http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/01/kenya-sex-politics-womenThey may not call themselves feminists, but the Kenyan women on a sex strike to try to stop government infighting are heroic
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But I am a western woman. And there is privilege in my pronouncements about this issue. I recognise the strength in what some Kenyan women are doing to encourage an end to political infighting in the country's male-dominated government. As reported by the BBC:
Women's activist groups in Kenya have slapped their partners with a week-long sex ban in protest over the infighting plaguing the national unity government. The Women's Development Organisation coalition said they would also pay prostitutes to join their strike. The campaigners are asking the wives of the Kenyan president and the prime minister to join in the embargo.
They say they want to avoid a repeat of the violence that convulsed the country after the late-2007 elections.
It's hard to believe that a Lysistrata-type plot would work in these modern times. Indeed it may not. But the women of Kenya may be sending another message with their sex strike. Consider what happened to women during post-election violence in 2007. According to Womens eNews:
Hundreds of Kenyan women have reported being raped during ethnic clashes that left more than 1,300 people dead over the course of two months.
The actual number of rapes committed likely totals over 3,000 according to the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya, which is known as FIDA.
A year later, police have brought just four cases to court.
Sadly, sexual violence is not rare for women in Kenya.
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sadly, its not rare in the US too.
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