By Eddah Waithaka
The frequency and severity of femicide are deeply concerning. seems like not a goes by without hearing another tragic case.
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) over 40 percent of women have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
There is no safe place for women and girls, not even at home. Women and girls are targeted when they go to the market, to social joints, in schools, in the streets, and workplaces.
Femicide tragically robs a girl or woman of life. In addition to the finality of this cruel and intentional act, many girls and women experience multiple acts of violence, degradation, psychological and physical isolation, fear, and terror in the hours, months, or years before they are killed.
According to a press statement released on 5th February 2024, the blame has shifted from perpetrators to the victims. This staggering number only represents cases reported in the media and does not represent the true count as on average a woman or girl is killed every day, often by a close family member.
Violence against women and girls is violence against the entire humankind, and should have no place in Kenya or anywhere in the world.
Society’s response to gender-based violence can be enhanced if we invest in seeking to understand some of the key drivers of the epidemic.
The sacred texts are clear that we must seek knowledge (Baha’u’llah Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp 51-52; Hosea 4: 6 and the Quran 20: 114).
Having a fuller understanding of the complexity of gender-based violence will enable us to develop and implement more effective responses.
The religious leaders noted that they can no longer remain silent, nor assume that gender-based violence is a ‘private issue.’ It is in many instances a matter of life and death; a matter of human security, dignity, faith, human rights and is key to the prosperity of the entire nation.
Therefore, the leaders are calling on the Government of Kenya to ensure progress towards implementation of the Sexual Offences Act (2006), the National Policy on Prevention and Response to Gender based Violence 2014 outcomes, and the enforcement of all laws and policies that respond to Gender Based Violence.
All relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government are urged to task themselves to work in concert with other institutions including law enforcement authorities in mitigating the heinous acts of femicide and other gender-based violence.
The government is also urged to enforce treaties it has ratified on this issue such as The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, (Maputo Protocol) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) among others.
