It is no foreign topic that patriarchy has ruled the world’s social system since the beginning of civilization and that there is a great imbalance of power amongst societal roles between men and women–mostly having men in charge of a greater duty–but what if women were given the chance to rule and dominate?
There is no need for imagining just that, as a small village in Kenya is already under a matriarchal rule as the rest of the world still fights for women’s rights.
For decades, the women of Samburu were raped by British soldiers who frequently visited for military purposes and Rebecca Lolosoli demanded justice for their wrongdoings. She taught the women who were raped that they had rights to fight for, and instead of being praised for her righteousness, she received beatings from her husband and the men in her community. She became tired of these series of injustices that went unpunished and wanted a safe haven for women who felt the same.
Rebecca came from Samburu village that is traditionally ran by elderly male inhabitants, and in full patriarchal control that prohibited women from speaking out and making decisions. Although it has been outlawed in 2011 by the Kenyan government, some Samburu communities continue to practice child marriages that wed girls from 6 to 10 years of age to men who are 40 years of age and older. She knew that these traditions were a malpractice of human dignity and wanted to create a whole new community for those who seek refuge of these injustices. Rebecca fled her village and founded Umoja–an all women’s village–with 15 other women who were rape survivors in 1990, and it was one of the very first steps to denouncing patriarchy.
Women from all over Samburu village and its neighbouring communities unite to fight against patriarchism and to educate women on their rights and value as a human being. Umoja, meaning “unity” in Swahili, is adopted as the newly-founded community’s name as their vision is to unite women and proclaim their rights to think and speak freely.
The community runs under full matriarchal control where women make the decisions under the “tree of speech.” It is also where they listen to the stories of several residents and newcomers who suffered the abuse of their husbands or by other men in surrounding communities, female genital mutilation, or early marriage.
The Umoja women are completely self-sustained and make profit by taking advantage of their unique social system to attract tourists, and by creating hand-made intricated beaded jewelry. To enter their village as a curious tourist, a $12 entrance fee is asked, and several campsites available for rent. The fee covers a warm welcome greeting from the villagers and the freedom of asking them about their experiences and the matriarchal village’s history. Although there have been men who stalk around the village and attempt to destroy the sole business that they have of jewelry making, the women of Umoja continue to flourish as they show no signs of stopping at all.
Umoja villagers have proven extreme strength and independence over the last decade that their small community has existed and it inspired many other women around the area to stand up for their rights and create small safe havens themselves. Many matriarchal villages have flourished after the popularity of Umoja came to be such as Unity. It is a product of a small group of women having slight differences and disagreements with Lolosoli, but they continue to pass down what they’ve learned in Umoja and keep educating young women and men that they’ve allowed to co-habitate with them about the virtue of equality.
Truly, their village is a stark contrast amongst the other pre-existing villages in Kenya that are still in patriarchal rule and even the whole world perhaps, but it is a large spark of hope for young women across the world to finally have a spot in society where they can have as much societal and influential power as men do.
There have been many female leaders across the world that went unnoticed by the sole factor of being a woman. The Philippines has had two female presidents already: Corazon Aquino who led the country to proper democracy after suffering from many years in dictatorship; Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who was an advocate for women who suffered under male domestic abuse. The U.S has still yet to inaugurate a woman as president and they continue to lose the equal rights for the LGBT people and Muslims under the rule of President Trump.
As a young Filipino woman, I still hope for a future where women can stand alongside men and work towards the common good in equal societal roles. History has recorded the accomplishments of men in the past for the foundation of many nations while the women who did the same went unnoticed. Perhaps it is because it was also men who wrote the textbooks, but it is time to let women write their own and let their voices be heard.
Break the silence, and know your rights as a woman who doesn’t need permission from any man, or anyone to create a non-toxic environment for yourself.
Here is a documentary by Broadly that gives a further explanation of the Umoja village: The Land of No Men: Inside Kenya’s Women Only Village.
