Contents

List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Argument
Chapter 2 Women during the Precolonial Period
Education of Girls
Women in Religious Leadership
Leadership in Society
Socio-Economic Empowerment
Chapter 3 Colonial Period as a Watershed for African Women
Leadership during the Colonial Period
Socio-Economic Changes during the Colonial Period
Chapter 4 The Establishment of Christianity in Kenya
Precolonial Period at the Coast as the Foundation for Mission Work
The Establishment of Christianity in Central Kenya
The Establishment of Christianity in Western Kenya
The Establishment of the Women’s Movement in the Church
Chapter 5 The Interaction between the Missions and African Culture
Female Circumcision
Bride-Wealth
Forced Marriages
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Mission Education for Girls: Case-Study of Ng’iya Girls’ School
Aim of Education for Girls
Case-Study of Ng’iya Girls’ School
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Gender and Development
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Case Study, Lucia Okuthe (1919–
1989)
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Case Study, Grace Onyango (1931–
Present)
Women’s Negotiation of Mission Education: Case Study, Grace Ogot (1930–
2015)
Chapter 7 Mission Education: Case Study of Alliance Girls’ High School
Aim of Education
Alliance Girls’ High School
The Women’s Movement
Case Studies
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Archival Sources
Transcripts of Interviews, housed at St. Paul’s United Theological College, Limu-
ru, (SPA), on Colonial Period and Establishment of the Church in Nyanza
Oral Sources
Books, Chapters in Books, and Journal Articles
Unpublished Theses and Manuscripts
About Langham Partnership
Endnotes

For a long time African history has been dominated by western perspectives through predominantly male accounts of colonial governments and missionaries. In contrast, Dr Emily Onyango provides an African history of mission, education development and women’s roles in Kenya. Based on archival research and interviews of primary sources this book explores the relationship of these areas of history with each other, focusing on the Luo culture and the period of 1895 to 2000.
With the pre-colonial African context as the foundation for understanding and writing history, Dr Onyango uses gender to analyze the role of Christian missionaries in the development of women’s education and their position in Kenyan society. The result of this well-researched study is not only a challenge to the traditional understanding of history, but also a counternarrative to the common view that to be liberated African women must disregard Christianity. Rather she looks at the importance Christianity plays in helping women establish themselves economically, politically and socially, in Kenyan society. This research is a vital contribution to women’s history and the history of Christianity in Africa.