Massive insecurity in the country continues to be the biggest worry for most Kenyans and especially after the Mandera massacre over the weekend.

Sadly, for the Kenyan woman, we are not as scared of Al-AShabaab as much as we are dreading a section of Kenyan men who seem to be keen on stripping us of our dignity and violating us in the most uncouth ways.

Last week, hundreds of women took to the streets in protest of the barbaric acts of men stripping them naked under the pretence that they are indecently dressed. The campaign running under the hash tag MyDressMyChoice became the hottest topic of discussion in both local and international media but sadly even before the dust could settle on the issue, three more women were stripped naked in different estates within Nairobi.

UK WOMAN DEMONSTRATES IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT

In solidarity with the ladies who were protesting in Nairobi, a woman in the UK decided to pass a very strong message to the members of public around her location that they “should not visit Kenya because women are being stripped and raped in broad daylight,” a message that was written in a placard that she wore on her neck as she travelled in a public train.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN PUBLIC

True to the women’s sentiments, the bizarre acts of stripping women naked have now been taken a notch higher as two disturbing video clips that have been circulating on social media since yesterday showing two women being sexually violated in broad day light in separate incidences in the country.

One has been stripped completely naked and is lying on a street, which cannot be identified due to the angle of the camera and dozens of men gathered around her are doing all sorts of unimaginable things on her. The helpless woman is left screaming and begging them to stop as she drags herself under a vehicle parked nearby to seek refuge.

In the second clip, the other woman is being sexually harassed in a public bus, which allegedly operates the Githurai route and one man can even be heard asking for a bottle to insert into her genitals.

These are indeed very disturbing incidents that no one expects to hear of in a civilized society, in a country that boasts of upholding the rule of law. It’s not really clear what exactly is driving this breed of men to such beastly acts but one thing that is certain is that the woman in Kenya is in danger and not unless something drastic is done, this barbaric acts will become the order of the day, actually, they have already.

I understand that the Ministry Of Devolution together with that of gender are launching a campaign dubbed 16 Days of Activism Campaign against Gender Based Violence today at the University of Nairobi Graduation Grounds, and President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to grace the event.

It’s my hope that such campaigns will be followed by stringent measures and legislation in order to nab and curtail perpetrators of such offenses. The security docket should also ensure that there are more police patrols in order to make our streets more secure.  Lastly, it’s about time that a motion is tabled in parliament to advocate for stiff penalties against perpetrators of such violations. These acts must simply be brought to a stop before they get out of hand.

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