Silence has bred a monster in Nairobi and today, I choose to speak up for its victims— millions of women and girls.
It is shocking that most of the sex pests have been doing this in broad daylight and we seem not to care. They touch women’s bodies, strip them, make sexually suggestive comments, make offensive gestures and insult those who dare resist their uncouth advances.
These attacks are rampant in matatus, bus stops, markets and the streets. It’s as if it is normal for a man to spank a girl’s bottom and hurl unprintable words just because they are well-dressed.
Many of these cases go unreported because some women do not know their rights while others fear going to the police.
They choose silence to protect their reputations and dignity because of poor handling of such cases that exposes them to negative publicity and shame.
It is not once or twice hired bloggers have launched media campaigns against women who speak up against this vice, terming them “attention seekers”.
Victim-shaming
But what is even more disheartening is the culture of victim-shaming. People, including our leaders, choose to justify such attacks, blaming the women and girls for dressing “inappropriately”. We tell them to cover up and not to show off too much skin in the name of “decency”, “our culture” or “our religion”.
What we should do is stop men from sexualising women.
We choose not to speak against uncultured men who create and find excuses to harass our mothers, wives, sisters and girlfriends.
I call them excuses because not even the so called ‘decently’ dressed women and girls have escaped spanking and vulgar talk in matatus and at bus stops.
Please help stop sex pests. If you cannot do anything else, just break the silence and speak up.
Shout and shame matatu touts who sexually harass women and girls while asking for fare. Help confront idlers who have turned bus stops and city streets into a living nightmare for women and girls. No one has the right to dictate women’s dressing. Their dress, their choice!