#ENDFEMICIDE
We should be used to it by now, since we’ve been dealing with a violently unpredictable regime, but some things are just so foul, so vile, that as a decent human being, they don’t cross your mind till you’re caught in the midst of it. Shocked and scampering for safety.
femicide
/ˈfɛmɪsʌɪd/
noun
noun: femicide; plural noun: femicides
the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender.
#EndFemicide.
A simple enough hashtag.
Stop killing women.
This isn’t just about the killlings, though. It’s an umbrella statement. Stop catcalling women, stop harassing them. Stop grabbing and groping them without consent. Stop sending them unsolicited sexual content. Stop beating them. Sto raping them. Stop killing them.
And each of these issues mentioned branches off into even more issues, placing women in a constant struggle where they have to fight for their right to dignity while being so scared that at any moment they could be, or have been, victims of the things listed above.
930 DISCOVERED AND REPORTED CASES OF FEMICIDE
According to Africa Data Hub, there have been over 930 cases of femicide spanning from January 2016 to December 2024. In 2024, what has been described as the worst year in record, there were 170 cases. And these are just the ones that have been discovered and reported. In these numbers, we haven’t accounted for the majority female bodies still rotting away in the Kware swampy dumpsite.
We started the year with a femicide protest and are ending it with yet another femicide protest.
What a sad statement.
Because you would think that in the past year in the Kenyan context, we have been learning that we are one, as citizens, regardless of gender, orientation, and anything else. And the common enemy we are fighting is the violent state.
But instead, women have contributed their all to this national movement—time, expertise, resources, energy—only to have to still fight for their own lives at the hands of the very people they have been fighting for.
In the past, with protests that weren’t directly critiquing the state, the government has looked the other way and even approved requests for said protests and provided security in the form of the police force. The End Femicide protest was quite peaceful, with security provided and the protesters achieving their goals, which were to submit their demands to the president’s office.
That’s what we expected for the protest on the 11th of December.
Instead, women and allies were met with teargas, live and rubber bullets, physical violence (being pushed, kicked, dragged), and illegal arrests.
A simple explanation of this will be that, since the Kenyan uprising in June, the government does not want to see any form of organising. Everything is now a threat to their corrupt and murderous ways, and they will resort to anything to shut it down.
At a march where women were protesting their lack of safety, the state responded with violence and threats.
What irony. What a shame it is to be such a cowardly monster.
But in the face of adversity, women did what they always do; they stood firm.
They ran to safety while caring for each other, and after things had cooled down, they regrouped. Whenever the police tried to attack or arrest someone, they held onto them, refusing to let go, overpowering the violent state forces.
And they marched. And sang. And held each other. And cried. And held space for each other, understanding the fear and terror we all live with on a daily basis because of a patriarchal system that likes to see us hurt and bleed. That views us only as birthing and kitchen machines, not human beings deserving of a safe and decent life where we are not looking over our shoulder and double checking our locks every few minutes.
Wheeew!
All of this would have been very difficult to execute if it weren’t for the @endfemicideke , a movement by Kenyan women for Kenyan women to end femicide in Kenya.
The organisers, who spent days and nights planning, stating demands, coming up with solutions, giving fellow women tips on how to prepare for and stay safe at a protest, and so much more. And what really stood out about this movement is that no one was itching to be a leader. Opinions and ideas were taken from everyone, and consideration and equality were given to everyone. It was an inclusive movement that involved women with disabilities and queer folk, a movement that considered the rights of girls and children. Because we understood that equality and inclusion are the only way to win a fight against a heavily armed and heavily corrupt system.
I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.
-Audre Lorde
Women want to exist, freely, fully, in this world that is just as much theirs as it is anyone else’s.
We want to live in a country where women can walk at any time of day and night, alone, without worrying about being raped or killed.
We want to be able to go out and have fun without the threat of harassment, drugging, and more looming above us.
We want to not be blamed for how we were dressed, if we were intoxicated, where we were, who we were with, what time it was… when something happens to us. And instead, we want abusers to be held accountable both by society and our judicial system.
We want to feel safe in our own homes and to enjoy our freedoms without worrying that at anytime it might be cut short.
STOP KILLING WOMEN!
