On a quiet Sunday morning in Buruburu, an Anglican pastor posed what seemed like a simple question to a group of schoolgirls: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” girl, barely in her teens, answered without hesitation.
“When I grow up, I would like to drink alcohol,” said Janet Njeri Kamau.
The room fell silent. When the pastor asked why she would choose such a path, her answer was strikingly simple: her parents drank alcohol, and at home it had been normalised as something reserved for adults, unlike juice and soft drinks, which were for children.
For those present, it was a moment that blurred the line between innocence and imitation. For experts studying changing drinking patterns in Kenya, it reflects a deeper story unfolding across homes, campuses and cities.
Kisumu-based social psychologist Tamara Ochieng says alcohol consumption among Kenyan women is rising, driven by changing lifestyles and cultural influences.
