‘We said, there must be ladies’: the pioneering Maasai women ending all-male leadership of the land

In one Kenyan reserve, women are taking up roles that give them a say in community life and protecting the land they depend on - inspiring a new generation to follow in their footsteps

In the hot midday sun on the edge of Mara Ripoi conservancy in Maasai Mara, a group of women gather under the shade of a gnarled, old Balanites aegyptiaca tree, or oloireroi in Maasai.

The women listen keenly as Everlyne Siololo outlines some key benefits of belonging to the newly formed 5,500-hectare (13,500-acre) conservancy.

Norkishili Kayiaa, one of three female administrators on the Mara Ripoi conservancy committee, addresses its members