The Gabbra women wear blazing bright colors and beads. gabbra girls are clitorectomized at 13 or 14 and usually marry between 14 and 16. Gabbra women unlike the men, have no assemblies of their own. Nevertheless they influence much decision making through their husbands, particularly regarding when and where to move camp.
Gabbra women breast-feeding her child. Birth spacing is closely tied to herd sizes. Adoption is common. Paternity is social, not biological. Children therefore belong to the husband of the woman, no matter who the father is. The Gabbra birth rate is low because of later marriage, taboos on adultery and post-partum birth taboos. Surprisingly enough, the Kenyan government has tried to educate the Gabbra in western birth control methods.
