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| Forthcoming Book The Mwomboko Dance: A Symbol for Creating Spaces to Break the Silence on Sexuality in Central Kenya by Beth Maina Ahlberg and Ingela Krantz  Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce a forthcoming publication from CODESRIA of significant interest to scholars and practitioners in public health, reproductive health, participatory research, and African studies. The Mwomboko Dance: A Symbol for Creating Spaces to Break the Silence on Sexuality in Central Kenya Beth Maina Ahlberg & Ingela Krantz | ISBN: 978-2-38234-107-0 About the book Rooted in research conducted at the height of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic in 1990s Central Kenya, this book challenges the individualised approach that dominated health interventions of the era. Where standard methods asked individuals about condom use and numbers of sexual partners, the authors recognised the inadequacy of this framework — especially in Central Kenya, where large numbers of teenage pregnancies exposed the gap between institutional messaging about abstinence and lived realities. Drawing on the symbolism of Mwomboko, a local Gikuyu dance, the authors initiated community dialogues that gave communities an active, reflective role in shaping the research process. The result is a compelling model of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural engagement with far-reaching implications for sustainable health intervention, participatory research design, and the decolonisation of knowledge. What reviewers say « This book is a must read for anyone working with or interested in reproductive and sexual health in Africa. This foundational research returns the rightful power to the participants by recognising their own cultural understandings and history, long lost through colonialism.« — Jill Trenholm, PhD, Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University « The book shows how the harrowing colonial violence enacted on the bodies and social structures of the Gikuyu people is continuous with and perpetuated by the discriminatory assumptions informing global North-directed development initiatives in the global South. » — Professor Hannah Bradby, Uppsala University « Despite a focus on the importance of context, this book is relevant in a wide range of situations and to researchers with a variety of backgrounds. » — Carol Tishelman, Professor Emerita, Karolinska Institute Further details on the release date and how to order will be communicated in due course. Warm regards,About the authorsBeth Maina Ahlberg is Professor Emerita of International Health, with a PhD in Sociology from Uppsala University. Her research spans sexual and reproductive health, gender and health, migration and health, HIV/AIDS, and racism in healthcare.Ingela Krantz is Professor Emerita at Umeå University, a medical doctor with two PhDs whose research has focused on respiratory infections, HIV prevention, schistosomiasis, and Tunga penetrans.Read more here |