THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN KENYA
Background information. * Individual women’s experiences intertwined with their social-cultural and political environment. * The changes that have taken place in Kenya, from the pre-Christianity period to the current period, and the changing roles of women overtime. * How marriage and religion as institutions of marriage and religion, which are founded on a patriarchal tradition, contribute to women’s powerlessness and silence, especially under the HIV/AIDS regime.

KENYA WOMEN IN THE PRE-COLONIAL AND COLONIAL PERIOD
The British colonized Kenya for over 60 years and she was granted her independence on 12 December,1963. In 1964, the country became a republic, with Jomo Kenyatta as its first president. In order to understand the position of Kenyan women in the modern political and economic dispensation, it is necessary to make clear the structures under which they operated before the colonial period and during the colonial era. The status of Kenyan women deteriorated during the colonial rule. This deterioration was particularly noticeable because, in the pre-colonial era, although women were to some extent subordinate to men under the African customary law, in many respects the roles of women were complementary in nature’
Pre-colonial Kenyan communities practiced subsistence agriculture and some forms of trade. Production was only meant to meet the basic needs of the family as opposed to profits. Division of labour was gender based women performed between 70 and 80 % of the total workload available.one of the important features carried over from traditional to modern Kenya is the importance of marriage and family.the ideal family is still seen as one with a male bread winner,and a wife is seen as one whose most important duty is to take care of her husband and children. On the other hand ,an employed womans is seen as