KISUMU, Kenya, Sep 24 – Women political leaders in Kenya have called for a community-driven approach to address rising cases of gender-based violence (GBV), which remain rampant across the country.
Migori Woman Representative Fatuma Mohammed underscored the central role of families in reversing the trend, faulting households that shift responsibility for raising children to the wider society.
“It is the responsibility of families to protect their daughters,” she said. “We must stop leaving this duty to religious leaders, teachers, or other members of the community. Girls are no longer safe anywhere but in their own homes.”
Mohammed urged parents to take an active role in guiding their children.
“Talk to your children. Don’t delegate that responsibility to pastors or teachers — it could be even more dangerous,” she warned.
Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi, who attended a bursary disbursement event in Kisumu West Constituency on Tuesday, cautioned young girls to be wary of men seeking to exploit them, and encouraged them to focus on education.
“You can often tell when a man doesn’t have good intentions. Run from such people and concentrate on your studies,” Elachi said.
Collective effort
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, the chief guest at the event organized by area MP Rosa Buyu, stressed that combating GBV, particularly femicide, requires a collective, nationwide effort.
“Femicide is rampant not only in towns but also in villages across the country. We must confront this monster from all fronts,” Wanga said.
She also commended President William Ruto for allocating funds to women leaders in the region to support grassroots sensitization campaigns against femicide.
MP Rosa Buyu echoed the call, saying she deliberately integrated the bursary disbursement exercise with an anti-GBV awareness campaign.
“Under the banner ‘No More Silence, No More Violence,’ we are sending a strong message to parents and their children: the killings of our daughters must stop,” Buyu said.
During the event, Sh 26.4 million from the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) was disbursed to students from the constituency enrolled in universities and colleges.
