Enough is enough! Let us break the silence now, say no to femicide
Mourners stand next to a portrait of the slain athlete Agnes Jebet Tirop during her funeral service at Kapnyemisa Primary School in Nandi County on October 23, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Femicide has become a pandemic in our country, with women dying daily at the hands of men whom they have entrusted their lives.
- Domestic violence and femicide are not a peculiarity affecting only poor or rural women, but one that afflicts those with means and status, too.
Femicide represents the most extreme form of violence against women. The recent cruel and brutal murders of Agnes Jebet Tirop and Edith Muthoni, Kenyan athletes, have brought to the fore the rising cases of femicide in Kenya. This has become a pandemic in our country, with women dying daily at the hands of men whom they have entrusted their lives.
These two gruesome murders have called attention to the everyday aggravation and danger that many Kenyan women face and to the pressures confronting them.
Dozens of women have been murdered in love-gone-sour cases. Some of the suspects in these murders have ongoing court cases while others remain a mystery.
Unfortunately, domestic violence and femicide are not a peculiarity affecting only poor or rural women, but one that afflicts those with means and status, too.
Long-distance runner Tirop had a bright future in athletics. She competed in the Tokyo Olympics in August, set a world record in the women’s 10-kilometer race in Germany in September and was widely seen as a rising star in her country’s highly competitive running circuit. Her killing, just days after her last race in Switzerland, was a blow that is energising a conversation in Kenya over how to combat violence against women.
Kennedy Nyamu allegedly hacked Muthoni, 27, in the head at Kianjege East Village in Kerugoya following a domestic dispute. Muthoni, a marathoner in local races, was taken to Kerugoya County Referral Hospital while in critical condition. She succumbed to her injuries.
Killed by intimate partners
On October 23, a first year student at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Loitoktok campus, was stabbed to death, allegedly by her boyfriend Samson Kipkorir Kemoi, 27, who had paid her a visit at Kamukunji estate. Miriam Chepchirchir, 22, was murdered in the wee hours of Saturday. Her body was found on the floor in a pool of blood, with signs of struggle in the room. A blood-stained knife was recovered at the scene.
On October 20, a 17-year-old student was stabbed by her 49-year-old alleged lover who later committed suicide in Miti Mingi village in Gilgil, Nakuru County.
Neighbours said Naomi Nyarangi was stabbed by Salim Said in the neck with a kitchen knife. The man then hanged himself in a hay store. Nyarangi went home, where she died in the arms of her aunt.
Two weeks ago, the body of Cynthia Makokha, 17, was found floating in River Lusumu, where it had been dumped allegedly by her lover. She was a Form Four student at Kibera Secondary School in Nairobi.
In the first six months of 2019, at least 60 cases of women killed by current or former intimate partners were reported in local Kenyan newspapers. These cases also shot up last year, especially between April and July, when the government imposed a partial lockdown to control movement during the pandemic.
The cases highlighted here are among many others and have spurred calls to break the silence on gender-based attacks.
Violence against women
These sad stories should make us pause and reflect on the very big number of women who are murdered and killed in this country every day. We are all affected by this scourge that plagues our country, directly or indirectly. All have a responsibility to play their part and take a stand. Enough is enough.
The media should also avoid falling back on the familiar, sensational tropes that frame this kind of violence as “killing for love” or that blame women for their own deaths. It should be called by its name — femicide!
From necessary inclusion in the Violence against Women Act to our social media posts, it is time we joined the broader world, called femicide what it is and create laws against it.
The “2014 Demographic and Health Survey” report showed at least 45 per cent of women in the country aged 15-49 years have experienced intimate partner physical and or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.
In June 2021, the government made a valiant decision to end sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by 2026. Kenya promised bold commitments that would remove the systemic barriers that allow SGBV to thrive. Those entrusted with the task must act with urgency to make gender equality a reality for women and girls within the next five years.
Women lives matter too!
Ms Ngunjiri is an economist and political analyst. [email protected]
