City Affairs

Passaris urges Ruto to address rising femicide cases as women hold protests

Women take to streets to protest cases of femicide in the country. (Immaculate Wairimu)

By Lucy Mumbi | Saturday, January 27, 2024

Thousands of women took to the streets to protest against the prevalence of femicide in the country.

Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has called on President William Ruto to speak out on the rise of femicide cases in the country.

Speaking on Saturday during the anti-femicide march led by women's groups in Nairobi, she said the president needs to voice out his opinion on the cases to calm the affected families and women across the country.

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"I have spoken to a few CSs who have said that the President's voice needs to be heard on this. So, we need the President to speak to it. We need the President to understand that the families of these women who have been brutally murdered have got so much trauma and they need to feel that the State is acting on their behalf. And that the President has understood the pain of the families and women," she said.

The nationwide protest, dubbed 'Feminists March Against Femicide', is taking place in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Homa Bay, Turkana, Kilifi, Machakos, Kisii and Nyeri.

In Nairobi, thousands of women took to the streets to protest against the prevalence of femicide in the country.

In a video seen by The Eastleigh Voice, some women were seen shouting across the streets while holding placards written 'Stop Killing Women' Others read; 'Being a woman should not be a death sentence'

Passaris who is leading the anti-femicide march in Nairobi added that women taking part in the protests are all pained by the murder incidences in the country.

"Every woman here from the civil society and the citizens of Kenya who are here, they are all pained by what we've seen. You've got to be inhuman not to feel the pain of these girls being killed so brutally," she said.

Women hold protests over femicide cases in Nairobi. (Immaculate Wairimu)

Several women leaders in Kenya have also urged the President to declare femicide "a national emergency and a threat to national security"

They asked President Ruto’s government to protect women from all walks of life.

“It is time for decisive action to ensure that no woman or girl in Kenya lives in fear of losing her life simply because of her gender. Let us create a society where every woman and girl can live a life free from violence and fear,” they said.

The women's organisations stated that the deaths of Starlet Wahu and Rita Waeni, and a third victim identified only as Malkia, show femicide is engrained in the community.

Amnesty International Kenya has said there have been over 10 cases of femicide since the start of January.