The murder of Rita Waeni, 24, and Starlet Wahu, 26, by male suspects who are currently under police investigation saw protesters carry “Stop Killing Us” placards in different parts of the country in January. While there have not been such protests on the streets in the past four months, some religious leaders are concerned about the silence.
Director of Programmes at All Africa Conference of Churches, Rev Dr Lesmore Ezekiel, says ending the vice requires sacrifice to ensure that no man destroys the life of any girl or woman to demonstrate toxic masculinity. He says the church cannot be part of the silence about femicide cases based on not being reported.
“Silence means violence, so in the face of injustice and destruction of life, if you choose to be silent, you are guilty as the perpetrator. We are into the course that ending femicide is not just a joke, it comes with serious commitment and our readiness to sacrifice not to be part of the conspiracy of silence against all forms of gender-based violence and femicide,” says Rev Dr Ezekiel.
Rev Dr Ezekiel was speaking during a multi-stakeholder forum on ending femicide and other forms of GBV in the country at the Nairobi-based church. The religious leaders termed femicide as a violation of human rights and an assault on the dignity of women and girls.
Femicide is an obstacle to the realization of gender equality that should end, says Scholastica Kaaria, Gender Justice Technical Lead at Faith to Action Network.
She notes that the prevalence of femicide and gender-based violence cases in the country calls for urgent solutions by government agencies, civil societies, international partners, and community leaders.
“Every woman and girl has a right to live free of fear, free of violence, and free of oppression. Their lives are valuable, their dreams are valid and their future must be protected. Together, we must work hard to ensure that our laws are robust enough and effectively enforced to protect women and punch the perpetrators of violence,” she said.
She is calling on stakeholders to further promote education, economic opportunities, and leadership roles for women and girls to enhance their resilience while at the same time providing awareness on how to end femicide cases in the country.
Some of the contributing factors to femicide and gender-based violence cases according to the Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC) are traditional gender norms, abuse in all social-economic groups, and higher use of alcohol and drug abuse.
Alberta Wambua, Executive Director at GVRC says that femicide is part of gender-based violence and the numbers escalate. She says that the cases are on the rise at different times of the year like during elections, school holidays, and towards the end month.
Data from Africa Uncensored shows that 546 cases of femicide were reported between January 2016 and December 2023 with the majority of the cases aged between 18 to 35. Of the reported cases,63 deaths happened in Nairobi,55 in Nakuru and 41 in Kiambu being the top three counties with high femicide cases.
