The Kenyan Media Has Got it Wrong on Gender Based Violence

The Kenyan Media does a lot of things right. The media has highlighted cases of corruption, discrimination and has been at the forefront of unearthing human rights abuses. This has made the media the most trusted institution in Kenya. Unfortunately, the media has also got some things wrong especially on gender based violence and these things must be pointed out as their effects are far reaching.

1. The Malia Obama Suitors Story

There are two grown men (who I won’t bother naming here) who have offered to marry Malia Obama. The two have offered a large number of livestock in exchange for Malia’s hand in marriage. The Kenyan media has highlighted these two men in several stories, even in ridiculous ones like ‘He changed his accent to woo Malia’. Malia Obama is 16 years old. This makes her underage. How can the same media that is running stories condemning early marriages in Kenya be actively running a story where grown men are declaring their love for an underage girl?

96 teachers are currently being deregistered by the Teachers Service Commission for sexually abusing their students and the media has been all over that story, seeking clarification of what other consequences the teachers are going to be facing as deregistration is simply not enough. This same media doesn’t see the irony in condemning grown men taking advantage of underage girls while giving another set of men a platform to actively ‘court’ a form 3 student. Yes, a form 3 student because that’s what Malia would be if she were in Kenya.

By framing this story as a ‘cute forbidden love’ kind of story, the media is perpetuating the belief that child marriage is okay. The media is perpetuating the belief that as long as a girl ‘looks mature’, then it doesn’t matter how old she is. How many times have we heard people say, ‘Lakini huyo hata hakai mtoto’? It doesn’t matter if a girl looks older than she is she’s still a child if she is under 18. The proposal stories also completely remove Malia out of the conversation, making it a ‘man to man’ conversation. The men are addressing Barack Obama and Malia is a side note. Isn’t this the reality of many child brides? Their fates are decided by everyone else but themselves.

The Kenyan media needs to cease and desist highlighting these stories. Honestly, it’s trash. That space could well be used to highlight something else.

2. The Nyeri Domestic Violence Stories

A number of women who live in Nyeri have been in the news lately for mutilating their significant other’s private parts. There has been uproar about it (as there should be in any domestic violence case) however, the uproar has revolved around the stereotype that Nyeri women are ‘violent’ and therefore ‘unmarriageable’. The Kenyan media has driven this stereotype with hashtags like #NyeriWomen and stories that question the character of Nyeri women. Predictably, the conversations on the hashtag are geared towards ostracizing and mocking women from Nyeri. The men from Nyeri are also mocked with calls for them to ‘toughen up and tame their women’. A quick Google search of Nyeri women and you’ll see what I mean.

Domestic Violence is no laughing matter. It is not funny when the victim is a woman and it is still not funny when the victim is a man. The Protection Against Domestic Violence Bill that was recently signed into law offers protection for victims and as a country we should be looking to have sober discussions on the issue and not make light of it. The media cannot be part of those gawking and being entertained by what is a serious matter. They should be objectively leading the discussion instead of lazily putting out stories and hashtags that vilify all women from Nyeri and make it impossible to have sober conversations.

The Kenyan media must decide where it stands on matters to do with Gender Based Violence and let that stand reflect in all their stories. The media must realize that it has a responsibility to frame conversations and should do so with a measure of sobriety.