Women Voters' Access to Political Information during the 2013 Kenyan General Election in Kakamega County

Abstract

Information is considered an important resource for women’s political participation. However, little is known about women’s access to election-related information in Kenya. Anchored on the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this research examined women voters’ access to political information during the 2013 Kenyan general election in Kakamega County. This study adopted a descriptive survey in which data was collected from 372 women voters using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The results revealed that women voters mainly accessed political information via radio and interpersonal sources comprising family members and friends as they were in close proximity with them. Major constraints to women’s political information access were the following: inadequate and expensive media devices and power supply, limited time, and low education and interest in seeking political information. This paper provides insight into women’s access to various sources of political information and this is essential in identifying appropriate channels for reaching out to them in counties in Kenya. Women voters’ low levels of education and Media and Information Literacy (MIL) have implications for information providers. They should use both mediated and non-mediated sources of political information, and offer information services and MIL programmes tailored to women. This study provides directions for future research on political information seeking behaviour within the discipline of library and information science (LIS) by incorporating UGT from media studies.