Katiba Day should be a celebration of
progress. Instead, it serves as a sobering reminder of how far we still have to
go, especially
for Kenyan women whose freedom of expression remains under siege.
Fifteen years later, as we continue to celebrate the 2010 Constitution, some of the freedoms and rights enshrined in it have been limited by the state, amongst other groups. Young women’s freedom of expression has continued to be tightened by state officials and agencies.
Women continue to face systemic barriers to participation in public discourse, leadership and policymaking. A girl born on the day the Constitution was signed has now entered her teenage years, yet she faces the same bleak prospects of exclusion and silencing that her mother did.
From media gatekeeping to religious and political backlash, women’s voices are routinely marginalised. Aside from the state, Christian professional groups have actively campaigned against reproductive rights, inclusion and progressive health policies, often targeting women-led movements and framing their advocacy as moral decay.
Many young people have been arrested and disappeared; some have been found dead. Rose Njeri, a woman in tech, was arrested and arraigned for creating an online platform that allowed public participation. This is silencing the work of many young Kenyans who use their skills to better public processes.
Women have shied away from expressing themselves for fear of arrest and the impact this would have on their spirit and mental health, among others.
Protecting freedom of expression guarantees creativity and public discourse around governance and accountability.
Recently, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba was suspended from Parliament for 20 days after walking out of the chamber in protest while Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen responded to her questions about the Kware dumpsite femicide cases.
Speaker Moses Wetang'ula deemed her conduct disrespectful and ordered her removal from the precincts.
Kenyan women must not be silent even as they are being silenced. Women need to continue challenging the status quo, demand accountability and refuse to be tokenised and sidelined. In the last two years that we have had protests, young people and women have continued to engage in various accountability activities boldly and unapologetically. This assertion of their constitutional right must be maintained.
Aside from the state, Christian professional groups have further been propagators of this. In recent years, Christian groups have outrightly opposed the HPV vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer. When called out for misinformation, they term it defamation. We must continue to call out misinformation and disinformation; this should not count as defamation.
Women have even been forced to stay in abusive unions by Christian professional groups, which drive policies that oppose divorce. Your silence must not be too loud; we must continue to call this out.
Organisations and people’s work that have been gagged have a large impact on the communities that these organisations serve. For instance, if an organisation calling for good accountability is gagged from speaking up, citizens stand to lose benefits from outcomes of good accountability process. This is how young Kenyan’s and various organisations work has continued to be limited.
This legal bullying to shut down free speech must stop. If one person is gagged, this opens an endless space to gag all of us. Public participation must not be limited. It remains important that we speak and share views on various issues affecting our society.
Katiba Day must be a time for radical reflection. We all have a voice; use it to speak. Amplify those voices that are suppressed and continue to dismantle the systems that continue to tighten the knot around young people and women’s freedom of expression. The constitution is not just a document; it’s a promise. And Kenyan youth and women are demanding that it be kept.
Youth leader. X - @alvinmwangi254
