Dr. Bartelink secures a fellowship from the Catharina Halkes Foundation for a pilot study on religion and gender in Kenya

Brenda Bartelink (Faculty of Religion, Culture and Society / Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences) has obtained a fellowship from the Catharina Halkes Foundation for research on religion and gender. This will enable a pilot study in Kenya carried out together with Dr. Susan Kilonzo from Maseno University, which includes a fieldwork trip to Kenya.

The research is part of a broader explorative study on how pregnancy, motherhood and early childhood are shaped in the Philippines, Kenya and The Netherlands. Research in various disciplines has suggested that the ways in which pregnancy, motherhood and early childhood is shaped, varies across cultures. At the same, these themes are subject to strong moralising discourses within and across various contexts and nation states. These religious and secular moralizing discourses are intersecting with discourses on good citizenship.

In this research we explore how pregnancy and motherhood are shaped and experienced by women who are pregnant and who mother against the background of these moralising discourses in three contexts: the Philippines, Kenya and the Netherlands. It brings together researchers at established institutions in these three countries, and combines a qualitative and action-research design.