Passbook Number F.47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya by Muthoni Likimani

About Muthoni Likimani

Passbook Number F.47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya by Muthoni Likimani

Passbook Number F.47927: Women and Mau Mau in Kenya is one of Muthoni Likimani's most renowned books. (WAKILISHA) It is a groundbreaking semi-fictional work that restores to history the contributions of the women who played crucial roles in the Mau Mau resistance against British colonial rule — roles that official histories have consistently minimised or erased. Through a series of vivid narrative accounts, Likimani documents how women served as spies, couriers, food suppliers, fighters, and emotional pillars of the resistance movement, all while facing the additional burden of protecting their children and managing households under conditions of intense military repression. The passbook of the title — a colonial identity document that controlled Kenyan women's movement — becomes a symbol of the systematic control the colonial state exercised over African bodies. This book is an essential feminist historical document and a vital counterweight to male-centred narratives of Kenya's liberation struggle.