Kenyan Women Marching for #EndFemicide Met With Police Violence
The #EndFemicideMarch, marking the close of 16 days of activism, demanded accountability for Kenya’s femicide epidemic, where a woman is killed every 24 hours.
Activists chant slogans and hold placards as they take part in a march against femicide and gender-based violence in Nairobi, on December 10, 2024.
"Stop killing women!" protesters chanted as they marched through Nairobi's Central Business District earlier today, Tuesday, only to be confronted by police armed with teargas.
The #EndFemicideKe demonstration aimed to demand accountability, but instead, participants faced violence and arrests. Held on International Human Rights Day, the march marked the end of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.The protest stemmed from a grim reality: a woman is killed every 24 hours in Kenya, a harrowing statistic confirmed by law enforcement. Protesters sought to present their case, emphasizing that police inaction and societal apathy were perpetuating the femicide epidemic.
Recent high-profile cases like theEastleigh Murders — where Waris Daud, her daughter Amina Abdirashid and niece Nuseiba Dahir were brutally tortured, killed and mutilated — have highlighted the ongoing crisis in the country. The violence has even affected the elite community of female runners in Kenya, with several athletesfalling victim to tragic, life-ending attacks.Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat reported 97 femicide cases in the last three months alone. Gender-based violence recovery centers, like those at Nairobi Women's Hospital, are inundated with over 4,000 cases monthly.
"It is a crisis, and something definitely needs to be done," says Dr. Sam Thenya, CEO of Nairobi Women’s Hospital. "The economic burden of gender-based violence is enormous on our economy. We must speak against this vice being perpetuated against women and girls. They are our daughters, wives, sisters and mothers."
Amnesty International strongly condemned the police's violent response to the protestsin a statement released today. The organization's executive director, Houghton Irungu,was among those arrested. It is not clear how many demonstrators were taken into police custody.
"On this International Human Rights Day, dedicated to celebrating and upholding the dignity, freedom, and rights of all people, we witnessed a grave violation of these very principles," Amnesty said.
The government has pledged to roll out a national awareness campaign focused on prevention, support systems, and data collection to better address the root causes of gender-based violence. President William Ruto has also vowed to bolster law enforcement capabilities, promising "to equip our police to deal with this challenge."
The march was the second of its kind this year.A similar demonstration in January, sparked by a series of gruesome murders, was held peacefully across 11 counties.
