Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women

By Jackline Mwanza @jackiemwanza and Irene Mutile @irenemutile 

Demonstrators at the #MyDressMyChoice Protest, November 18 2014

"Kenyans must learn from their constitution. Violence from any public or private spheres is a violation against human rights is punishable by law."

    “Let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women”, is the theme during the 2014 16 Days of Activism campaign. In the wake of stripping incidences, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero wrote, “No one has a right to strip anyone in public and cause them unnecessary embarrassment.”  Whereas Evans Kidero is entitled to his opinion, his ironic tweet reignites debate on violence against women.

     Refer to the now-forgotten attack on Nairobi Women’s Representative Hon. Rachael Shebesh by none other than the now politically correct tweep. Our heart sunk when the country celebrated the assault, giving it “devolved “nouns such as “gubernatorial slap”! Mock songs, ringtones and “DJ hype slogans” were coined from her panic-stricken shriek. Mainstream media were abuzz with “political satire” while social media Bigwigs availed new search results on the internet to the words “Shebesh memes”. At least Shebesh’s girlfriends belatedly showed solidarity by condemning the act. You know how the rest of the story goes.

     Back on Twitter on #MyDressMyChoice, the Governor has transformed from Saul to Paul! These digital times amaze me. #MyDressMyChoice was a trend on social media that later manifested in the Nairobi streets by way of a demo to decry the rising cases of violence against women. This time round, ordinary women had been attacked and stripped naked by touts in the guise of indecent dressing. The nation awakened to the ugly monster that is violence against women. However, this is just one of the manifestations of violence against women that society has condoned. We see rowdy touts everywhere; politics, boardrooms, matatus; shouting unkind words to intimidate women into subjugation.

     On the streets, as touts take to physical violence, their counterparts in boardrooms complement them with emotional abuse. In areas where FGM is still practiced, is a razor being the tool of trade, the irony is that the woman has accepted her place and even defends the status quo.  Who can blame her? Society perfected the ultimate form of suppression by limiting the woman’s access to information right from the moment she is born.

     Let us demystify the excuse. In the 70s, our parents wore the shortest skirts ever seen. To date, framed pictures of exposed thighs are still suspended in our living room walls as exhibits of how they had tokelezead.  Three decades later, an invisible moral ruler has been found in the streets to measure skirt lengths as a mark of an acceptable culture. Are we not our mothers’ children? Are we not entitled to a sense of fashion too? In the most conservative cultural settings, women drape themselves in winding dresses that grace the earth under their feet, but violence is still rampant. What do men want?

     While we wait for our leaders to legislate and stop giggling and slapping each other, here are a few pointers:

     Take one! Culture must never be used as an excuse to commit crimes. Mulika Mwizi. Take two! Do not double-tap when your sister is in trouble. Stand Up for her. Speaking of smart phones, circulating the humiliating video clip amounts to condoning the act and bring more suffering to victims. Go on and delete that video. Take three! Arrest these criminals. They are living somewhere within the Nyumba Kumi plan. Can the remaining nine patriotic neighbours smoke them out? And please give us a break, when Cinderella met the Prince she was dressed to kill!

     In 1995, Beijing was host to an international conference on gender equality to empower women. In 1985, Nairobi held the Third World Conference on women and established the year 2000 vision. A bit of it entailed taking legal steps to eliminate all forms of discrimination, as well as to promote and maintain peace to eradicate violence against women. 29 years later, Kenya is worse off. Women face blatant stripping by rogue men at bus stops. Escalated violence could be attributed to lack of education, increased poverty and unemployment. As the adage goes, ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’

     Public Service Transport rules require all matatu operators to be uniformed. So far, the men perpetrating these barbaric attacks are in plain clothes and probably unemployed. Stealing from women an escapists way to earn a living. We have heard of gangs calling out for help against hapless individuals, whom they go ahead to accuse as thieves. The ‘thief’ in turn becomes their victim and is robbed as mob justice is meted on them.

     These gangs are probably the ones escalating the vicious attacks on women. These men are not queasy about mass violence. In fact, they would seem to prefer a complete security paralysis so that they can execute their inhumane acts without distraction. The same men, and those in solidarity with them, depict the likelihood of a conspiracy to cause turmoil in the country. They probably want to create unrest and queasiness in women.

     An empowered woman seems to intimidate some men’s esteem too. The pressing question is; do they feel more manly and superior when they strip a woman naked? Are these men not the caliber of those who killed women and children in a Kiambaa church in 2008, lest we forget that? Kenya women demand a stop to this. Take us as your friends, your relatives, as the women who will spawn your next of kin.  Cover us if you feel we are not dressed according to your standards, tell us, but do not strip us. It is without a doubt that women condemning ‘improper’ dressing too want the stripping to stop. In solidarity, women are standing together on this matter because we know we might be the next victims.

     Kenyans must learn from their constitution. Violence from any public or private spheres is a violation against human rights is punishable by law. These men have taken matters into their own hands, and do not feel obliged to obey constitutional authority. Men on social media seeming to condone such atrocities on women should also be deemed as contributors to these crimes against humanity. Where is the security? Where is the ‘Utumishi kwa Wote’ crew?

#16Days #EndSexualViolenceagainstwomen #StripMeNot #LestWeForgetKE #MyDressMyChoice