Women march to protest against femicide

On Monday, January 3, Elizabeth Ibrahim Ekaru, a women’s and land rights activist was attending a burial at Isiolo when she was called aside by a neighbour. She stepped aside to talk to him, only for him to pull out a knife and stab her several times, leading to her death.

Ekaru had received recognition for her work, including a Head of State commendation for her courage and role in defending human rights. She was also a member of the national network of human rights defenders.

However, because of her work, her family had been targeted -- with her husband and two sons burnt in their house.

Her death was occasioned by a land dispute, and her killer was arrested and is in police custody.

As expected, her killing was met with outrage, with human rights activists saying her death is a testimony of the risks faced by human rights defenders.

On Tuesday, women and human rights defenders all over the country went to the streets in protest of femicide, chanting “justice for Elizabeth”. A placard read “if you don’t fight for all women, you fight for none”.

Jeevanjee gardens

In Nairobi, more than 50 women gathered at Jeevanjee gardens, and chanted all the way to the Supreme Court to meet the Chief Justice, before proceeding to the Office of the President and Office of Interior, where they submitted a written petition calling for an end to femicide and expedition of cases against suspected perpetrators in court.

Ms Ruth Mumbi, a human rights defender from Bunge la Wamama Mashinani, a movement that highlights the struggles of women at the grassroots, explained that rights activists had been targeted for what they do.

“Human rights defenders have been profiled and criminalised because of the work they do. We are here to demand justice for all defenders who have died in the course of their work. We are also here to demand security for women,” she explained.

Ms Florence Kanyua, a social justice activist, said that for the past five years, many human rights defenders, especially those in pursuit of land rights, had lost their lives.

“We only hear that the perpetrators have been arrested, produced in court, and after a short while, we hear that they have been released. We want an end to killings of human rights defenders and for all women fighting for the betterment of this country,” she said.

Ms Breya Johnson, from Girls for Gender Equity in New York, and whose work revolves around patriarchal violence and sexual violence against women and queer black people, explained that in America, four black women and girls are murdered daily. She raised concern that an increase in such cases is being witnessed in Kenya. The biggest enemy of women, she said, was colonial patriarchy.

“All around the world, it seems like it is still acceptable to murder women and girls whenever you feel like it, and we know it all begins to end when we start with refusal. The power of refusal is our greatest power, and today we are saying ‘No more’. You are no longer going to kill us and get away with it. You are not going to intimidate us, or scare us into submission. Femicide is making an example of a few women to say that all other women need to be under control, we refuse that,” she emphasised.

“We are very disappointed that we are being killed yet the government is not doing much about it. We have seen our president in international spaces claiming he supports female leadership and that he will protect women from any form of violence. Femicide is part of that violence against women and girls. We have seen rising cases of femicide in the country, yet we haven’t seen any man jailed for it,” lamented Ms Rachel Mwikali.

She also expressed concern over the safety of female aspirants during this the election period, saying that political aspirants need to address protection of women and agenda for women if they want votes.

“We have defended others for long, but now it’s time to turn that light on to ourselves. We already know that the security system is very patriarchal, and as non-men, we demand to be protected,” she said. 

The protesters demanded that Ekaru’s killer be brought to justice, and for the Environment and Forestry Ministry to publicly condemn her killing. They also want targeted attacks and killings of human rights defenders in Kenya declared a national emergency.

They called upon the office of the Attorney General to expedite review and adoption of a human rights defenders’ policy that will guide their work and ensure their protection. Besides, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Inspector General of Police were asked to give an accountability and progress update on all femicide cases to show commitment to upholding social justice and human rights.

Human rights defenders

Speaking at the protest, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris condemned the killing of Ekaru, reiterating that human rights defenders are friends of the state, not their enemies.

While noting that women’s rights are important, she called for an end to violence perpetrated against men, noting that her office, Nairobi Metropolitan Service, and Nairobi County Government had collectively set aside Sh90 million, for setting up of the first safe house run by the government.

“We need a safe house because we have women that are in danger and need a place to be protected. I’m calling on the government to speed up all the necessary approvals to expedite the setting up of the safe house. We also saw an increase of femicide during the pandemic, so we need to find a way to ensure that our men are talked to,” she explained.

“If a woman decides she wants to leave, let her leave. Don’t kill her. There is depression in the country, and family members rising up against each other. We need counselling, and call for the Health ministry to find the money to implement the Psychologists and Counsellors Act to ensure that our people are counselled to avoid death and help people deal with depression,” she concluded.

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