Harnessing Kenyan Mothers Knowledge to Counter Violent Extremism: A Contribution to Feminist Philosophical Approaches

Abstract

The capturing of the knowledge of Kenyan mothers can improve the effectiveness of countering violent extremism efforts. This is because African women possess power and agency within their societies that contributes to their knowledge. This paper analyses the knowledge and experience of mothers whose sons joined the al Shabaab violent extremist organisation in Somalia as a contribution to African feminist epistemology. It interrogates the epistemological representation of African women in violent extremism practice from a knowledge production perspective. The paper explores the contribution of mothers of al-Shabaab recruits to African feminist epistemology on approaches to address violent extremism. Through an African feminist narratological approach, the paper contributes to the reclamation of African women’s place in knowledge production. The paper coins an African feminist grounded theory, ‘Nafsi African feminism’ that denotes that African women’s knowledge is based on a convergence of their power and vulnerabilities borne out of their lived experiences. Through its study findings, utilising the NVivo data analysis software to thematise, the paper reveals that the knowledge of mothers of al Shabaab recruits touches on institutions, processes, structures, and systems including sociology, political science, education, religion, and health. The paper concludes by calling for the reclamation and capturing of African feminist epistemology to contribute to a holistic and effective approach to addressing violent extremism.