Human rights activists are shifting to art and exhibitions to create awareness on GBV
Western
By
Olivia Odhiambo
| Nov 01, 2025
Human rights activists have turned to art and exhibitions to create awareness, educate the public, and seek justice for victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the country.
They argue that through art and dialogue, the exhibition honours the lives lost to femicide and sheds light on the ongoing realities of gender-based violence.
According to activists, they have introduced an exhibition dubbed 'Maskan' to create awareness on GBV.
This is an exhibition by a multidisciplinary artist that speaks about GBV cases that were reported to them and how they ended up being femicide.
Speaking in Kisumu during an official opening of Maskan Kisumu edition, Njeri Migwi of Usikimye said the tour using arts realities of femicides is currently being launched countrywide, including in Nakuru and Mombasa, with plans to escalate it to more counties next year
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"Among the issues that are coming up during our panel discussions when we are launching are matters of safety, policy, protection, and what the justice system looks like for the victims and their families," she said.
Migwi noted that there is a lot of anger and rage from the panelists.
"The aim of Maskan is to ensure more women come out to make reports about GBV, as claims of more cases go unreported because of a lack of awareness," added Migwi.
She claimed authorities are not capturing statistics, and yet there could be more cases of femicides and other GBV cases.
Migwi noted that they opted to use art because it is more effective.
"Pictures talk about the anger, pain, and rage that anyone cannot express in words," she noted.
According to the activists, the exhibition tour responds directly to the alarming reality of femicide cases.
"Conceived as a multi-sensory house of mourning, the installation transforms statistics into live stories, offering spaces of remembrance, reflection, and collective grief. Through art and dialogue, the exhibition honours the lives lost to femicide and sheds light on the ongoing realities of gender-based violence," said Migwi.
Thayu Kilili, a multidisciplinary artist, at Creatives Garage, argued that when there is a femicide case highlighted in the media, it does not get much attention since it gets overshadowed by other news items, including politics.
"Before the reader is well conversant with the femicide story, he or she is already bombarded with another problem and hence loses focus. I think using art to express our feelings is very important because the artists have expressed the anger and the pain in a way that disturbs people," said Kilili.
Kilili noted that the project maskan was already launched in Nairobi and the exhibition went for about three weeks, attracting thousands of people.
Kisumu gender, sports, culture CEC Beatrice Odongo said art transforms pain into purpose and silence into song.
"I know that the arts have always been a mirror of society but also a window to healing. Through music, poetry, drama, painting, spoken words, and dance, we can tell stories that words alone cannot carry," she noted.
She noted that ending GBV requires honest dialogue between men, women, elders, and youth.
The CEC argued that when communities talk about GBV openly, the stigma dies, empathy rises, and prevention becomes everyone's duty.