Wanjiku Kabira (born 15 November 1948) is an associate professor of literature at the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. She has specialized in the fields of Oral literature,

African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of slave narratives, African ...

and

Caribbean literature Caribbean literature is the literature of the various territories of the Caribbean region. Literature in English from the former British West Indies may be referred to as Anglo-Caribbean or, in historical contexts, as West Indian literature. Most o ...

. She has been actively involved in women affairs and in gender issues. Wanjiku has served as in various capacities notably as a. Vice-Chair in the Kenya Constitutional Review Process (2000–2005) b. Chair Person Women Political Alliance (2002–2011) c. Director Collaborative Center for Gender and Development (1995–2009) d. Chair, Department of Literature, University of Nairobi

Early life and education

Prof. Wanjiku Kabira was born in 1948 in the present Lari Constituency. She went to school at Githirioni Primary School and later at Loreto High School, Limuru and Loreto Convent Msongari for her advanced certificate ("A" levels). She studied Literature, History and Scripture and received the "Best Performing Student" prize in Literature.

Work

Kabira is a published author of young adult books. She has published widely on literature, women and on gender issues. One of her most notable books is ''A Letter to Mariama Ba'', which was a response to ''

So Long a Letter ''So Long a Letter'' (french: Une si longue lettre) is a semi-autobiographical epistolary novel originally written in French by the Senegalese writer Mariama Bâ.Rizwana Habib Latha"Feminisms in an African Context: Mariama Bâ's so Long a Letter" ...

'', a book written by

Mariama Bâ Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages. Born in Dakar, she was raised a Muslim. Her frustration with the fate ...

. Her work with women saw the founding of the African Women Studies Centre at the University of Nairobi in June, 2011. She became the Director of the Centre in 2014 and still serves in that capacity. In her work with the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission she wrote a book, ''A Time for Harvest'', which traces the women's journey in the struggle for a new constitution in the past 20 years, beginning from 1992 to 2012. She reminds the 16 women MPs of 290 that their mere presence in Parliament will be fruitless if it is not properly utilised. Other books she has also published are ''Our Mother's Footsteps'', ''Reclaiming My Dreams: Stories of Wanjiriwa Rukena'' and ''The Beaten Track and other personal stories: A collection of short stories''. Other published credits of Wanjiku Mukabi Kabira include '' Agikuyu'' (Heritage Library of African Peoples East Africa). Professor Kabira also has written many books about women and gender issues, among them: ''Our Secret Lives''; ''They Have Destroyed the Temple''; ''Celebrating Women's Resistance''; ''The Oral Artist''.

References

External links

University of Nairobi Staff database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabira, Wanjiku 1945 births Living people People from Kiambu County Kenyan writers Kenyan women writers Academic staff of the University of Nairobi