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Jennifer Schlecht (center, kneeling in a white shirt) had worked across Africa in humanitarian aid for issues affecting women. (Courtesy of New York Daily News)
Date Posted: December 4, 2019
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Jennifer Schlecht’s Death Calls for Addressing Domestic Violence as a Global Problem

Jennifer Schlecht, left, daughter Abnysh, center, and Yonathan Tedla, right, (Courtesy of NY Daily News)

Jennifer Schlecht, left, daughter Abnysh, centre, and Yonathan Tedla, right, (Courtesy of NY Daily News)

Featured image: Jennifer Schlecht had worked across Africa in humanitarian aid for issues affecting women. (Courtesy of New York Daily News)

I knew her colleague at Family Planning 2020 and still remember her colleague’s post vividly on Facebook. The NY Daily News story announced her murder, a week before the ICPD25- Nairobi Summit where she was to speak. Jennifer Schlecht was the Senior Advisor, Emergency Preparedness and Response for Family Planning 2020.

I remember the livid feeling I had as I read on. That a woman who was such a strong supporter of women and girls in crisis, ending up as a casualty of domestic violence, spoke volumes on the need to reexamine ourselves as a community. Jennifer Schlecht and her five-year-old daughter Abaynesh died in domestic violence on November 6th, 2019.

The speeches by her colleagues and the family planning community during her memorial held in Nairobi’s Serena Hotel left an impression of a woman who was devoted advocate of reproductive health to women and girls in crisis, a helpful colleague and a loving mother.

The head of UNFPA, Dr Natalia Kanem, also paid her tribute at the memorial. She said that Jennifer’s death is a mirror of what other women go through in silence. They died in the hands of a husband and a father. Yet Jennifer was such a devoted activist on women’s issues, how about the woman in crisis, who lives in the slum and doesn’t know where to seek help?

A few Kenyan youths stood up to give their tributes. Of course, in such situations, some people innocently quote scripture to fill their speeches with meaning. One paraphrase I remember well was “If we live, we are the Lord’s, and if we die we are the Lord’s.” I sat there deep in thought. Could the patriarchy excused by ignorant religious undertones be the cause of so many cases of domestic violence? Sometimes silence is golden in such situations.

I cringed through some of the tributes and was relieved when Beth Schlachter, executive director, FP2020 went to the podium to adjourn the tribute session.

Jennifer’s case shows that domestic violence does not know social class or country. It is a universal problem that we have to address. Yonathan Tedla, the husband who killed his wife and daughter before taking his life, according to the NY Daily News article, reportedly threatened to kill Jennifer when the issue of divorce came up.

Being a good mother, Jennifer Schlecht stayed in the marriage, not wanting to separate the child from her father. Many women make this choice, and sometimes they leave abusive marriages when it’s too late.

As we observe 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, let’s remember that no relationship is worth losing your life. Seek help. Share your struggles with friends. Gather the courage to walk away while you are still alive.

HPV Vaccine
Date Posted: November 5, 2019
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HPV Vaccination a Licence to Sexually Violate Minors?

HPV Vaccine

HPV vaccine Credits: pink.pharmaintelligence.informa.com/

By Juliet Awuor.

October 30th, Dorothy Kweyu wrote a commentary on the Daily Nation against the push for mass Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination of young girls. She argued that the vaccine would be a license to violate girls sexually.

Though there are valid concerns in some of her assertions, for instance, parental protection of children against sex pests, her views on the correlation of HPV vaccine and sexual violation of minors are unrelated. We are with her in advocating for parental holistic involvement in their children’s lives. Ideally, parents should be the source of sexuality education for their children. 

According to ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer, cervical cancer ranks as the second most frequent cancer among women in Kenya. It is the most prevalent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age. This vaccine will serve as protection against a preventable reproductive disease, that has been a menace in Kenya. HPV is sexually transmitted. 

Even before the conversation on the introduction of the HPV vaccine to the young girls, cases of defilement were ongoing. As a country, we should come out of this culture of burying our heads in the proverbial sand of morality and overlook the facts.

Paedophilia mostly is by trusted people, For example, their trusted relatives or religious leaders. A few months ago, media reports revealed how even some places of worship are not safe for children when it comes to the issue of defilement.  Looking at another case, we saw the massive number of teenage pregnancies among primary school girls last year. These and similar situations did not require a licence to defile the minors. The two issues, defilement of children and HPV vaccine are not related.

The reason for the recommendation of the HPV vaccine for young girls who are not yet sexually active is that there is no possibility of prior exposure to the HPV virus.  

