Placing Akili Dada in the Greater Girlhood Studies, International Development, and Kenyan Political Contexts

Abstract

This research is part of a larger, collaborative book manuscript project titled A (Re)Turn to the African Girl: African Feminist Girlhood Studies and Development. The purpose of this project is to examine Akili Dada, a grassroots leadership incubator, and its emergence after a major touchstone event in global development practice: the founding of the Nike Foundation’s The Girl Effect (2004). While Akili Dada aligns with popular development discourse centered around the economic assessment of the girl body, which is a trend kick started by The Girl Effect and supported by various powerful international actors, its grassroots origins and unique development model distinguish the organization from mainstream development models that solely focused on economic benefit. In order to assess its true importance to girls within Kenya and globally, it is helpful to examine Akili Dada within various contexts, such as the greater Kenyan political environment, the international development arena, and the greater area of girlhood studies. Hence, Akili Dada has been placed in a chronological timeline with events from these three contexts.