World Pulse

I was born 25 years ago at a remote male-dominated village in the Western part of Kenya. Those were the days when a woman was supposed to be a woman and she could dare not cross a wrong path (of men). Submission, naivety and obedience were the key virtues that could earn her great respect in the society. I remember when at one point i challenged my mother to run away and leave my father, who occasionally beat her up in the full glare of our eyes. But owing to the number of slaps that i received right across my face from my mom for saying such a 'stupid' thing, i decided to keep my peace, at least at that moment. Those were the days when fathers looked at daughters in terms of the number of 'cows' they were bound to bring! (In our village, dowry is transacted in the form of cattle. The number is high when the girl observes the highest level of submission and obedient to men). I must admit that we were never the best of friends with my dad because to him, i lacked 'manners' and i was too 'big-headed' as he referred to me.

Despite all that, i managed to go to school and even broke more taboos by joining the University of Nairobi. I am now a graduate in Communications and Literature and would rather die than let someone treat me as a minor. I have a strong will to liberate my sisters who suffer silently in the brutal hands of men through my voice.
Hey, women, we can do it!