Guest Blog Post for International Anti-Street Harassment Week 2015
Setting up Hollaback! Nairobi dates back to late 2013. I was harassed by two drunk men on my way home. I was actually on my street surrounded by people that had known me since I was a child and it hurt that none of them did anything to help me. The two men were walking behind me and saying a lot of nasty things because I had a long slit in the back of my dress that showed my thighs. I tried to ignore them and kept walking. I don’t really remember the details of the altercation now but what I will never forget is that one after the other they put their hands up my dress and though I did manage to hit one of them before they ran off I was violated. I have never been able to forget what that few seconds felt like and I have never been able to wear that dress again. I told many of my friends about it and it was one of them told me about Hollaback and the work they do. It was very easy to make the decision to sign up and setup a site for Nairobi.
A lot of things happened in my life that made it difficult to setup immediately but every new experience I had or heard about from a friend strengthened my resolve to make sure it was actually set up. Hollaback! Nairobi’s official launch was in January 2015.
Three months later I am still a one woman team and it’s a little daunting since I also have a full time job. I am often second guessing myself about whether to speak out about an issue or stay quiet and there is also some procrastinating on whether to advertise, print out stickers and flyers but I believe in time it will all get easier and I will find a couple of team members willing to join the movement for all the right reasons. So far in the recruitment process, I have encountered two types of people. Type 1 wants to take over and turn the movement into something it’s not; a full time job with massive donors and trips abroad. Type 2 are interested in taking part but don’t really want to put in the time.
Unfortunately, getting people to speak out and share their stories has been very slow despite the growing number of rape cases, and other forms of gender based violence. In fact two of my school mates, one from primary school and another from law school were killed by their boyfriends in 2014. Additionally, in November and December 2014 videos were shared all over social media of men publicly stripping women on the streets for what they call dressing indecently that went viral and had many Kenyans take to the streets to protest against these actions. In 2015 public a member of parliament has been accused of raping a journalist in his publicly funded office.
The need for activism on any form of gender based violence in this country grows every single day and it will only be a matter of time before people are able to speak out more on the issue, before people are able to share their stories and maybe even put their names and faces on their experience.
Before that day comes, Hollaback! Nairobi’s main focus is education. People have yet to accept that street harassment is a violation, that it causes harm to the victims, eating into their self-confidence little by little. It certainly isn’t rape but that doesn’t make it any less important. Besides, if we were to teach people to respect us on the streets in broad daylight they will certainly respect us even in the dead of night.
Getting victims to speak out in a society where people say they have larger problems to deal with like terrorism and starvation will be an uphill task but I think it can be done. Building a society where people feel safe and respected is an all rounded affair. We cannot focus on one and ignore the other.
What I have loved most since joining Hollaback! is the support this community provides. It’s like having a personal team of cheerleaders every step of the way. As a person, I feel more confident about myself because I can speak out. And because I can speak out I feel safer. I had completely stopped taking any public means of transport but it’s now the exact opposite. I rarely drive myself anywhere on weekends. Life is so much better when you can walk and enjoy the sunshine.
My community hasn’t yet accepted our existence here but if it has had this effect on me, I am sure it will spread.
Wacu Mureithi Directs Hollaback! Nairobi
