Short Introduction and Paper Focus
Alarmingly, in the past three months of 2024, 97 femicide cases were reported in Kenya. Between January 2016 and December 2023, over 500 women in Kenya were killed by their intimate partners (Research Planning and Strategy Development, 2024). As the report rightly argues, “Femicide ought not to happen in any democratic and progressive society. However, in a highly patriarchal society that discriminates against women and girls in stereotypes, gender roles, unequal power relations between men and women, and harmful social norms, it was only a matter of time before gender-related killings manifest (Research Planning and Strategy Development, 2024, p.6). Cruel back-to-back deaths were televised nationally of women succumbing to the hands of their lovers in their rental houses or hotels. Late in the year, mutilated and dismembered bodies of women in plastic bags were retrieved from a dump site in the Mukuru slums of southern Nairobi (Coalition On Violence Against Women (COVAW, 2024).
In response, the feminist movement in Kenya engaged the government through protests to address femicide in the country. COVAW (2024) in protest asserted that “all lives matter” and they went on to call for decisive action by the Kenyan Government in response to all killings. They demanded that “all killings be swiftly and thoroughly investigated and those responsible held accountable to the fullest extent of the law: the Witness Protection Agency takes swift and effective measures to protect persons who come forward with information related to the killings; Law enforcement agencies comply strictly with the recent court orders prohibiting the use of any type of ammunition, lethal or otherwise, against peaceful protestors [and that] the Kenyan Government takes swift action to combat all forms of violence through comprehensive GBV prevention and response measures such as the establishment of safe houses for GBV survivors and rollout of emergency protection orders for individuals at risk of violence.” It was initially believed that the killings of women were a result of the protest of the 2024/2025 financial bill, which erupted the entire country with demonstrations characterized by police brutality and deaths of young people, dubbed the Gen Z movement. However, it would later emerge that femicide was a stand-alone social issue that needed government attention. As a result of demonstrations from diverse feminist and human rights bodies, the sitting president, William Ruto, in response, constituted a forty-two-member task force to address gender-based violence.
The feminist movement in Kenya has significantly influenced religious and cultural perceptions of women’s rights, particularly in addressing issues such as femicide, love, and freedom. As such, there exists a complex interplay between love and freedom in intimate relationships, systemic gender-based violence, and the quest for women's liberation, as witnessed in the alarming femicide cases in Kenya. This paper will examine how religious norms and cultural practices that are often driven by patriarchal structures frequently trap women in cycles of abuse, culminating in femicide—the ultimate denial of freedom. By analyzing at least two reported femicide case studies and feminist responses, the paper will explore how Kenyan women are resisting these oppressive dynamics with remarkable resilience, advocating for systemic change, and redefining love and freedom in ways that prioritize safety, equality, and autonomy.
The paper will utilize a feminist theory lens to challenge these entrenched ideologies, advocating for gender equality and the protection of women’s rights. A feminist advocacy approach that analyzes how gender shapes people's experiences and social structures and how systems of oppression can be disrupted in the contemporary setup is utilized for gender justice. The fresh outlook is exemplified by Slyvia Tamale (2024, p.2) when she opines, “African feminists, have been forced to rethink our contemporary activist agendas. [This involves] revisiting conceptual frameworks and redirecting and reprioritizing African or Afro-feminist goals; it also entails changing our advocacy strategies and carefully (re)selecting allies in the struggle. Digital and social media advocacy has allowed millions to interact through online platforms, video conferencing tools, and other cyber-based means.” The involvement of social media advocacy by feminists and human rights groups in Kenya and the law society of Kenya is a new shift that has prompted the government to act on the menace. These and other happenings will be analyzed to ground a case that freedom grows with love. It is argued that religious and cultural institutions, which have traditionally upheld conservative gender roles spilling over to the corridors of power, ought to be called upon to redefine freedom and love in ways that promote bodily autonomy and gender justice. A redefinition of the notions of love and freedom in postures emphasizing the importance of consent, autonomy, and mutual respect in relationships is pertinent in this era.
Keywords: Culture, Femicide, Freedom, Feminist theory, Gender justice, Love and Religion
References
COVAW, (2024). Severely Mutilated Bodies Discovered in Mukuru kwa Njenga, Nairobi. Nairobi: https://covaw.or.ke/severely-mutilated-bodies-discovered-in-mukuru-kwa-….
Research Planning and Strategy Development (2024). An Analytical Overview of Femicide Reporting in Kenya. Nairobi: Media Council of Kenya.
Tamale, S. (2024). Rethinking African Feminisms in the. African Feminist 5 (2), pp. 1-13.
In the first three months of 2024, Kenya reported 97 femicide cases, adding to over 500 intimate partner femicides recorded between 2016 and 2023. This alarming trend has spurred the Kenyan feminist movement to demand action, leading to protests and the establishment of a 42-member government taskforce to address gender-based violence. Feminists are challenging religious and cultural norms that perpetuate patriarchal structures, often trapping women in cycles of abuse and denying them freedom. This paper explores the complex interplay between love, freedom, and systemic gender-based violence, analyzing femicide cases and feminist responses. It highlights how Kenyan women are resisting oppression, advocating for systemic change, and redefining love and freedom to prioritize safety, equality, and autonomy. Using a feminist lens, the paper critiques entrenched ideologies and calls for religious and cultural institutions to reinterpret freedom and love in ways that promote gender justice, emphasizing consent, autonomy, and mutual respect in relationships.