Thousands march against femicide in Kenya after rise in killings.

06-02-2024
Tsedenia Gigar Getaneh
Women’s Rights Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defence.

“A country is judged by not how well it treats its rich people, but how well it takes care of the
weak and vulnerable,” said Law Society of Kenya President Eric Theuri, who was among the
demonstrators.

In Kenya, a significant protest against femicide took place on January 27, marking the country's
largest demonstration against sexual and gender-based violence. The protest, which occurred
in various cities including Nairobi, was primarily in response to the recent killings of more than
a dozen women. (Aljazeera, 27 Jan, 2024)
Many participants, predominantly women, wore T-shirts bearing the names of the victims and
disrupted traffic while rallying against the violence with chants and signs demanding an end to
the killings of women. (Aljazeera, 27 Jan, 2024)
“Stop killing us!” the demonstrators shouted as they waved signs with messages such as “There
is no justification to kill women.” (Aljazeera, 27 Jan, 2024)
The demonstrators expressed their frustration with Esther Passaris, the parliamentary
representative for women, accusing her of silence during the recent spate of violence and
rejecting her attempts to speak at the event. Protesters shouted her down with chants of “Where
were you?” and “Go home!” (The Guardian, 27 Jan, 2024)
According to Patricia Andago a data journalist and research firm Odipo Dev, there is a slaying
of at least 14 women since the start of the year and from January 2016 to December 2023
showed at least 500 women were killed in acts of femicide. Many instances of femicide remain
unreported.

Among the cases that have recently shocked the nation are the murders of two women at Airbnb

properties, including a brutal case involving a university student. The slow pace of gender-
based violence cases in Kenyan courts was criticized by Theuri, who argues that this delay may

encourage further crimes against women. (The Guardian, 27 Jan, 2024)
Protesters called for femicide to be legally recognised as a crime, saying that its conflation with
murder did not account for the unique circumstances under which the killings are committed,
which are defined by unequal power relations between men and women, or harmful gender
norms. (The Guardian, 27 Jan, 2024)

Sources and References
1. Aljazeera (January 27, 2023). ‘Stop killing us!’: Thousands march to protest against
femicide in Kenya Retrieved February 5, 2023 from

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/1/27/stop-killing-us-thousands-march-to-
protest-against-femicide-in-kenya

2. The Guardian (January 27, 2023). Thousands march against femicide in Kenya after
rise in killings Retrieved February 5, 2023 from

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/27/thousands-march-against-femicide-
in-kenya-after-rise-in-killings