Women, Sexuality and the Changing Social Order: The Impact of Government Policies on Reproductive Behavior in Kenya.

Abstract

The dominance of heterosexual transmission of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa has evoked new interest in investigating African sexual activity. Heretofore, generalizations depicting Africans as lacking a sexual code of conduct have militated against intervention efforts. This book is a refreshing deviation from what African leaders and policymakers have perceived as a cultural assault. Ahlberg focuses on small localized networks of Kenyan women, particularly members of the Kikuyu people. Complementing in-depth qualitative data with historical information, she provides a vivid description of Kikuyu social structure, roles and obligations, beliefs and practices regarding health, and norms related to sexuality. During the colonial and postcolonial eras, she argues, this traditional social structure was transformed-with a consequent erosion of norms and sanctions, particularly those concerned with sexuality and reproduction. Ahlberg contends that women's collective actions are a source of resistance to such subordinating forces, hence efforts to improve the conditions of women must be based on a solid understanding of the dynamics of these groups. The book's central thesis is that intervention programs in Africa are unsuccessful largely because they are oblivious to the sociocultural and economic factors underlying the targeted behavior patterns. Ahlberg substantiates this argument by discussing how local women's groups aim at educating their members about intervention programs and at influencing or countering government policy. The first three sections of this book, then, are a rich source of insightful lessons to guide both family planning and AIDS intervention programs. Regrettably, the last section, which proposes alternative approaches to such programs, is less thorough and rather speculative. It lacks an important ingredient of policy formation-namely, explicit suggestions on how to revitalize or perhaps replace the old social order.-M.M.M.