‘Patriarchy kills’: hundreds march in Kenya against the murder of women
- At least 16 women have been killed this year, media reports say, including a 20-year-old who was strangled, dismembered and stuffed into a plastic bag
- More than 30 per cent of women in Kenya experience physical violence and 13 per cent experience some form of sexual violence, according to the government
Several hundred people marched in Nairobi on Saturday to protest against femicide in Kenya where over a dozen women have been killed this month in cases that shocked the nation.
The campaigners took to the streets of the capital holding placards that read “Being a woman should not be a death sentence”, “Patriarchy kills” while others featured names and photographs of the victims.
“Stop killing us,” they chanted as they marched towards parliament, bringing traffic to a halt in Nairobi’s central business district.
At least 16 women have been killed in Kenya this year, according to media reports, shining a spotlight on violence against women which the government has described as “rising”.
In one of the cases that gained nationwide attention, a 26-year-old woman was killed on January 4 at a short-term rental flat by a suspect who police say is part of an extortionist gang which targets women through dating sites.
Barely a fortnight later, a 20-year-old woman was strangled, dismembered and her remains stuffed into a plastic bag.