Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has petitioned President William Ruto to voice his support against femicide.
Speaking when she joined hundreds of women during a protest against femicide on Saturday, January 27, 2024, the lawmaker recognized ODM leader Raila Odinga's message condemning the killing of women and maintained that the Head of State's voice needs to be heard.
She opined that the families of the slain women need to feel that the State is acting to stop the troubling trend.
Also Read:
"I have spoken to a few Cabinet Secretaries and said that the President's voice needs to be heard on this. I'm proud that our party leader Raila Odinga did speak to it. We need the President to speak to it and understand that the families of these women who have been brutally murdered have so much trauma and they need to feel that the State is acting on their behalf. They need to feel that the President understands their pain," Esther Passaris stated.
During the protest on Saturday in Nairobi and other various parts of the country women collectively shut down the nation in an eruption of fury over rising femicides and gender violence cases.
Hundreds of women marched to the streets in a historic protest against the murder of women and girls and petitioned for governments’ efforts to stop the brewing crisis.
In his message, the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition party leader denounced increased cases of femicides in the country noting that murder cannot be normalised.
Through a statement on his official X account, the former prime minister termed the sad trend a national emergency and an ugly scourge that must stop.
"It is sad to see a troubling increase in the deaths of young women, leaving a trail of grief for families and friends. The abnormality of these murders cannot become the new normal. Murder is and will always be wrong, and there is no excuse. The ugly scourge of murder of women is now a national emergency. It is a threat to homeland security. It must come to an end," Raila Odinga noted.
His statement followed outrage after the reported killings of tens of women across the country.
What is femicide?
Femicide is the intentional murder of women because they are women and the most extreme form of gender-based violence (GBV).
There are two categories of femicides; intimate -the killing of women by current or ex-partners and non-intimate femicide -the killing of women by people with whom they had no intimate relationship.
Most cases of femicide are committed by partners or ex-partners and can range from abuse at home, threats or intimidation, sexual violence or situations where women have less power or fewer resources than their partner according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
How to stop femicide
Among the best practices would be a government action plan for femicide reduction and stiffer penalties against femicide perpetrators and abusers.
An intentional change in cultural and social norms ranging from "masculinity and femininity, gender equality, domestic violence and femicide laws, patriarchal ideology, traditional values, the role of religion in society and media coverage of femicide and violence against women."
Remarkably, here's what doesn't work: reminding women of the 'made-up safety rules' from what to do or wear, and how to behave to avoid becoming victims of violence.
Safety rules aggressively perpetuate women are second-class citizens with an added duty of deferring to the unalienable rights of violent men to exist. They are false assurances and no amount of caution is a deterrent for a man intent on taking away your life, making you feel degraded and/or humiliated for his pleasure.
Also, the idea that any woman would need reminding of these made-up 'rules' – when they have been seared into our collective consciousness since childhood – is laughable.
Just stop killing women!
