A grainy video posted online shows disturbing scenes of a woman being stripped and kicked in her private areas by a mob of men before being paraded down a street in Mombasa.
According to ABC News, a second woman has been attacked and stripped by a mob in Kenya less than a week after another woman was stripped and humiliated in Nairobi’s business district prompting protests on Monday.
A grainy video posted online shows disturbing scenes of a woman being stripped and kicked in her private areas by a mob of men before being paraded down a street in Mombasa.
Kenya’s Deputy President, William Ruto, called last week’s attack in Nairobi “barbaric” and “primitive” and has called for the arrest of men that participated in the attack.
However, today’s attack in Mombasa highlights the enormous task the government faces in changing societal prejudice against women in this deeply conservative country.
On Monday, about 1000 protesters took to Nairobi’s streets to express solidarity with the woman attacked in Nairobi and to pressure the government to do more in preventing attacks directed at women’s clothing.
The protest with a theme "My Dress, My Choice" was organized by women’s rights groups in Kenya, which saw men and women waving placards, ribbons and signs in support of women’s freedom to dress as they liked.
One of the organizer’s at Monday’s protest told reporters that women had been routinely attacked in the past and that the Nairobi attack was simply a recent incident that had gained publicity.
"They have come to the limelight. Before, they were happening but it was never reported, it was never brought to the attention of anybody. Of late ... the social media has made it easy to know who is getting attacked where" said criminal lawyer Lilian Manegene.
A counter protest organized by an unknown group also took place on Monday in Nairobi with protesters calling for Kenyan women to dress discretely and honor traditions of modesty.
"They are not wearing decently, you know? We want them to be wearing decently. If they are not going to do that, then ... we will still do it," said one protester who refused to be named.