Evidence shows that countries that introduce the HPV vaccine at a young age (11-13 years) have a low cervical cancer prevalence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infections with HPV types that cause most HPV cancers and genital warts have dropped 86 per cent among teenage girls,

Parents should no doubt, take an active role in educating and protecting their children against sexual predators. However, one of the two cannot replace another in a discussion.

couplegoals4-lifemag
Date Posted: September 17, 2019
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Is HIV Ignorance Self Imposed?

couplegoals4-lifemag

Image source: Guardian.ng

I recently read a story about a lady who tested HIV positive and failed to tell her lover. I could just imagine the mixed feelings that readers had, first when the manly man played with her emotions and wasted her time. He even ended up marrying another lady. This story revealed the amount of HIV ignorance that everyone.

At the end of the story, this lady, who chose to be anonymous, for obvious reasons, was the villain. She didn’t disclose to a family man, who she instead chose to have a child with. Though I don’t agree with her reasoning – she wanted to have a child because she was HIV positive, single and in her 30’s – for now, I will express my thoughts on the comments left by the readers.

Some readers said that she was punishing an innocent wife and children. We may never know the back story, about who she got HIV from. It might have been from partner number two. Might even have been from her numerous one night stands during her depressive time, when she was trying to get over the fact that her lover got married and never told her. How about the possibility of getting HIV from the mysterious family man? She was to blame here. Why was she punishing an innocent married woman?

HIV is complex. You may decide to be loud about it and scare those who want to keep it under wraps. Those who choose to stay silent about it may just want to live a normal life, away from the glare of the public. The lady in question wanted to live a normal life, that’s why she opted to have a baby. One is not obliged to reveal their HIV status to everyone- apart from their intimate partners.

I know this is an ethical dilemma faced equally by HIV positive individuals and those who are negative. Let me throw some breadcrumbs for thought here: Ever heard of U=U (Undetectable=Untransmittable)? I might address that in a subsequent post.

Date Posted: March 22, 2019
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The Protest for Angela that brought light in darkness

“The beasts who did this to Angela must pay!” I once organized a riot. Those who know me will tell you that the statement is an oxymoron. I normally like to stay out of trouble. Once in a while, I explode out of hiding, and this was one of the instances.

Angela was a hardworking single mother of two. She used to sell vegetables in Buruburu estate. Angela was our family friend, every night, she would pass by our house before proceeding to her house. Every time, she would come bearing one gift or another. Sukuma wiki (kales) from her leftover stock, milk, maize flour. Come to think of it, she brought me milk severally when I had little David. Sigh!

Our mud house was strategically positioned next to Nairobi River Primary School. It was the first point of arrival from the darkness that was the path from the primary school to the swimming pool. We lived in City Carton slum. People were not afraid of the darkness. Would you rather your children went to bed on empty stomachs because of your fear of an imaginary danger that lurked in the night?

Angelina was not one to be put back by fear of anything, let alone the dark. She was light herself. I still hear her soft laughter followed by ‘bwana yesu asifiwe.’ (Read with a Kamba accent) Yes, she carried her Bible everywhere. Even this day, she had her bible in her vegetable bag. She was light! Light does not fear darkness, does it?

We were used not only to her gifts. We were used to a time of fellowship together. She would make sure she stopped by to say a prayer before proceeding to her home. Her daughter had just finished high school. Her son was in primary school. He was in class six or seven (13-14 year old).

We waited for Angela to pass by, unfortunately, she never showed up. My mom and her daughter started looking for her after two days. They went to her place of business to ask if anyone knew where Angela might have gone. She went missing on a Friday.

Three days later, my mom was called to go identify her mutilated body. She had been raped, her face mutilated and her body dumped next to the swimming pool compound at Nairobi River Primary. She met her death a mere 5 minutes from our house. She was most likely gang raped. ‘Why do terrible things happen to good people?’ I asked myself such questions over and over. My mom said the thieves took her bible too.

Then anger developed! You know the lump that is lodged in your throat? I had to do something about this anger. I wrote a petition demanding for floodlights to be installed near Nairobi River. I then went door to door mobilizing signatures from women in the slum.

After collecting signatures, I went to the chief’s office. The plan was to march to Buruburu police station. The chief managed the situation. He assured me that they would conduct investigations. That the murderers would be brought to book.

We went to Kangundo to burry Angela. Her family did not want to follow up on justice. So, out of respect for their wishes, we let the matter rest.

Two weeks later, I saw floodlights installed next to our house. Whenever I go to City carton slum and see the bright shining floodlight, I remember the time when Adopt a light was all over Nairobi, yet Angela was killed in darkness. Angela’s life might have been cut short, but her light still shines brightly.

Date Posted: March 2, 2019
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Women’s Day #TotalShutDownKe March: #SayHerNameKe

#TotalShutdownKE Women's Day March

#TotalShutdownKE Women’s Day March

A woman’s life is a human life. Women are persons. Lately, these statements have seemingly lost their meaning to a wave of femicide. This Women’s Day, we are reminding ourselves of the validity of these statements. Magunga once commented that Kenya is a country that loves to hate its women. He outlined the murders or rather, the mysterious deaths of women that have occurred in recent years.

