Research Paper on:
Family Structure and Kenya

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
but also families who have been joined by marriage. Kenya is a country which is plagued by political and economic strife and these factors are no doubt part of the  reason Kenyan families have decided to decrease the number of children within their family structure. Although the traditional roles of the Kenyan family show that it appears to be a  male dominated society, in actual fact husbands and wives have a high degree of communication and make joint decisions in regards to family situations and family planning. Despite the education  levels within the Kenyan population, unemployment still runs high and overrides any opportunities which may be available. The extended family structure still exists and is more likely though due to  tradition and preference and not the need because of the poverty levels. Kenya an East African country bordering the Indian Ocean between Somalia and Tanzania and is approximately 569,250 sq  km which is about twice the size of Nevada (Kenya, 2002). Kenya has been plagued by political struggle since president Jomo Kenyatta led the liberation and independence until his death  in 1978. The country at that point became a one-party country run under the Kenya African National Union (KANU) led by President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi until late in 1991  when international and internal pressure pushed for political liberalization but the oppositions failed to dislodge the KANU from power in the 1992 and 1997 elections which were fraught with violence  and fraud. The country still faces political uncertainty as Moi is constitutionally required to step down at the next elections which take place in 2003 (Kenya, 2002). The population in  Kenya has a lower than average life expectancy because of the high mortality rate due to AIDS and the death rate is now approximately 14,35 deaths/1,000 population while the birth