ABSTRACT
Gender roles and social institutions in some patriarchal societies have been manipulated, allowing women access to economic, political, and social privileges that are typically reserved for men under particular circumstances. The extent of the opportunities and liberations experienced by women who participated in any one of the gender manipulating institutions vary in reflection of the flexibility or rigidity of the gender ideologies held within their respective society. Autonomy is another facet of the discussion on gender manipulating institutions. The Igbo peoples of southeastern Nigeria have flexible gender ideologies, compared to other patriarchal communities. In addition to woman-woman marriages, the societies of the Igbo, Nandi, and Kikuyu also have an institution known as male daughters. The Nandi, from present-day Kenya, have a more rigid patriarchal society than the Igbo or the Kikuyu. The Kikuyu, also from present-day Kenya, make up the largest ethcnic group withing Kenya.
