Forty-three percent of women aged between 15-49 believe that a husband is justified to beat his wife for at least eight specific reasons, the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) report has shown.
The eight reasons include if she; burns the food, argues with him, refuses to cook, goes out without telling him, comes home late, neglects the children, is unfaithful, and refuses to have sex with him.
According to the survey, 6% of the women agreed that a woman can be beaten if she burns food, 18% if she argues with the husband and 19% if she refuses to cook.
Another 14% agreed that a beating is justified if the woman goes out without telling the husband, 19% if she comes home late, 24% if she neglects her children, 34% if she is unfaithful, and 13% if she denies him conjugal rights.
The survey also pointed out that agreement with wife beating is higher in rural areas than in urban areas with 51% and 30% respectively.
Meanwhile, 35% of men within the same age bracket who also took part in the survey agreed with wife beating, with 40% in rural areas and 26% in urban areas.
Of these, 4% agreed that a husband can beat his wife if she burns the food, 15% if she argues with him, 11% if she refuses to cook and 12% when she goes out without telling him.
Another 14% said that a husband is justified to beat his wife if she comes home late, 18% if she neglects the children, 23% if she is unfaithful and 7% if she denies him sexual intercourse.
The level of education, the survey showed, was a factor in determining the responses given by the respondents noting that 70% of women and 59% of men with no education agreed with wife beating while 19% of women and 21% of men with more than secondary education agreed with the same.
“For both women and men, acceptance of beating decreases with the wealth quintile, with 63% of women and 52% of men in the highest wealth quintile agreeing with wife beating compared with 24% of women and 21% of men in the lowest wealth quintile,” reads part of the survey.
The percentage who agree with at least one specified reason justifying a husband beating his wife is highest among women in Turkana (84%), Marsabit (82%), and Wajir (78%) counties and is highest among men in Isiolo (80%), West Pokot (71%), and Mandera (70%).
