Impact of Statelessness on Gender Equality: Case of the Makonde Community in Kenya

This study sought to investigate the impact that prolonged statelessness would have on access to basic human rights and on the gender equality progress of women from minority communities, with a focus on the Makonde community, residing in Kwale County on the Coast of Kenya.

Statelessness has become a critical issue in international law, given how discriminatory nationality laws have long deprived stateless persons of citizenship and access to fundamental rights and services. This is also likely due to the effect that increased globalization has had on women and girls’ accessibility to fundamental rights, in turn contributing to them being exposed to vulnerabilities like gender-based violence and sexual and labor exploitation, among others. However, even though attempts have been made to mitigate statelessness in Africa and Kenya through initiatives and legal interventions, those who were formerly stateless still continue to encounter challenges even after being granted citizenship.

Based on Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill’s liberal feminist theory, derived from the classical liberalism school of thought, and John Rawls’ theory of justice, the methods used in investigating the impact of statelessness on gender equality from the Makonde community were identified. A descriptive mixed-methods research approach, with a concurrent triangulation research design, was used to address the research objectives.

The findings pointed out that statelessness is a continuous hindrance in gender equality, social inclusion, and economic empowerment among minority women. The study concludes that years of statelessness undermine gender equality, social inclusion, and economic empowerment among minority women, due to difficulties with implementation, gaps in legal frameworks, bureaucratic obstacles, and weak political advocacy that limit full integration into society, which is allowing statelessness to continue.