Men are represented to be head. This has made women to be seen as inferior and not supposed to participate in leadership roles of the church or contribute to decision making of affairs of the church. The current study sought to unearth the socio-economic barriers to women empowerment in West Pokot District. The specific objectives were: To examine the existing cultural setup structures among Pokots that hinder women empowerment; to analyze non-cultural factors that hinder women empowerment in West Pokot District; to establish the role of the church in empowering of women in West Pokot District; and to suggest possible solutions to the socio-economic factors that hinder empowerment of women in West Pokot District. The study adopted a descriptive survey design.
Data was collected from male and female adults in West Pokot district using questionnaires, focus group discussions and document analysis. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques that include means, percentages, frequencies and the hypothesis was tested using chi-square. The dissertation is organized into six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, chapter two presents general information of the respondents, chapter three, four and five covers cultural set up structures, non-cultural factors and role of the church respectively.
Chapter six is the conclusion and recommendations based on the findings of the study. The findings indicate that cultural beliefs and practices, female genital mutilation and forced marriage, hinders women participation while a few said that it does not affect women participation. Further, gender discrimination and religious rituals are barriers to women participation. It was also established that inadequate finance, low level of education, and ignorance affects women participation. However majority of the respondents disagreed that women do not participate in income generating activities and neither do they have professional skills but a few agreed that they do not participate in income generating activities and do not have professional skills. It is anticipated that the study findings will help women to un-earth the obstacle that have hindered the empowerment of women. The finding of the study will help the
Kenyan government and politicians to work towards the implementation of the policies and laws that were designed to help in empowering women. The findings will help non-governmental organizations (NGO's) to identify priority areas in which they can participate in the process of empowering women. Finally the findings of the study will serve as a basis for future inquiry on the related topics on women empowerment. | en_US |
