Women groups: A pathway to rural development in Nyamusi Division, Nyamira County, Kenya
Publication Date
2014Author
Peter Gutwa Oino, Samwel Auya, Cyrillah Luvega
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract/ Overview
: Despite their fundamental socio-economic responsibilities, rural women still have less access to knowledge,
assets, services and participation in decision-making. These inequalities affect their ability to carry out critical roles in their
communities leading to rural poverty. In Kenya, women groups form the majority of local initiatives. Although women groups
are the solution to the local problems, there is little support they receive from the government and other development
stakeholders, hence their inability to address rural problems. Besides, there are limited studies particularly in Kenya on
women groups’ contribution to rural development. This paper is a portion of the outcome of an empirical descriptive study
conducted in Nyamusi Division in Nyamira County by the authors. The sample was drawn from ten registered women groups
and fifteen informal women groups in the study area. The unit of analysis was a women group. This paper critically examines
the relationship that exist between rural community-based approaches (in this case-women groups) and rural development.
It also looks at the barriers that hamper women’s development efforts in community interventions. This paper concludes that
if given opportunity, women have the potential to change their own socio-economic status as well as that of the communities
in which they live in for the reason that women groups act as an effective instrument for rural development. Once women
groups have sufficient solidarity, experience and unity of purpose in their undertakings, rural development is achieved. This
paper recommends policy frameworks that not only promote community-based approaches for rural development, but also
encourage sustainability and equal participation of all genders in development