Women Rights Groups Calls for Withdrawal of Cheptumo’s nomination as the Gender CS

A recent comment by nominated CS Hanna Cheptumo Wendot before parliamentary nominations committee, stating that Femicide surge is motivated by financial gain by the victims, sparked reactions from Kenyans led by Coalition Against Sexual Violence who today released a statement rejecting Ms.Cheptumo’s nomination approval that is awaiting swearing in.

Coalition Against Sexual Violence together with a group of rights activists in fight for women rights has released a 4-point demand to the government on Cheptumo’s nomination.

” Immediate withdrawal of Hanna’s nomination for the CS role, her statements demonstrate a lack of understanding regarding gender-based violence and a failure to protect Women’s rights,” the statement read in part.

The team has also called upon Kenyans to demand an end to Femicide and gbv , stating that it is a societal issue that requires united pressure which to Ms Hanna Cheptumo, didn’t seem so.

With the heated debate on Femicide issues in Kenya ,great efforts to help in the fight are underway on the social media space pushed by actors and influencers, with a petition to make it a criminal offence punishable by law circulating online with quite a number of signatures collected already.

The women’s rights organisations are demanding a prompt government action on Femicide with comprehensive investigations and persecutions of cases in line with a proposal from the National Gender -Based Violence Working Group.

They further seek a quick action citing need for comprehensive prevention strategies that address the root causes of violence, including public awareness campaigns and strengthening policies and judiciary’s capacity as well as sufficient resource and support services for survivors of gender based violence(gbv).

An urgent prioritisation of laws and policies like Sexual Offences Act, Protection Against Domestic Violence Act and the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act that protect women and otherwise hold perpetrators accountable and the withdrawal of harmful policies, like the National Policy on Family Protection that tends to perpetuate victim blaming.