Purity Mutisya

The Irony in "House Wife" Emancipation: Reflection of Female Relationships in Domestic Service Employment, in Nairobi-kenya Purity Mutisya

Women oppression in Kenya just like any other part of the world is not only founded in patriarchy, but also among women. The focus on domestic employment explores dimensions of oppression among female domestic interactions in Nairobi. This is a critic over western feminist stand that all women are homogeneous, by displaying the idea that women are different. Their differences are influenced by factors like: power and class positioning, that remain distinct despite their close interactions like the case of domestic service. These differences are displayed in different forms like: Language and name use and familial ideologies. In many cases, domestic workers use different strategies like: Cheating and faking the truth, gratifying employer?s expectations and trust acquisition to negotiate for agency and resist control and power exercise from their employers. The paper argues that, oppression of women by women exists thus they can not be categorized as a homogeneous group, but differ from one context to another. This is ironical as to why women being under patriarchy oppression would oppress their fellow women, instead of emancipating them.