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By Linet Nabwire
I have dedicated my life to fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable population as a young climate justice advocate. However, I have come to realize that there is another epidemic plaguing our continent, one that has been overlooked for far too long; femicide!
In 2021, Agnes Tirop was brutally murdered by her partner, stabbed and clobbered to death. The same year, Edna Muthoni's throat was slit by a machete, another victim of intimate partner violence. In 2022, Damaris Muthee Mutua was strangled, her life taken by the one who was supposed to love her. And just this September 2024, Rebecca Cheptegei, a shining star of Ugandan athletics, was doused in petrol by her estranged partner and set ablaze in front of her two young daughters and just like that, her dreams and aspirations got reduced to ashes.
These atrocities are a stark reminder of the dangers that women face every day. As Gloria Steinem once said, "The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving."
Femicide is a symptom of a larger problem, one that perpetuates gender-based violence and discrimination. It is a plague that has been allowed to spread, unchecked and unchallenged. As Bell Hooks so eloquently put it, "Patriarchy is a social and political system that perpetuates the oppression of women."
We must recognize that femicide is not just a personal issue, but a societal one. It is a reflection of a culture that devalues women's lives, that sees them as nothing more than objects to be controlled and dominated.
As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie so powerfully said, "We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, 'You can have ambition, but not too much.'"
We must demand justice for the women who have been brutally murdered. We must hold perpetrators accountable and create a culture of zero tolerance for gender-based violence.
As Audre Lorde so powerfully said, "When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
Let us dare to be powerful. Let us demand change. Let us create a world where women and girls can live without fear of violence and discrimination.
The time for action is now. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
The writer is Climate Justice Advocate, Team Lead & Founder of Climate Transformation Network (CTN)
