Women MPs should listen widely on efforts to stop gender violence

New statistics released this week demonstrate violence remains a major threat to safety and dignity of nearly 29 million Kenyan women and girls. Despite creation of a large taskforce and recent President Ruto’s Sh100 million directive, the campaign against femicide needs a change of direction to effectively address this pressing national challenge.

According to ODIPODEV and Africa Uncensored, 170 women were murdered in 2024. This is nearly double those killed in 2023 and more than five times the number killed in 2016. The rising number of incidences of stabbing and hacking to death of primarily young women is a disturbing new trend. Nairobi, Kiambu and Nakuru are the most dangerous counties while increasingly trends are rising in Kisii, Kitui, Meru and Nyeri.

The “Femicide: The Situation is getting worse” study confirms other studies that our homes (61 per cent) and public spaces (17 per cent) are the most dangerous places to be. Further, husbands, boyfriends and family members remain the greatest perpetrators. There is some good news also. Convictions are up 118 per cent from 2023 and are the highest since 2018. The Judiciary must accelerate cases before the court. On average, it takes four years from the first court appearance to sentencing.

2024 saw an increase in public and state demands for an end to gender based violence probably not seen since the activism that led to the Sexual Offences Act (2006). Under the banner of End Femicide, thousands of women and some men marched across several cities and towns in January and December. The President, Police Deputy Inspector and several legislators called for an end to this serious crime. On November 20, President Ruto announced Sh100 million for a “Safe Homes, Safe Spaces” campaign that would create awareness, accelerate investigations, enhance gender desks in police stations and hospitals and equip safe houses.

Three days later, in a letter seen by this columnist, the Gender Ministry Principal Secretary wrote to both Parliamentary clerks. She informed them the entire Sh100 million would be spent by the 102 Members of Parliament, women’s rights NGOs and the National Gender and Equality Commission with the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) reporting back from the constituencies.

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This will include physical and social media campaigns and “use a positive ‘caricature’ of the President as the campaign patron”. The budget lines include KEWOPA monitoring (Sh1.4 million), constituency allocations (Sh930,000 each), transport reimbursement (Sh500,000), give away scarves (Sh200,000) and other smaller budget lines.

The campaign will run up to a presidential ceremony International Women’s Day on March 8.

Information makes no difference to behaviour, consequences of breaking the law does. Scarves don’t protect women. Legislators don’t implement programmes, they provide oversight. Promoting the face of the President is a political blunder and will boomerang. Could the legislators consider Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei who was burned to death, Agnes Tirop, Rita Waeni, Starlet Wahu and Amina Abdirashid who were stabbed to death or any of the young women whose torture and death traumatised us last year?

The colossal misstep by those elected to champion gender equality betrays lack of connection with those affected and campaigning kwa ground daily.

In January 2024, campaigners called for femicide to be declared a national crisis, a national commission and an action-plan, integrated data management system, upgrading of the gender department back to a ministry with a Cabinet Secretary and increased funding, two thirds compliance across the state and political parties, legislative reforms and accelerated investigations and prosecutions among other asks.

Like Argentina’s #NiUnaMenos and South Africa’s #TotalShutdown movements, Kenya’s #EndFemicide movement successfully brought this issue to the fore. Tragically, elected women leaders seem hell bent on shifting the positive anger against femicide to themselves.

Perhaps, their memory of June 25, 2024 needs to be jogged. Our beloved Parliament was occupied because thousands of citizens were outraged by parliamentary obliviousness on the 2024 Finance Bill. I implore our women legislators and the national taskforce to not take the nation down that road again.

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