Politics of the Womb: Women, Reproduction, and the State in Kenya

Book Description
In more than a metaphorical sense, the womb has proven to be an important site of political struggle in and about Africa. By examining the political significance--and complex ramifications--of reproductive controversies in twentieth-century Kenya, this book explores why and how control of female initiation, abortion, childbirth, and premarital pregnancy have been crucial to the exercise of colonial and postcolonial power. This innovative book enriches the study of gender, reproduction, sexuality, and African history by revealing how reproductive controversies challenged long-standing social hierarchies and contributed to the construction of new ones that continue to influence the fraught politics of abortion, birth control, female genital cutting, and HIV/AIDS in Africa.


About the Author
Lynn M. Thomas is Assistant Professor of History and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Women Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.


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A superb work in gender studies, Politics of the Womb examines the history of reproductive politics in colonial and postcolonial Kenya, addressing issues from birth control and abortion to female genital cutting and AIDS. Her broadest argument is to show how regulating women's bodies is crucial to the state's moral authority.


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