Feminism without borders
Members of the Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders pose for a photo with co-founder Rachel Mwikali (in black T-shirt) and Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallström (holding pink T-shirt) during the latter's visit to Mathare. PHOTO| COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Ms Mwikali is a bold, outspoken feminist and human rights defender whose feminist ideals are stemmed from her own childhood experience as a 13-year-old girl in a relationship with an abusive man.
- Her efforts have attracted international attention and Ms Mwikali has won awards for her human rights work.
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What does a young woman from Mathare have in common with a Swedish Foreign Minister? Plenty.
And feminism has got everything to do with it.
Rachel Mwikali, a domestic violence survivor, sees feminism as a way to fight for the rights of young women like herself.
Ms Mwikali is a bold, outspoken feminist and human rights defender whose feminist ideals are stemmed from her own childhood experience as a 13-year-old girl in a relationship with an abusive man. Her efforts have attracted international attention and she has won an award for her human rights work.
JUSTICE FOR SHARON
She is the co-founder and convener of the Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders (CGHRDS Kenya ) who are known as having been the first human rights group to stand up and walk the streets to demand for justice for Sharon Otieno, a young woman who was brutally murdered in 2018.
“We had no resources but we met and decided to wear black T-shirts and walk the streets to demand justice for Sharon. We were saying No to femicide,” says Rachel.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, on the other hand, is one of the three ministers responsible for the Feminist foreign policy which is meant to ensure that women and girls around the world can enjoy their fundamental human rights.
From left: Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, Kenyan human rights activist and feminist Rachel Mwikali and Swedish Ambassador to Kenya Anna Jardfelt during the minister's visit to Mathare. PHOTO| FAITH ONEYA
‘NOT ROCKET SCIENCE’
“Feminism is not rocket science,” says Ms Wallström. And she should know.
Sweden is the first country in the world to formulate and pursue a feminist foreign policy. One of the ways they implement this is through art like the Swedish and Kenyan Dads photo exhibition held in Kenya in May 2018 which celebrated active fathers and explored the role of a father in a child’s life.
Ms Wallström and Ms Mwikali connected during the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality in April 2018 where Ms Mwikali wowed the conference with her passion, confidence and boldness. So much so, in fact, that she was asked to make the closing remarks at the forum.
A strong bond blossomed from there powered by their shared belief in feminism. The bond between them is one of the reasons that Ms Wallström made CGHRDS, Mathare, one of her stops in her short visit to Kenya on February 27.
Ms Wallström was accompanied by Swedish Ambassador Anna Jardfelt during the visit.
Ms Wallström is deeply concerned about the rate of violence being committed around the world against women and girls. She poses: “How can you be an actor if you don’t feel at home when you are at home?”
It's an issue that deeply concerns Ms Mwikali too as a number of Kenyan women have lost their lives as a result of violence.
So why does feminism elicit such negative emotions from men?
“Men are afraid. They are afraid of losing the love of women. They are afraid of losing power. They are afraid of losing their traditional role and everything that comes with it. Whatever gender you have, you should enjoy the same rights, obligations and opportunities in life. It’s not more mysterious than that.
That’s feminism,” says Ms Wallström.
Ms Mwikali adds that even though they are from different worlds, they are sisters in the struggle for gender equality.
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