UNITED TO END VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN 25th NOVEMBER 2024

violence against women in Kenya is on the rise this days you switch on your tv to watch something positive you get none the only news we get is femicide and as the world marks ''white ribbon day ' which is an awareness to stop violence against women my friend who is a survivor of violence had a personal chat with me and her story made me cry !she was married at 16 right after the death of her parents she was the eldest among 4 siblings under 5, none of the people she called family wanted their responsibility so she got married with all her 4 younger siblings so she could take care of them because the husband at the time was ok with it .her husband was 20 years older than her. by the time she was 17she was pregnant with her first child thats when the abuse started the husband took advantage of her innocence raped her against her will while she was pregnant , beat her up and called her all kinds of name and for the sake of her younger siblings she decided to stay . things got really ugly one day the so called husband came home with another male friend who molested her younger siblings that was it she decided to walk away and seek for help from church that changed her life and her story is a testimony to many young women in so called marriages. don't normalize abuse or beating you always have a choice to walk a way and save your life .todays event was all about creating awareness against violence on women the event which was hosted by amazing women uniting to end violence against women the guest speaker started with an introduction of why we were gathered here it got little emotional when the names of women who never made it alive from hands of people they thought loved them were read out loud i remember seeing families crying there was a dad in that even that said ' he regret not listening to her daughter telling him how her marriage is full of fights , her daughter ask her to let her come home but he declined but now she is dead that dad cried with pity narrating his regrets. learn to listen to your daughter's who are seeking for help to get out of abusive relationship's don't force them to stay only for them to die by depression or on the hands of a monster. The event too started a social media hashtag called #speak - up as away of informing women that they are not alone in it let the world know you are in abusive relationship it doesn't matter what people say its your life at the end of the day and it has no spare parts .to our little girls we know the pressure of living a soft life and having this expensive things to show off in social media actually they come with a prise tag and its sweet , addictive and short lived we have lost so many young women to femicide because they want to get rich quick so they become a victim to men with bad intentions , most femicide stories end with a suspect being a someone close to you or someone who has a crush on you. girls we need to be very careful with what we do with our lives , i pref meeting a stranger in an open public place were you can run when things don't go as you expected unlike meeting in those luxurious posh apartment or hotels that nobody knows you or nobody will hear you cry for help. the recent fermicide happens in hotels and high-end apartment i think this can be stopped if we stopped trust ting too early. once you trust a stranger or the so called a man in your life who spoils you with expensive goodies you tend to lower your guts down and the next thing the man take advantage of your weakness to kill you . what follows your body being found in if you lucky , others dismember you ! this recent femicide story about a woman who was killed in apartment then the care taker decided to repaint the walls to cover the evidence of murder this to me was so selfish and heartless , just do the right thing report the matter to the police don't cover up .to stop violence against women no matter how small we think it is we have to condemn it out loud don't wait until its too late to talk. the term violence against woman is any act of gender based violence that result in or physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including theaters of such act ,coercion or arbitrary deprivation or liberty whether it occurs public or private please don't keep quiet when you witness one save a life always be your sisters keeper don't wait to hear it on social media or watch it in tv it can happen to you or your family or even closes friend you list expected. be on the front line to advocate for this act that is becoming normal in the society at work place , in public places. be the change the women want in society don't be left out don't be a group that is only support the cause when someone is dead your voice can change life can make a woman change her mind . gender based violence is a pandemic consuming our society and its our responsibility to create awareness to save the future generation for our future young women. my day was well spent with great women advocating for violence against women act through taking a stand by standing firm against verbal violence, sexual violence, physical violence don't ignore the violence, find out about the resources in the community , promote alternative to violence by using non -violence speech