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A Gaze at the Place of the Female Figure in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Case of Zukiswa Wanner’s The Madams
(The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, 2019-07) Colomba Kaburi Muriungi
The black race was severely disadvantaged in apartheid South Africa. Specifically, black women were doubly disadvantaged; first by the color of their skin, and secondly, by lack oftangible income. History has shown that many black women in South Africa ended up working as maids in the white suburbs. This paper examineshow Zukiswa Wanner, in The Madams,imagines new life for the female figure in post-apartheid South Africa, regardless of their race.The main argument in the paper is that, literature is used as a revolutionary tool in The Madamsto imagine new South Africa and to propose ways of revising social injustices of the past. I examine the kindof characters that Wanner creates, the conditions under which these characters work, and the way she fashions a new conducive environment for survival in post-apartheid South Africa. Wanner demonstrates that the colordivide has crossed a new bridge; resulting to new opportunities, new relations and new outlooks for the female figure. This therefore provides new insights in understanding theplace of the female figure in the 21stcentury South Africa, and in African literature in general.
A Gender Community Outreach for Girls Living in Vulnerable Contexts: Experiences from School Literacy Clubs in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya
(CODE, 2020-05) Colomba K. Muriungi; Andima George
The Kenya Constitution (2010) has deliberately attempted to remedy the traditional exclusion ofwomen and has promoted their full involvement in every aspect of growth and development. It isindeed true that when women have the freedom to reach their full potential, families and byextension communities experience exponential growth. Despite such efforts by the Kenyangovernment, young girls in rural Kenya continue to suffer and endure, gender exploitation andchild labour due to poverty and lack of alternative means of livelihoods. Girls in some parts ofTharaka Nithi County suffer from poor access to education and health services caused by highpoverty levels. Such levels of poverty and the patriarchal systems are responsible for themarginalization of girls on matters health and education in favour of the boy child. This paperpresents the efforts made to empower girls in this context to voice their story through literacyclubs. Specifically, the paper discusses the girls’ use of literacy clubs to voice the challenges theyface in their educational pursuit, the use of literacy clubs to voice the nature of discrimination theyface and to empower and build their resilience. Data was collected from a sample of form one andtwo girls from five Sub-county schools in Tharaka Nithi County. The data collected was analysedqualitatively and the key themes in relation to the plight of girls in this context identified. Thepaper presents the research process, discusses the findings and key implications of the findings onthe emancipation of the girl child at the local as well as the global scene.
The Use of Orality to Invoke Setting and Thematic Aspects in Children’s Stories
(Ngano: The Journal of Eastern African Oral Literature, 2023) Colomba Kaburi Muriungi
This study aims at examining how orality is utilized in children’s stories. The study
argues that orality as a stylistic device in children’s texts not only helps in creating the
narrative structure but it also helps in revealing the setting and themes of children's
stories. The essay uses close textual reading to examine how orality interacts with the
written form in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s children’s text Njamba Nene and the Flying Bus. I
argue that the amalgamation of oral features like songs, poems, proverbs and other
oral art forms from oral tradition, into the text situates the narrative in specific set ups,
and to bring out cultural identity, among other themes visible in the narrative. Inclusion
of such oral features in stories for children in the twenty first century, not only helps
children to think about the rich African oral tradition, but these oral features also help
in shaping the imagination of young readers.
Epochal Relevance of Selected Post Millennial Short Stories in East Africa
(International Journal of Language, Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 2023) Omondi Hillary Owino; Colomba Kaburi Muriungi; Mukasa Antony
Literary writers in Africa have used different genres of art to reflect and critique actions in thesociety at different points of history. Apart from entertaining and preserving culture, works ofart have a role in creating awareness among the audience and proposing action in the society.The pre-colonial, colonial and pre-millennium texts have received significant literary attentionwith reference to their concerns. Most studies in Africa for example tend to focus on canonicalwriters and their contributions to the political and economic developments in the society.However, many post millennial short stories have received minimal critical attention. Thispaper, therefore, examines the socio-cultural and economic resurgence in selected postmillennium short stories in East Africa in order to find out the kind of society that upcomingwriters are yearning for, thus revealing the major concerns of short stories written in the 21stcentury. Post-colonial theory guides the analysis done in this paper and helps in demonstratinghow the Millennium Development Goals influenced the thematic concerns in the five (5) shortstories under discussion, which are all written by emerging post-millennial writers. The paperargues that 21st Century writers are sensitive to issues affecting their society and they, in theprocess of writing, attempt to propose ways of societal transformation through literature. Thepaper gives variety and contributes to the existing reservoir of literary analysis in East Africa.
Examining the Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy Crisis for Adolescents in Rural Primary Schools in Kisii Central Sub-County, Kenya
(CODE (Canadian Organization for Development through Education)., 2025-05) Andima George; Colomba K. Muriungi
Kisii Central Sub-County is one of the most densely populated sub-counties in rural Kenya with a population growthrate of 2.75% compared to 2.28% national population growth rate, according to the National Council for Population andDevelopment (NCPD, 2017). Records available from several health facilities in Kisii County indicate that teenpregnancies are on the rise (Abuga, 2019). The fact that Kisii Central Sub-County continues to experience a surge inthe number of teen pregnancies is a serious concern among health professionals, educationists, politicians and otherstakeholders in the Sub-County. This challenge is caused by both lack of information or limited access to sexual andreproductive health information and services, among other factors as noted in the NCPD report (2017). Researchconducted in Tharaka Nithi County (2018-2019), revealed that girls’ lack of exposure to knowledge on menstruationand sexual reproductive health information and services, contributed towards high levels of teen pregnancies (Muriungiand Andima, 2020). This is a clear testimony that issues of sexual and reproductive health education need to be keyin girls’ empowerment programmes in Kenya. This study therefore sought to establish the nature of Sexual andReproductive Health Literacy Materials (SRHLMs) available to adolescent girls in Kisii Central Sub-County, how thematerials were accessed, and whether the adolescents were able to comprehend messages contained in thesematerials. The study included 225 pupils in grades 5, 6 and class 7 aged between 10-15 years from five (5) primaryschools, 20 teachers, 5 deputy head teachers (one from each of the 5 schools), 5 head teachers (one form each of the5 schools) and 20 community leaders (four from each school). Descriptive survey research design was used togenerate data on the status of the SRHLMs in Kisii Central Sub- County. Both quantitative and qualitative data werecollected. The study was guided by Anna Kågesten & Miranda van Reeuwijk’s conceptual framework for adolescentsexual wellbeing (2021). It was established that there were limited SRHLMs for adolescents in the research communityand the comprehension level by the adolescents was relatively low. A number of recommendations have been madeto help address challenges teens face in addressing their sexual and reproductive health needs.