Maendeleo Ya Wanawake

Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation (MYWO) is a women's NGO that deals with issues to do with women's rights and gender equity in Kenya.[1] It was founded in 1952 by a group of European women and was then under the umbrella of the Department of Community Development and Rehabilitation.[2] It has approximately 600,000 groups contributing to a total membership of about two million women. Phoebe Aisyo served as the first African chairperson of the organization.[3] It is currently chaired by Rahab Mwikali Muiu and has various agendas in its mission statement, including maternal, child health and family planning and training women in leadership and development.[1]

Historically it was promoted by the British during their colonial rule over Kenya and helped provide services only for those against the Mau Mau anti-colonial uprising.[4]

Ruth Habwe served as secretary general of the organization from 1968 until 1971.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Maendeleo Ya Wanawake". www.maendeleo-ya-wanawake.org. Maendeleo Ya Wanawake. Archived from the original on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  2. ^ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/maendeleo-ya-wanawake-organization-the-cooptation-of-leadership/891BE9D3B1DA6D23F9D401E3A1F36ED1
  3. ^ https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000103995/pioneer-ofmaendeleo-ya-wanawake-who-broke-the-glass-ceiling
  4. ^ Manji, Firoze (2002). "The missionary position: NGOs and development in Africa" (PDF). International Affairs. 78 (3): 567–583. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-11.
  5. ^ Kathleen E. Sheldon (2005). Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5331-7.