A spate of gruesome killings of women in several African countries in recent weeks has sparked outrage and outrage, sparked a wave of protests and accelerated calls for governments to take decisive action against gender-based violence.
Kenyans were shocked when 31 women were murdered in January after being beaten, strangled or beheaded, activists and police said. In Somalia, a pregnant woman died this month after her husband allegedly set her on fire. In the West African country of Cameroon, a powerful businessman was arrested in January charges, which he has denied, of raping dozens of women.
The spike in killings is part of a wider pattern that has worsened during tough economic times and pandemic lockdowns, human rights activists say. An estimated 20,000 gender-related killings of women were recorded in Africa in 2022, the highest rate in the world, according to the UN Experts believe the true figures are likely higher.
“The problem is the normalization of gender-based violence and the rhetoric that, yes, women are disposable,” said Njeri wa Migwi, the co-founder of Usikimye – Swahili for ‘Don’t be silent’ – a Kenyan non-profit that works with victims of gender-based violence.
Feminist scholar Diana Russell popularized the term femicide—the killing of women or girls because of their gender—to create a category that distinguished it from other homicides. According to a United Nations report, the killings are often committed by male partners or close family members and are preceded by physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Critics say many African leaders, as well as the police, ignore or downplay the problem, or even blame the victims.
On a recent afternoon, Ms. Migwi, the nonprofit’s co-founder, was leading a training session for girls and women when she was suddenly called to a nearby home in Kayole, a low-income, high-crime neighborhood east of Nairobi.
Inside the dimly lit house, Jacinta Ayuma, a day laborer and mother of two, lay lifeless, bloody bruises evident on her face, neck and left arm. Police said her partner killed her. He ran away and has not been arrested yet. An autopsy showed he died of blunt force trauma resulting in multiple organ injuries.
Cries of agony echoed in the air as several police officers carried the body into a police van using a thin blanket. Three neighbors said they heard someone screaming for help throughout the night, until about 6 a.m., but said they did not intervene or call the police because the sounds of beatings and distress were commonplace and they considered it a private matter.
Ms Migwi, back in her office nearby, said she had seen too many similar cases. “I’m grieving,” she said, her head in her hands. “There’s a weakness that comes with all of this.”
To coincide with Valentine’s Day, women’s rights activists in Kenya organized a vigil they called “Dark Valentine” in the capital to commemorate the women who were killed. At least 500 women have been victims of femicide in Kenya between 2016 and 2023, according to a recent report by the Africa Data Hub, a group of data organizations working with journalists in several African countries that analyzed cases reported in Kenyan media.
About 300 people wearing black T-shirts waved red roses, lit red candles and observed a minute’s silence.
“Why do we have to keep reminding people that women should be alive,” said Zaha Indimuli, co-organizer of the event.
Among the women whose names were read at the vigil was Grace Wangari Thuiya, a 24-year-old beautician who was killed in Nairobi in January.
Two days before her death, Ms Thuiya visited her mother in Murang’a County, about 35 miles north-east of Nairobi. During the visit, her mother, Susan Wairimu Thuiya, said they had talked about a 20-year-old student who was dismembered a few days before and what seemed like an epidemic of violence against women.
Ms Thuiya warned her daughter, whom she described as ambitious and happy, to be careful with her dating choices.
“Fear gripped my heart that day,” Ms. Thuiya said of their last meeting.
Two days later, the police called Ms Thuiya to inform her that her daughter had died after her boyfriend attacked her and stabbed her repeatedly. Ms Thuiya said her daughter had never revealed she was seeing anyone. Police said they arrested a man at the apartment where Grace Thuiya was killed.
“This is all a bad dream that I want to wake up from,” Ms Thuiya said.
The murder of Mrs. Thuiya, including, sparked large-scale protests across Kenya in late January. In recent years, anti-femicide protests have erupted in Kenya over the killing of female Olympic athletes, as well as in other African nations including South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda.
Activists say the demonstrations were among the largest non-political demonstrations in Kenya’s history: At least 10,000 women and men thronged the streets of Nairobi alone, while thousands more took part in other cities.
At a time of rising anti-gay sentiment, the protests were also meant to highlight the violence faced by non-binary, queer and transgender women, said Marylize Biubwa, a Kenyan queer activist.
The movement has drawn backlash, especially online, from men who argue that a woman’s clothing or choices justify abuse. Such comments are being spread by hashtags like #StopKillingMen and by social media influencers like Andrew Kibe, a men’s rights champion and former radio host whose YouTube account was shut down last year for violating the company’s terms of service.
“Shut up,” he said in a recent video, referring to those outraged by the killings of women. “You have no right to have an opinion.”
Activists say they don’t see enough anger from politics, national or religious leaders.
In Kenya, President William Ruto has come under fire for not personally addressing femicide. A spokesman for his office did not respond to requests for comment. But after the protests, his Govt he swore to speed up investigations and established a toll-free number for the public to report perpetrators.
But in Kenya and across Africa, activists say more investigators need to be hired, judges need to decide cases more quickly and legislatures need to pass laws to punish perpetrators more severely.
Data collection and research on femicide must be funded, said Patricia Andago, a researcher at data firm Odipo Dev.
For now, the killings continue to leave a trail of destruction.
On a recent afternoon, Ms. Thuiya, whose 24-year-old daughter was killed in January, sat with her two granddaughters, 5-year-old Keisha and 22-month-old Milan. He said Keisha believed her mother had gone “up to heaven” and asked if she could find a ladder to follow.
“It was very painful,” Ms Thuiya said when she heard her granddaughter’s questions. “I just want justice for my daughter. And I want that justice now.”
