Legal barriers hinder fight against femicide in Nigeria and Kenya
Source: Global Voices
Across Africa, women are being murdered at alarming rates, often by intimate partners or a male family member. Tragically, in 2022, the continent recorded the highest number of femicides by intimate partners and family members, with an estimated 20,000 women and girls losing their lives.
In Kenya, for instance, media reports indicate a sharp rise in cases of women killed by intimate partners. Sadly, Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei was one of the recent victims of femicide. However, there is no official tracking system for all women who fall victim to gender-based violence, particularly femicide.
According to statistics released by Africa Data Hub, which has been tracking femicide cases reported in newspapers, 546 women and girls were killed in Kenya between 2016 and 2023. Cases of gender-based violence and femicide, which is an extreme form of gender violence, dominated the news at the beginning of the year 2024.
More than ten women lost their lives to violence at the hands of men in January 2024 alone. Two notable femicide cases which hit the news in that same month were that of Scarlet Wahu, who was murdered on January 3, and Rita Waeni, murdered on January 14. Their deaths sparked the largest-ever femicide protests recorded in Kenya, which took place in various towns and counties on January 27, with activists calling the government to declare femicide a national crisis. The Nairobi protest was dubbed #TotalShutDownKe.
Read here the full article published by Global Voices on 16 October 2024.
Image by Global Voices
Across Africa, women are being murdered at alarming rates, often by intimate partners or a male family member. Tragically, in 2022, the continent recorded the highest number of femicides by intimate partners and family members, with an estimated 20,000 women and girls losing their lives.
In Kenya, for instance, media reports indicate a sharp rise in cases of women killed by intimate partners. Sadly, Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei was one of the recent victims of femicide. However, there is no official tracking system for all women who fall victim to gender-based violence, particularly femicide.
According to statistics released by Africa Data Hub, which has been tracking femicide cases reported in newspapers, 546 women and girls were killed in Kenya between 2016 and 2023. Cases of gender-based violence and femicide, which is an extreme form of gender violence, dominated the news at the beginning of the year 2024.
More than ten women lost their lives to violence at the hands of men in January 2024 alone. Two notable femicide cases which hit the news in that same month were that of Scarlet Wahu, who was murdered on January 3, and Rita Waeni, murdered on January 14. Their deaths sparked the largest-ever femicide protests recorded in Kenya, which took place in various towns and counties on January 27, with activists calling the government to declare femicide a national crisis. The Nairobi protest was dubbed #TotalShutDownKe.
Read here the full article published by Global Voices on 16 October 2024.
Image by Global Voices