Constitutionalizing Traveling Feminisms in Kenya

摘要

This Article uses selected provisions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 to argue that although elaborate legal and institutional frameworks for promoting women's empowerment have been adopted in Kenya's legal framework, implementation of these provisions remains a challenge. Why is the law in the books so different from the law in action? This is the question this Article seeks to address. By mapping out how feminist ideas travel through collective action, colonial encounters, local, regional and world conferences, legislation, and other means, the Article demonstrates that the reason why implementation remains a challenge is that these ideas are often in tension with the local contexts. The Article examines challenges and opportunities presented in the Kenyan Constitution and uses specific examples to map out recurring tensions between "traditionalist" and "modernist" claims as well as between "international" and "local" perspectives. The Article is divided into two main parts. The first part tells the story of how the women's movement in Kenya has interacted with transnational feminist movements. I argue that although transnational women's movements have often involved the participation of women from all over the world, nevertheless the legal instruments attempt to mediate diverse ideas, and as a result, the negotiated idea is often in intention with the local context. The Article recognizes that both translocal and transnational feminist projects have been based on different ideological perspectives whose diversity is attributable to the fact that international and domestic legal scholarship is expressive of diversity of thought. Having recognized the diverse nature of feminist ideas, I argue that the "international" doctrine(s) embodied in international treaties and conventions have often captured conflicting philosophical standpoints which are also in tension with translocal feminisms as well the sociopolitical context. The second part describes how the Constitution of Kenya 2010 attempts to accommodate translocal and transnational feminist ideas. The Article concludes with some reflections on the impact of the constitutionalization of traveling feminisms in Kenya.