Hustling over the life course: Reconciling cultural norms and socio-economic realities for young mothers in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This paper draws on qualitative interviews with 50 mothers and 31 fathers from the Jamaa na Afya ya Mtoto (JAMO) project to examine the role of “hustling” in romantic relationships and motherhood in low-income communities in Nairobi, Kenya. Using a life-course lens and grounded in the “doing gender” framework, we explore how young mothers engage in hustling to pursue socially recognized adulthood. Thematic analysis reveals two key forms: hustling in motherhood—balancing caregiving with income generation—and hustling in marriage—legitimizing unions through bridewealth involvement and endurance. In a context of economic precarity and limited institutional support, hustling becomes not only a survival strategy but also a gendered practice through which adulthood is performed, reinforced, and at times subtly contested. This study highlights how young adults navigate fragmented life-course trajectories amid shifting gender expectations and material conditions, ultimately reshaping emerging norms around gender, work, and family in low-income urban settings in Africa.