Kenyan women tell a story: Interpersonal power of women in three subcultures in Kenya

Abstract

In an exploratory study of the perceived interpersonal power of women in three subcultures in Kenya, urban lower class, urban middle class, and rural traditional, a story telling technique was utilized to elicit information about the women's perceptions of their interpersonal power relative to men and their coping strategies. Theme analysis of the stories revealed group differences which may reflect the women's position in the context of social change, urbanization, and detribalization going on in Kenya. The stories of the urban lower class group indicated high vulnerability, low interpersonal power, and a strategy of compliance and submissiveness. The urban middle class women produced stories which indicated low vulnerability and high interpersonal power with a strategy of nurturance and support of partner. The theme in the stories of the rural women revolved around childbearing and showed low vulnerability and low interpersonal power relative to men. The results are discussed in terms of the negative and positive effects of social change for Kenyan women.