Outrage in Kenya as hundreds of women rally against gender-based violence

Hundreds of women took to the streets across major cities in Kenya to demonstrate against the rising cases of femicide and other violence against women.

Protesters marched in the capital, Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Nyeri, Lodwar, among other cities, while displaying placards with the names of those who were killed.

Femicide is defined as intentionally killing a woman or girl because they are female.

“I am here because I’m angry,” 33-year-old Winnie Chelagat told the BBC.

“It is wrong, we are tired and we want something to be done about it.”

Some of the protesters also called on men to wake up to the responsibility of protecting women who have been a subject of abuse.

The horrific killings of several women, including Rita Waeni, whose severed body was discovered inside a garbage bag at an Airbnb rental apartment, are what prompted the protests on Saturday.

Reports by Amnesty International say more than 500 cases of femicide were recorded in Kenya between the years 2016 and 2023.

Protesters demand that all recent victims of gender-based and sexual violence receive justice as soon as possible from the authorities.

Cases related to femicide are hanging in Kenyan courts in abundance, despite its strong law against gender-based violence.

Numerous local rights organizations argue that the government has to designate femicide as a separate crime from murder and declare femicide a national emergency.