Women's Initiatives and Conflict Management: Exploring the Effects of Women-Led Peacebuilding in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

This study examined the effects of women’s initiatives in conflict management in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya, using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected first from a sample of 76 respondents drawn from women, men, community peace actors, and local administrators selected through stratified random sampling, while qualitative data were obtained from purposively selected participants across identified conflict-affected wards in Kerio Valley, based on intensity of inter-clan conflict and accessibility considerations. The study adopted an integration strategy whereby qualitative findings were used to explain and contextualise statistical results, particularly in understanding how women-led initiatives such as dialogue forums, economic empowerment groups, and advocacy activities influence conflict management outcomes. Triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data enhanced the validity of findings by enabling convergence of evidence across methodological strands. Quantitative findings indicate that women’s initiatives have a strong positive relationship with conflict management outcomes (r = 0.714, p < 0.01) and account for 51 per cent of the variance in conflict management effectiveness (R² = 0.510). Qualitative findings further explain these outcomes by showing that women contribute to peacebuilding through dialogue facilitation, economic cooperation, and advocacy within formal and informal governance structures. The study contributes to gender and peacebuilding scholarship by providing context-specific empirical evidence from a pastoral conflict setting and highlights the policy importance of integrating women’s grassroots initiatives into formal conflict management frameworks in Kenya.