16 lifeless in a single month: Girls throughout Kenya maintain march towards femicide

Girls and feminists in Kenya took to the streets on Saturday to march towards the rising circumstances of femicide. The nationwide protest, dubbed ‘Feminists March In opposition to Femicide’, is happening in 11 counties: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Homabay, Turkana, Kilifi, Machakos, Kisii and Nyeri.

The protest follows a collection of grotesque murders of girls. The latest are the murders of Starlet Wahu, 26, who was brutally murdered in a short-term rental condo, and Rita Waeni, a first-year college scholar whose dismembered physique was additionally present in one other short-term rental condo in Nairobi.

The murders of the 2 girls are simply the tip of the iceberg of Kenya’s rising femicide drawback.

In 2018, Sharon Otieno, a scholar at Rongo College who was reportedly the girlfriend of Migori County Governor Okoth Obado, was discovered lifeless in a forest in Oyugis city, Homa Bay County. In 2019, Ivy Wangeci, a medical scholar, was hacked to loss of life by a jilted boyfriend in Eldoret.

Eunice Wangari was thrown from the balcony of a 12-storey constructing in Nairobi in 2020, and celebrated Olympic runner Agnes Tirop was allegedly stabbed to loss of life by her husband in 2021.

These are a number of the excessive publicised circumstances of femicide in Kenya. A research performed by the Africa Knowledge Hub estimates that there can be round 500 femicide victims between 2016 and 2024. Research performed by UN Girls present that Africa recorded the very best absolute variety of feminine intimate companion and household associated killings with an estimated 20,000 victims, adopted by 18,400 in Asia, 7,900 within the Americas, 2,300 in Europe and 200 in Oceania.

All these killings happen regardless of the existence of sturdy worldwide and nationwide authorized mechanisms to fight this heinous crime. In Kenya, the Structure of Kenya 2010 ensures that the rights of girls and women are protected underneath Article 27, and the Penal Code offers for penalties for violence towards girls and women.

Regardless of this, perpetrators of most intimate companion violence and femicide crimes go unpunished. This prompted the primary feminist march towards femicide in Kenya. In 2019, alarmed by the rising circumstances of femicide and intimate companion violence, girls got here collectively to demand accountability in peaceable protests throughout the nation.

This Saturday, Kenyan girls will as soon as once more march towards the rise in femicide circumstances in Kenya, organising on-line underneath the hashtag #TotalShutdownKe.

A number of human rights organisations, together with Amnesty Worldwide, have proven their dedication and assist for the march. In a press release launched this Friday, Amnesty Worldwide introduced that its members and employees can be collaborating within the march towards femicide.

We name on all Kenyans to return out and lift their voices towards the rising violence that violates worldwide and Kenyan legal guidelines and poses an existential menace to the lives of girls and women,” the assertion mentioned.

Leaders and human rights organisations have additionally expressed solidarity with victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

Azimio la Umoja chief Raila Odinga was among the many first leaders to specific concern over the rise in femicide circumstances, describing it as a “nationwide emergency” and saying that the homicide of girls and women shouldn’t be normalised.

“It’s unhappy to see a troubling improve within the deaths of younger girls, leaving a path of grief for households and associates. The abnormality of those murders can not develop into the brand new regular. Homicide is and can all the time be unsuitable, and there’s no excuse,” Mr Odinga mentioned.

Gender Cupboard Secretary Aisha Jumwa additionally referred to as for investigations into latest acts of violence towards girls and warned the general public towards shaming victims of such crimes.

“We reiterate our dedication to selling a tradition of respect, equality and security for all people in Kenya, no matter gender. We encourage the general public to face united towards violence and assist efforts to create a safer setting for girls and women,” she mentioned in a press release.

The President’s Advisor on Girls’s Rights, Harriette Chiggai, pledged to push for stiffer penalties for perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence.

“It’s also my dedication to work with the judiciary to expedite circumstances of intimate companion violence.To this finish, I may also ask the legal justice system to make sure that survivors of sexual and gender based mostly violence (SGBV) are handled with dignity and that these circumstances are usually not delayed,” Ms Chiggai mentioned.

In the identical vein, the Deputy Speaker of the Nationwide Meeting, Gladys Shollei, expressed the necessity for the federal government to strengthen the capability of regulation enforcement companies with assets and coaching to fight technology-facilitated GBV.

Then again, the Federation of Girls Legal professionals (Fida) Kenya accused the Nationwide Police Service of failing through the years to deliver perpetrators of intimate companion violence (IPV) and femicide to justice.