- KEWOPA chairperson Leah Sankaire condemned the increasing incidences of violence against women in the country
- The recent cases of alleged murders of women within Nairobi have drawn reactions from Kenyans on social media with civil societies calling for action
Image: The Star
Female Parliamentarians now want President William Ruto to declare femicide and other forms of Gender Based Violence a national disaster.
Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) in a statement on Wednesday further called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Inspector General of Police to speed up investigations into all ongoing femicide cases and bring perpetrators to book.
This comes after the shocking murders of Starlet Wahu and a woman now identified as Rita Waeni in Roysambu.
KEWOPA chairperson Leah Sankaire condemned the increasing incidences of violence against women in the country.
Of concern is the continued victimization of the women on media platforms blaming them for their deaths, with Sankaire saying the trend sheds a light on the advancement of technologically facilitated GBV through social media.
“We cannot normalize femicides. We as Kenyans must take deliberate action to end violence against women. We wish to call upon the President to declare femicide and other forms of GBV a national disaster and commit to addressing it,” Sankaire said.
She noted that the country has been slow to respond to the epidemic, adding that current attempts at addressing SGBC have been haphazard and uncoordinated.
“Women are not safe in public spaces, in government buildings, in their schools or even in their homes,” she said.
“KEWOPA calls upon the government through the various agencies liable to urgently act towards the prevention of violence and strengthen the protection of women and girls from all forms of SGBV in accordance with laws and policies,” Sankaire noted.
On Wednesday, opposition leader Raila Odinga also waded into the increased cases of femicide.
In a statement, Raila expressed that the abnormality of these murders cannot become the new norm.
"It is sad to see a troubling increase in the deaths of young women, leaving a trail of grief for families and friends," he said.
Raila highlighted that the ugly scourge of the murder of women is now a national emergency.
The recent cases of alleged murders of women within Nairobi have drawn reactions from Kenyans on social media with civil societies calling for action.
On Tuesday, the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) came out to condemn the increased cases of femicide in the country as well as the blaming of the women who have been killed.