8 “Necessity Removes Restrictions”: Swahili Muslim Women’s Perspectives on Their Participation in the Public Sphere

Abstract

“NeCessity removes restriCtioNs”: swahili muslim womeN’s perspeCtives oN their partiCipatioN iN the publiC sphere esha Faki mwinyihaji introduction this chapter examines factors that facilitate the increased participation of swahili muslim women in the public sphere, specifically in political leadership, in mombasa, Kenya. the quest to make an entrance into leadership in the public sphere requires a thorough questioning of the ‘truth’claims, by which the swahili community functions. this chapter gives a brief background of the swahili in general and their involvement in the politics of mombasa. it focuses on the means that swahili muslim women have used in order to reclaim their opportunity of participating in the public sphere, especially in mombasa. like elsewhere in the world, the public sphere is not a neutral arena for social actors; it is a highly contested terrain, demanding the deployment of strategies and tactic