“As soon as a woman gets to an age where she has opinions, and she is vital and she is strong, she is systematically shamed into hiding under a rock” – Sarah Silverman
On November 17, Mr Miguna Miguna, an aspirant for the Nairobi governorship position, made a rape remark about Esther Passaris, who is also a candidate for the governor’s seat in Nairobi, during the filming of a Kenyan political television show.
He said, “Esther is so beautiful everybody wants to rape her… You are chasing men all over, nobody wants you… You think you’re beautiful, you are not. Esther is just colour. Without colour, you are nothing… A woman who has absolutely no integrity. A socialite bimbo whose only claim to fame is because she is looking for billionaire sponsors.” Mr Miguna said this off-air during the final episode of Jeff Koinange’s show on KTN.
Miguna’s behaviour is an apt and succinct portrayal of the misogyny and patriarchy that thrives in many societies. He is part of a system that shames women and, as a man, is threatened by the success of the opposite sex. In this system, to protect their fragile masculinity which can’t stand the thought of a woman being important or having a voice, some men try to suppress women economically, socially, and politically by limiting the woman’s role to the kitchen and the living room, and the other room. Outside of these places, she is basically functionless and useless.
This societal bimbo, who is nothing without her colour, and who everybody wants to rape, has been named the Most Influential Women in business and government in 2016 by CEO Global, South Africa, received the UN-Habitat Business Awards by in 2009 and the Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) in 2008 by former President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki.
Esther Passaris, who is an activist for gender equality, is one of the most well-known female public figures in Kenyan business. She is the CEO of Adopt A light, whose aim is “To light up East Africa when the sun sets.” This project led her to the reality that many lives in Nairobi badly needed improvement, which made her choose to bring about change and be a part of the leadership.
She is also the CEO of ‘One in a Million’ whose aim is to fight problems in Kenya, such as poverty and unemployment, and promoting urban and rural development. But despite all these achievements and numerous awards, she is still considered by Miguna Miguna as “a socialite bimbo”, with her complexion as her only achievement.
This is the reality of women who are bullied into conformity with derogatory snares and slurs, just because they are women. All their achievements in the world don’t matter except a man says they do. And their worth is tied to their appearance.
“Men like Miguna have no place or role to play in our empowerment. He is part of the problem,” Esther tweeted after the show.
According to the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 14 percent of women aged 15-49 have experienced sexual violence. And according to the United Nations, nearly 120 million girls worldwide have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives. This number could be more, as rape is not spoken of by the victims because they will be shamed by a society that sees rape as the victim’s fault. And despite this information, which Miguna should be aware of, he still went ahead to make uncouth jokes about an obvious crime plaguing women around the world. Is he fit to run for a governorship seat, seeing as he also holds such a misogynistic view?
In light of this, if Kenya truly takes the wellbeing of the girl-child and women in Kenya and around the world seriously, the show should not only be cancelled, but Miguna, should be stopped from running for the governorship or any other political post.