We have grown numb to the fact that Africans are communal in nature. This is why a pregnant woman would scream all night and be killed by her husband while the neighbors mind their business. We have accepted domestic violence as a norm.

This could be the reason why a human rights activist disappeared only to be found in a mortuary days later, with a botched abortion story and we shift our focus to her character. Even the church disowned their faithful owing to the abortion story.

Have we forgotten Bex Becky, mother to a six week old baby who died on January 1, 2018? Sharon Otieno, the pregnant sponsored girl, who was raped and brutally murdered? Carol Ngumbu, the mistress who was murdered alongside her ‘lover’?

It is because of deaths like these that activists, and civil society organizations are having the #TotalShutdownKe on Women’s Day, Friday 8th March. It will be a march in solidarity with women who have died mysteriously, or through domestic and gender based violence.

Join the movement this International Women’s Day as we #SayHerNameKe. These women are people’s daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, nieces and aunties. We should change the narrative from the victim’s character. We should instead demand that justice be served to Carol, Beryl, Sharon, Becky, Monica, and all who have died.

Friday 8th March, the women’s day march begins at 8 am, at Uhuru Park, Freedom Corner.

 

ARVs for women Efavirenz
Date Posted: February 20, 2019
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ARVs for women and other myths that need busting

ARVs for women and men

ARVs

By Juliet Awuor

So, the other day we were chatting with colleagues about being transgender. The conversation progressed to how transgender individuals use female ARVs to enlarge their hips. Now, that was interesting. I haven’t heard of ARVs meant for women and men. I sought to correct the misconception with the fact that I have volunteered at a Comprehensive Care Centre- HIV clinic before.

Of course, in such cases, you are careful not to appear to know so much on ARVs lest your colleague starts putting two and two together. I quickly mentioned that there’s an ARV drug that does not support a foetus is Stocrin or Efavirenz. She told me that the specifications have since changed. That I needed to check my facts. I let the matter rest because I may have been wrong.

I haven’t used Efavirenz before. In fact, I have been refusing to have doctors change me to the regime because the one I currently am on has been perfect for me for the last decade or so. Why fix something that’s not broken?

Anyway, one of the reasons I have been avoiding it is because should I get pregnant, I would have to be switched back to a more friendlier regime for pregnancy. Now a girl has to dream. I still have dreams of becoming a mother again. 

During my last clinic appointment, I was told by the doctor that the drug I am currently using, AZT is being faced out. The only information I have found is Stavudine being faced out.

Efavirenz is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. These drugs stop HIV from multiplying by preventing the reverse transcriptase enzyme from working. The most common side effects are fatigue, rash, nausea, dizziness, diarrhoea, headache, and insomnia. Pregnant women should avoid taking it, especially during the first three months of pregnancy. However, recent studies have shown no increase in birth defects in pregnant women taking efavirenz. This is probably why my colleague concluded that there are ARVs for women and men.

There are no ARVs for women. Some ARVs are just not suitable for pregnant mothers. It is important to get your facts straight. The argument that transgender individuals take ARVs to broaden their hips also does not hold water. They take female hormones but this is another story altogether.

Ed FGM infographic
Date Posted: February 6, 2019
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Facts about Female Genital Mutilation

End FGM

End FGM

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Facts about FGM

Source: United Nations

  • Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.
  • Female genital mutilation is in decline in many countries. But if it persists at current levels, rapid population growth in countries where it is concentrated will significantly increase the number of girls subjected to it.
  • 68 million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation between 2015 and 2030.
  • Countries with the highest prevalence among girls and women aged 15 to 49 are Somalia at 98 per cent, Guinea at 97 per cent, Djibouti 93 per cent and Egypt at 87 per cent.
  • FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15.
  • Girls who undergo female genital mutilation face short-term complications like severe pain, shock, excessive bleeding, infections, and difficulty in passing urine, as well as long-term consequences for their sexual and reproductive health and mental health.
  • Female genital mutilation is rooted in gender inequalities and power imbalances between men and women – and it sustains them by limiting opportunities for girls and women to realize their rights and full potential in terms of health, education and income.
  • Female genital mutilation violates the human rights of women and girls, contravening established principles, norms and standards including non-discrimination on the basis of sex; the rights to health, physical integrity and life; the right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and the rights of the child.
  • The Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 calls for an end to FGM by 2030 under Goal 5 on Gender Equality, Target 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
  • Eliminating female genital mutilation is a critical step towards realizing other SDGs, which focus on good health and well-being, safe motherhood, quality education, inclusive societies and economic growth.
  • The elimination of FGM has been called for by numerous inter-governmental organizations, including the African Union, the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as in three resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.

In July 2018, the UN Secretary-General produced the report Intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation. It states that efforts to end these practices should also target the groups of women and girls who are most at risk, in particular, those who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including refugee and migrant women, women living in rural and remote communities and young girls, so as to leave no one behind.