By Susan Majimbo
Recently, when women across the nation participated in the #EndFemicideinkenya protest, two men hatefully told off women who were holding their placards “We are going to kill you!” A video captured the two at Jeevanjee Gardens amidst preparations to hold the peaceful march.
This however is not a singular incident where the justification for killing women is often countered with rather a recurring pattern of twisted narratives where violence against women is dismissed. At least three presenters of Homeboyz radio were expelled in 2021 from the station after making rather distasteful victim-shaming comments regarding the death of a girl who had been thrown off the 12th floor of an apartment after rejecting sexual advances from a date.
When women on the app faulted the trio, the chaos that later followed on Twitter (KOT-Kenyans on Twitter) painted the picture of this recurring trend where tweeps went ahead to justify and affirm the murderer. Women’s expression of their plight is always downplayed with a reason that justifies the offender's actions or pointing fingers for not standing up for men who go through the same situations.
Similarly, 'takataka', which loosely translates to rubbish was banned by the Kenya Films Classification Board (KFCB), in 2019, a song that was restricted because of its obscene and degrading lyrics that advocated violence against women. This came about when Ivy Wangeci was murdered by an axe by Naftali Kinuthia, her boyfriend, who was agitated when she saw her hug another man.
I could mention several other cases where women came out to speak against their experiences and their opinions would be trivialized but I am grateful that does not stop women from speaking about it regardless!
Comments