Time to address this femicide madness

Ivy Wangeci was just yards away from becoming a doctor before she was brutally murdered in broad daylight. She did not deserve to die. No one deserves to die that way.

It is a sad narrative of a girl doing something the other sex cannot stand or simply misunderstands. When this meets frailed egos and a lifetime of mental health issues that have been pushed to the backburner, never being discussed, the result is total lunacy. Despite this cry for help, the country is plunged into a state of chaos and insensitivity as people use these deaths as fodder for memes, jokes and even inspiration for future acts of madness. In this melee, no solution presents itself.

Parents are still biting their tongues when discussing coital and relationship matters with their children. Mental health on the other hand, is like expensive goods through a shop window that you can only look at but neither touch nor talk. Schools would rather teach about the best way to dress a banana with rubber but will be mute about communicating effectively.

Friends are undoubtedly the worst. When you tell them about the man that makes obsessive statements such as, “Aki nitakuoa”, “I’ll get you one day”, they laugh and preach how lucky you are to have someone view you as a prospective wife. When you complain about the abusive and obsessive boyfriend, they look at you with great disbelief, wondering how their “Couple goals” could be flawed. Surely, you have to be overreacting and should not complain. Not when your entire tribe has imagined your wedding down to the last detail. Besides, other women endure worse

Authorities, on the other hand, play a wonderful game where they dip a toe in the water, just long, nay, short enough to show everyone that they care. Soon after, they retreat because if it is not their monkey, it is definitely not their circus.

While women die, people are quick to offer unsolicited advice on what should not be done and how people should behave. In my opinion, a structured national conversation will bear more fruit. This is where we begin.