With land values of slums increasing and their populations seen by the government as a breeding ground for violence and anti colonial sentiment, legal and political measures were undertaken to control the masses and maintain the status quo.
The growth of the urban areas is seen as an antagonistic process. People’s basic existence is equated with the challenging of established power structures. Kibera exemplifies the idea of poverty traps common to slums in the developing world, where the opportunity to meet basic needs and create a better life for one’s family is seriously hindered by non-substantial living conditions.
Via Flickr
Kibera is the largest of the many slums surrounding Nairobi, the urban political capital of Kenya, yet the new proximity to power of the urban poor has not lessened their marginalization. The same kind of trickle down economic policies common to Neoliberalism have affected the attitude towards gender equality in slums. Policies and programs are often aimed at helping men escape poverty, with the assumption that this will then benefit women down the road. Women are often the most marginalized within the urban poor population because of this, especially dealing with issues of sanitation.
The consequences of inadequate sanitation cannot be disassociated from the behaviours and routines that subject women to poverty at 70% that of men (UNDP, 1995). These include limited access to education, lack of credit and land ownership opportunities, burdens of childcare and ‘head of household’ tasks. These problems are often institutionalized, with improvements and challenges to the norm coming only from grassroots initiatives.
UNDP. (1995). Human Development Report 1995. Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/256/hdr_1995_en_complete_nostats.pdf