Kenya’s violence epidemic: women train to fight back

From the young woman brutally murdered and dismembered in a rental apartment to an Olympic runner set on fire by her estranged boyfriend, Kenya is witnessing a troubling rise in violence against women. The alarming increase in femicides—gender-based killings—has driven many women to seek ways to defend themselves.

Official police data reveals that at least 97 women were killed across Kenya between August and October of last year. Although figures for earlier periods were not provided, the Africa Data Hub, using media reports, documented at least 75 femicides in 2023 and 46 in 2022. Activists highlight that this growing crisis is particularly evident in Kenya’s impoverished informal settlements, where women are taking urgent steps to protect themselves.

In the Korogocho area of Nairobi, inside a modest church, 93-year-old Mary Wainaina fiercely pounded a punching bag, her voice ringing out with determined shouts of “No! No! No!” as she practiced escaping an attacker. She is part of a self-defense class known as Cucu Jukinge, Swahili for “Grandma, protect yourself.” For the elderly women in the group, these lessons are not just theoretical—they are a crucial lifeline.

The initiative was founded nearly 25 years ago by an American couple collaborating with local residents after a series of rapes and murders in Korogocho, a densely populated area lined with iron shacks along the Nairobi River. The need for self-defense has only intensified over the years. Between October and December alone, the non-profit organization Shining Hope for Communities assisted 307 survivors of gender-based violence in Korogocho.

Wainaina recounted a moment when her self-defense training proved invaluable—using her skills, she successfully fended off an attacker attempting to rape her. For Esther Njeri Muiruri, 82, the current wave of violence is as distressing as the crisis that originally led to the creation of the class. “It’s terrifying to see young women and mothers being killed,” she said, watching as a fellow classmate practiced using a cane to strike a potential attacker.

As the violence escalates, Kenyan women—both young and old—are refusing to remain defenseless. With each punch, strike, and defiant shout, they are reclaiming their right to safety in a society where survival has become a daily battle.