New media and re-bargaining patriarchy in Kenyan families.

This article examines how the everyday use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Uasin Gishu county, Kenya, interrelates with ongoing renegotiations of family relations and patriarchal power structures. Drawing on ethnographic interviews and a Kenyan–Nordic research project, it highlights that while core pillars of patriarchy—such as male headship and patrilineage—remain deeply ingrained and supported by institutions like the church, ICTs contribute to complex transformations in gender roles, connectivity, and domestic power dynamics. These changes include increased communication access for women, shifts in gendered use of space, and new forms of surveillance and negotiation within families, reflecting a coexistence of continuity and change rather than abrupt rupture. The study concludes that patriarchal structures in Kenyan families are continuously re-bargained through individual strategies within evolving communication ecologies, leading to new, dynamic forms of patriarchy.