Community Work and Develop: Assignment

Community Work and Develop 1
Community Work and Develop
by [Name]
Course
Professor’s Name
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Date

Community Work and Develop 2
Community Work and Develop
Recap of assignment one
From my Kikuyu community, gender imbalance has been prevalent since this tribe came
to existence. According to Ajoke (2014, p. 205), this community has a strong culture which is
influenced by different aspects such as the dress code, diet, male and female responsibilities
among others. Apart from these aspects, art has remained to be one of the most essential
elements in defining its culture, with the people being able to develop different types of artwork
which portrays diverse things in their community.
Lfe (2016) affirm that social injustice such as gender discrimination is one of the barriers
to development in the society because it makes some of the people who can perfect in some
things to lack opportunities. Over the years, the kikuyu community has been having different
views concerning the roles that should be played by male and female. According to Alexandra
(2016, p. 27), men are viewed as superior to women because of various factors such as owning
wealth and being the heads of their families. This paper aims to change some of the issues related
to gender inequality in this community because according to Pantoja (2012, p. 77), men and
women are equal beings and should be given opportunities to access what can give them
fulfilling lives. The paper seeks to change the perceptions which the community holds
concerning one gender being superior to the other. Being one of the communities talented in
artwork, the paper will base some of the measures of addressing this issue through artwork.
Theoretical perspective
I have chosen feminist framework to be the guideline in suggesting change strategies for
this community. According to Tylor (2015), feminist framework occupies a political position

Community Work and Develop 3
seeking changes on women through emphasizing on promoting an understanding of these group
of people as amongst many within any community identified by varying needs, values, desires,
and priorities because of their role and the position they occupy in the society. The reason why
this framework was ideal for this study is that it relates to the primary aim of the study because it
seeks to address gender inequality among this community.
The other reason for choosing this framework is that it is grass root based and
democratic, it challenges dominant frameworks such as neo-liberalism or patriarchy, and it
creates the possibilities for empowering a community (Juliet 2012, p. 76). This means it will be
ideal because the study will entail changing the status of gender issues in this community
through seeking measures which can empower women who are viewed as inferior to men.
The manner in which the Kikuyu community is structured, its culture and religion present
gender hierarchy. This results due to socialization process and classification of tasks based on
gender (Ridgeway, 2011). This framework will be fundamental in addressing this issue because
it focuses on the importance of establishing gender equality through giving women proper status
in the community.
According to Davis (2016), men and women in this community perceive gender
inequality as natural, and probably Devine, and therefore, unchangeable. Based on this
framework, the gender imbalance is something that can be changed because it is mostly based on
myths and misconceptions which communities hold. Men and women have the potentials of
doing things in equal capacity, and therefore, saying that men are superior to women when it
comes to allocation of tasks are baseless.