‪#‎MyDressMyChoice‬

On Tuesday this week, the Kenya Forum, through our correspondent Winnie Kabintie, highlighted a disturbing story of a woman who was grossly stripped naked by touts operating the Embasava route in Nairobi County.

The story went viral and a group of women in one of Kenya’s popular female groups on Facebook (Kilimani Mums) were so infuriated by the uncivilized and uncouth manner in which the woman was handled that they took it upon themselves to reach out to the country’s leadership and ensure that such violations against women in Kenya are put to an end.

An online petition was created and subsequently a peaceful demonstration has been planned in protest to the rampant misdemeanours in which women are being subjected to by a breed of immoral men in the society. The demonstration which has been dubbed #‎MyDressMyChoice, will kick off on Monday 17th November from 11am at Uhuru Park.

Yesterday, another lady was stripped naked in Mombasa allegedly because she was rude to some touts within her location and sources close to the Kenya Forum have reported that another lady was also stripped naked along Thika road earlier today.

Activist Boniface Mwangi has joined the women in speaking against the barbaric acts, with Esther Passaris joining the band wagon even as Nairobi’s Woman Representative, Rachael Shebesh, remains conspicuously mute on the issue.

“On Monday I shall join them at ‪#‎MyDressMyChoice peaceful procession and l promise to mobilize my friends to join us. No man has a right to decide what a woman wears. Its time women reclaimed their rightful space in Kenyan society. The women smuggled food to the Mau Mau in the forest during the freedom struggle, they looked after the children when their husbands and sons were detained and in the 90s they went on hunger strike at Uhuru Park led by Wangari Maathai, stripped naked and eventually forced President Moi to release the political prisoners. Women are Kenya’s unsung heroes. Uhuru (freedom) Park is still available to the public because Wangari Maathai stopped the construction of the 60-story Kenya Times Media in the park. I celebrate you Kenyan women.” Read a post from Bonny on Facebook.

“I celebrate all the men who support #Mydressmychoice you are our heroes, fathers, husbands, leaders, friends, peers, brothers, uncles & sons,” Esther Passaris Tweeted.