UNSCR 1325 (2000) Impact on Women in East Africa’s Post Conflict Peace Building: Case Study of Kenya Post Election Violence (2007/08)

The practice of peace should ensure sustainable reconstruction and development through gender-sensitive, responsive and inclusive processes. The purpose of the study was to establish the impact of UNSCR 1325 (2000) on the role of women in post-conflict peace building with a focus on post 2007/08-election violence in Kenya. The research sought to achieve the following objectives: To identify the impact of post 2007/08 election violent conflict on women in Kenya. To establish gaps in the legal and institutional frameworks for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Kenya. To identify the roles played by women in peace building process in the post 2007/08 elections in Kenya and the impact thereof. The study was underpinned by the Liberal Feminist theory and Galtung's Conflict theory. The study adopted mixed research methodologies including qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative approach adopted phenomenological design while quantitative approach adopted cross-sectional survey research design. The target population comprised women living in Kibra Sub County, women groups involved in peace building, area ward administrators, local chiefs and individual women who were victims or had first-hand experience of PEV of 2007/08, which was achieved through Snowball sampling. The study used stratified and simple random sampling to select individual women living in Kibra Sub County to participate in the study. The study adopted purposive sampling to select women groups involved in peace building, area ward administrators, and local administrative chiefs. This combined use of questionnaires, Key Informants Interview, Case narratives and secondary data sources. The information acquired was analysed using combined methodologies appropriate for both qualitative and quantitative data. The research identified a number of effects of PEV of 2007/08 on Women in Kibera area of Kenya including lost sources of livelihood, deaths, assumption of roles as heads of households for the women lost their husbands and so on. The study also established a number gaps in the legal and institutional frameworks towards implementation of UNSCR 1325 in Kenya including Kenya National Action Plan(KNAP), National Steering Committee (NSC) on Peace Building and Conflict Management, the National Gender and Equality Act (2011), the Constitution of Kenya (CoK) 2010, the National Cohesion and Integration Act (2008) and Vision 2030. Finally, the study revealed that women played a significant role in peace building during and in the aftermath of the PEV of 2007/08. The roles were both formal and informal and were pivotal in peace building, facilitation of peace dialogues, reconciliation of local conflicting parties, and participated in Peace Committees formed by government. Based on the findings; key recommendations include: full implementation of relevant legal instruments concerning women, the Government of Kenya involvement of all stakeholders of UNSCR 1325, women involvement to supersede political and government positions, stiff punishment for perpetrators of Gender based Violence among others.