Protectors turned Perpetrators; A cry from Kenyan Women!
Sick and Corrupt to the core.
“Watu walikuwa wanasema kuhusu bodaboda riders, hawajui makanga” these are words that came up yesterday from a friend of mine, a guy. We were standing along Waiyaki Way just after attending a Charity Event at Nairobi West waiting to board a matatu. It was a group of six people,3 ladies and 3 gents. We were just having a banter waiting for a specific matatu. One lady says “Unajua kama hamngekuwa (gents) hapa tungekuwa tushatusiwa na tukiingia kwa gari unaskia mtu amekugrab tu wakikuforce uingie kwa gari”. Probably her sentiments came from experience or a scene 3 meters away that was going on. A guy was being hurdled in three different matatus all at once. All this time I was looking at the ladies, their faces. You could tell there was fear in them. It’s not shocking because I was almost hurdled once. It was not a pleasant experience at all when someone you don’t know, stinking of cheap liquor, with a suffocating odor just places their hands on you. There is a sense of intrusion whether you are a man or a woman. A physical touch is an intimate thing, you should not place your hands on people carelessly and randomly.
The conversations revolved around the society we live in, how much has changed from the climate, to work places, gender roles and responsibilities. This stemmed from the Raising HeARTS’ Foundation four pillars that had just been introduced. RHF (Raising HeARTS Foundation) is a charity organization made of young people brought together by their creativity and artistry. It aims at working towards saving the planet and educating the young kids on matters Environment, Health, GBV & Gender Equality and Charity i.e. the four pillars.
Imagine being blackmailed with sex for you to get a job or a promotion. Think it through. You have just applied for a job randomly and called for an interview. You are qualified and pass the interview. A day later Mr. Jacob the Human Resource officer invites you for lunch to discuss the contract at a hotel in the suburbs. One of the conditions for getting that contract is having sex with him. Mark you, you have no prior knowledge of who Mr. Jacob is or where he has been. This is a total stranger. People want you to bribe them with your body, that’s how bad sick and corrupt this nation is just to put it in clear simple terms.
In most cases women are the victims. “Mabeshte wangu wakienda attachment walikuwa wananipigia tu simu venye wanaambiwa lazima wahave sex na maboss wao ndo wapate attachment” says my friend again. These young ladies are in school just seeking opportunities of growth yet the people who are supposed to mentor them and guide them in their careers are sexually exploiting them. There is a lot of sexual harassment going on that has put the devil’s fear in our women today. Nairobi is the worst affected.
We boarded a matatu and headed to town. After alighting at Tusky’s Beba Beba, one of the ladies was headed the same direction as I headed. She was hesitant to use Tom Mboya Street. As we walked, she told me she if she was alone, she couldn’t be walking at the slow pace we were walking at. Afraid that a random guy will smack her in front of people and nothing will be done. Surprisingly that’s why a lot of ladies in the city walk fast holding tightly to their purses because every man around them is a threat.
This is not to lay blame on men. We have had women too in positions of power blackmailing men with sex and turning them down has always had consequences. It is to ask questions that people should be asking. You might not have a girlfriend or a sister nor live in the city so you might say it doesn’t concern you. Think about your daughter, granddaughter or nieces. Who will protect them when you are not there? In what type of a society will they grow up in? What will the young boys learn from these streets if you don’t mentor or guide them? How will you guide them on how to treat a woman if you are not there to show them how you treat yours?
I write this in fear of what the future holds for the daughters of the land. In fear of what future there is when I look at the disenfranchised young men of the land.
