The Roots office is small, but manages to house a couch and a number of plastic chairs as well as a computer. This past Sunday we all crammed into the office for the meeting -- there had been a soccer tournament earlier in the day and it was simply easier to meet in the office after the match. It was a bit tight for the thirty-odd people in attendance; some shared seats, some stood or leaned against the wall. The discussion topic was the second anniversary celebration, which is coming up in a few months. Roots is run on democratic principles, so most of the decisions are made by holding discussions and then voting. It was decided by vote that the party would be held in a park, rather than in a bar or hotel, not only to save money but so that the younger kids could also attend. Transporting all those kids will be a challenge, though -- it's difficult to travel with a bunch of children by matatu, so that's one of the kinks they'll have to work out. There was also discussion about new soccer uniforms, since the Roots team has been using the same shirts for years, and they're getting pretty rough around the edges. Does anyone reading this have any sports connections at all? Even old used shirts from teams that don't want them anymore would be very welcome. Do let me know if you know of a team willing to donate their old stuff for boys in their teens and twenties.

There's also a tiny library in the office, really just a few shelves in the corner to collect any books that members come across. A lot of them are booklets published by the UN, the ILO and other organizations, but there are some novels and coffee table books as well. While we were waiting for the meeting to start, I came across a book on law and the status of women in Kenya. There I found something that I kind of knew already, but it surprised me to see how it had been written into the Constitution. It turns out that there are four different systems of family law in Kenya: Christian/statutory, Hindu, Islamic and African customary. It's really interesting to see how the legal system has dealt with different cultural groups as well as the urban-rurual divide, but the way that marriage is set up in different systems is very problematic from a gender standpoint. Both African customary and Islamic systems are potentially polygamous and the bride may be of any age, including infants. Women married under these systems are not entitled to any property if their husbands die or divorce them. Customary law allows for many types of marriage which are not consensual, such as surrogate, woman inheritance, child and forced marriages. The husband also had the right to chastise (i.e. beat) his wife for adultery, practicing "witchcraft", or failing to carry out her wifely duties (cooking, cleaning, fetching wood and water, caring for the children, having sex on demand, etc.).

While I see the importance of allowing cultural groups to carry out their traditions, it's also important to note that in patriarchal cultures, men are the ones to determine which traditions should be valued and honoured. In many cases, women are politically, economically and socially marginalized and have very little say in life-altering events such as marriage. I'm not saying that marriage is some kind of sacred institution that should always be based on love alone; that's just not realistic in so many contexts. But consent is very important. It disturbs me to see that women's status can vary so much depending on which type of family law is followed. And yes, there are reasons for practicing polygamous marriage in pastoralist societies, for example, but those women are still people who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I don't know any woman, no matter how traditional, who wants to be beaten by her husband.

Speaking of romance, today is Valentine's day and the city has been overrun by cheap fabric flowers, stuffed animals and knock-off chocolates. Even this morning while I was buying my paper, two different people asked me what my plans were for the evening and why I didn't have a rose. That's Nairobi for you: everything so over the top. In fact, though I don't normally care for Valentine's day, we are going out tonight. George and I have never had the opportunity to have a nice romantic meal together, so it's long overdue. Not gonna lie, I'm really excited about having a meal that doesn't involve ugli, sukuma (kale), beef or cabbage. We might even have dessert!