Protests against femicide in Kenya

[NitroNine]

BBC coverage
Amnesty Kenya Statement
The East African coverage
Daily Nation coverage

Victim-blaming has been rife on social media, with commenters in Kenya's so-called "manosphere" blaming murdered women for their own deaths.
Many messages on online platforms focus on what the victims were wearing when they were attacked, or question why they did not use their mobile phones to tell family and friends their whereabouts.

In the face of such attitudes, I admire the courage of the protestors.

So it would be permissible to kill women who wear the wrong kind of clothing or don't use their mobiles quickly enough (while being killed) to call for help?

This is not new, of course, but what used to be routinely said about rape victims, i.e., they must have somehow contributed to 'getting raped'. Or beaten, or even killed.

And yes, I salute these brave women protesting this violence.

I have no idea where my actual post - that preceded the list of links - went; but at least those didn’t vanish too I suppose 🤦‍♀️

It is indeed incredibly brave of women in Kenya to protest - this article from 2020 touches briefly on the experiences of women who attempt[ed] to run for office as part of the push to make Article 27(8) of the Kenyan Constitution a reality. That extreme hostility; men setting the bounds of “acceptable” womanhood & brutally punishing those who break the rules; in a
society where VAWG is endemic… to protest is to take your life in your hands.

Things really haven’t moved/changed/improved substantially since the production of the Kenya Women’s Manifesto in 2005. In fairness, they've actually made progress in tackling FGM, & are continuing to work on it, including in partnership with other African countries. COVAW was founded in 1995 - almost 30 years on it’s still needed as much, if not more.

Horrifying - both the gruesome violence against women and the attitudes and victim-blaming in response to what's happening.
Very brave women for protesting about it.

Jurist has published a good summary of the situation, including the most recent updates from government & relevant NGOs.

The numbers involved here are truly staggering - more than 10 femicides in 20-odd days; coming after at least 152 femicides in 2023. And the two most recent murders, of Starlet Wahu and Rita Waeni, were incredibly brutal ones. (Do not click the links if of sensitive disposition/have just eaten). That sheer brutality must seem like further threat, too. Kenya’s biggest news app & most popular news service with millennials & gen z ran an article on the 20th of January about VAWG committed by [would-be] partners - I’ve not gone to see what commentary it’s generated on Twitter though because that feels almost grief touristy iyswim?