Branded as a Viva Investigation, “Divorce is the Only Way Out” features interviews with nine recently divorced Kenyan women. The interview format was a common feature in Viva; other investigations cover topics ranging from the drinking culture of rural women to the lives of urban secretaries. This article illuminates the evolving social norms surrounding divorce, specifically the “new-found social, economic, and emotional freedom” that a woman could discover in single life. Although the article focuses on informal groups of women supporting one another communally, Kenya also played host to numerous women’s groups working to increase financial independence and expand access to basic services. While the author paints a rosy picture of post-marital life, where divorced women were as likely to find themselves in “Lagos or London as in Nairobi,” this was not the case for women outside of Viva’s educated, urban readership. Rural women were unlikely to become jet-setting divorcees; economic strains prevalent in rural areas necessitated two incomes which, for a wife and mother, necessitated a husband.

In addition to decrying practices such as polygamy which dominated rural areas, the author also notes the “constricting upper class European binds on a women’s independence” that had been embraced by urban Kenyan men. This speaks to the unique perspective of Viva’s writers. Instead of advocating for the imposition of Western norms for the benefit of women, writers envisioned a brand of feminism unique to Kenya, incorporating the best aspects of both systems.