Women in Kenya are still reeling from the horrific cases of femicide in January 2024 which tore the country apart and left them inconsolable and furious. But these incidents are not unique. It is a menacing reminder of a troubled past and cases of femicide that have plagued the nation for far too long.
Gender-based violence in Kenya has been an existing issue even before the country’s independence in 1963. Colonial law did not protect against the long-lasting harm caused by harmful patriarchal traditions. Even though there were improvements after independence, the underlying causes of inequality persisted and could be seen in destructive cultural practices, domestic violence, and the startling impunity of those who commit these crimes.
Since the start of the year, there have been at least four instances of femicide in Kenya. Two gained public attention, one being the death of 26-year-old Starlet Wahu on January 4 who was stabbed by a guy suspected of being a member of a criminal ring whose members use dating services to extort and rape women they target physically. Not even two weeks after Wahu’s body was found, a man drugged and dismembered Rita Waeni whom he had arranged to meet in a rented flat. After mutilating her body, he used plastic bags to dispose of the pieces.
Femicide Count Kenya was established in 2019 and has since documented reports of women murdered by beatings, stabbings, mutilations, strangulations, and dousing in petrol and setting on fire. The majority of the fatalities were between the ages of 21 to 30. Femicide Count Kenya also reports that 152 women were brutally killed in 2023 alone—a startling increase from 146 in 2022 and the greatest number in the previous five years.
Every reported case of femicide stands for a life lost, a family ruined, and a community left permanently damaged. They are the energetic young women aspiring for a better future, the capable students, and the devoted mothers; they have names, faces and a future before their lives were brutally cut short. The fury of Kenyan women is fueled by the stories of those who have been so brutally taken.
Also, our femicide reports from July to December were able to capture at least 10 cases of femicide reported in Kenya. These cases are reports available using a simple Google search and the numbers have likely been under-reported.
On January 27 2024, Kenyan women will rise in a powerful wave and fill the streets in a march for justice, marking the culmination of this outcry. It is evidence of their steadfast will, their insistence on a future in which their lives are valued rather than ended, and their reluctance to accept silence. Though there is still a long and difficult journey ahead, Kenyan women are not alone. This march serves as a global call to action and a ray of hope. As a worldwide community, we must stand with them, raise awareness of their cause, and assist them in their struggle to end femicide as a terrible historical occurrence.
Kenyan women are not alone on the difficult and lengthy path ahead. This march is an international rallying cry and a ray of optimism. To create a future in which femicide is a horrifying historical artefact rather than a terrible reality, we as a global society must stand with them, elevate their voices, and support their battle.
Here are some ways you can support the movement:
- Share information about the march on social media using the hashtags #TotalShutDownKE #EndFemicideKE
- Follow accounts on X for example @FeministsKE, @siasaplace, @NjeriWaMigwi, etc., that talk about the march and retweet their posts for more awareness.
- Educate yourself and others about the issue of femicide.
- Speak out against violence against women whenever you see it.
Remember, silence is complicity. Let us break it together, and write a new chapter where Kenyan women and women all over the world thrive, not merely survive.
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