A habit of men hiding their wives from the public domain in Kalenjin community is largely common.

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Majority of the married Kalenjin men save for a few who have embraced change usually prefer walking by themselves without the company of their wives.

Here are some of the reasons as to why Kalenjin men don't like being seen in public with their wives;

Tradition

Hiding of wives among the Kalenjin community was a tradition they borrowed from their forefathers. Men after they got married, were advised against 'over spending time' with their wives. Any man who would spend a lot of time with the wives would be summoned by his peers to discourage him against it. Kalenjin community believed that a man was supposed to head their families and guard it against attacks. Subsequently, men were encouraged to minimize their stays with their wives.

Equals

In the past, women in Kalenjin community were categorized as children. This perception has however changed with time. The Kalenjin males were taught to relate mostly to their peers especially those who got circumcised together. These peers were taken as equals of the man.

Beauty

If a man felt that her wife was not beautiful, he would hesitate to reveal her publicly in order to avoid embarrassments from his peers. However, if the woman was beautiful they would feel insecure because they were likely to face competition from other males. To avoid such instances male would prefer to hide their wives.

Cheating

Some men had to hide their wives because they never wished to be found cheating. Even though during the ancient time's polygamy was encouraged, men wished to do it secretly.

Uneducated

This is common to politicians where they hate exposing their wives in public. They usually feel it's demeaning to expose their uneducated wives to the public. 

Even though modernization has taken root in Kenya, hiding of wives in Kalenjin community is still common in the rural areas since beliefs and traditions are followed strictly.

The modern generation might however not take those traditions seriously and it will just be a matter of time before those beliefs and perceptions among the few become a thing of the past.

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