The United States is set to offer Kenya nearly $600,000 (Sh61.74 million) aimed towards fighting Al Shabaab, like reported by hivisasa.com.
The funds are part of a programme addressing a perceived link between Kenyan male identity and vulnerability to recruitment by Al-Shabaab.
“Kenyan society, while diverse in its ethnic and cultural composition, is uniformly patriarchal and highly prescriptive of gender expressions and identities,” states a funding opportunity notice posted on Saturday by the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism.
“Socially, males are expected to be tough, heterosexual, aggressive, unemotional and achieving.”
Pressures to conform with these “ideals of masculinity” can be immense, the notice adds.
Al-Shabaab exploits consequent vulnerabilities and offers opportunities to fulfill the roles of Kenyan male identity, the programme prospectus states.
