Speaking to Power: The Problem of Enabling Subaltern Voices to Be Heard. A Case Study Concerned with Using the Arts to Engage with the Issue of Maternal Mortality in Western Kenya

In the context of consistently poor provision of state maternity services to impoverished women in western Kenya over many decades, this article discusses the use of arts in relation to researching subaltern perspectives and enabling subaltern voices to be heard by the powerful. The argument is made that behaviour change agendas are almost always top down, while requirements for the authorities to engage with subaltern voices are minimal and frequently resisted. Case studies are offered of two artistic interventions—a play and a documentary film, made in 2018 and 2019 respectively, which sought to engage medical authorities and the middle classes regarding the consequences of the, sometimes very weak, implementation of Kenya’s excellent policies in relation to maternal health for the poor. In conclusion, the question of how to more effectively enable the powerless to speak to power is discussed.