As people around the world mark Valentine’s Day with flowers and chocolate, Kenyan women are mourning. Hundreds of them donned black outfits and held lit candles and red roses at a vigil in honour of more than 30 women who have been murdered in the country in 2024.
The February 14 vigil in Nairobi—which featured impassioned calls to action and musical performances—was organised by the End Femicide Kenya Movement, a collective of more than 1,000 organisations and individuals. “Dark Valentine” vigils were also held in six other cities amid rising cases of femicide, which have captured national attention.
The vigils aim to pressure the government to address the demands of the movement, which include declaring femicide and violence against women as a national emergency and establishing a commission to eliminate both.
Read more here.
