A spate of gruesome killings of women in several African countries has sparked outrage and outrage in recent weeks, sparking a wave of protests and prompting calls for governments to take decisive action against gender-based violence.

Kenyans were shocked when 31 women were killed in January after being beaten, strangled or beheaded, activists and police said. A pregnant woman reportedly died after her husband died in Somalia this month light them. In the West African country of Cameroon a powerful businessman Was arrested in January on He has denied allegations that he brutalized dozens of women.

The rise in killings is part of a broader pattern that worsened during times of economic crisis and pandemic lockdowns, human rights activists say. In 2022, an estimated 20,000 gender-based killings of women were recorded in Africa highest rate in the worldAccording to the UN, experts believe the actual numbers are likely higher.

“The problem is the normalization of gender-based violence and the rhetoric that yes, women are available,” said Njeri wa Migwi, co-founder of Usikimye – Swahili for “Don’t be silent” – a Kenyan nonprofit that works with victims of gender-based violence.

The Feminist Scholar Diana Russell popularized the term femicide – the killing of women or girls because of their gender – to create a category that distinguishes it from other homicides. According to a United Nations reportThe killings are often committed by male partners or close family members and are preceded by physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Critics say many African leaders and police are ignoring or downplaying the problem Blaming victims.

One afternoon, Ms. Migwi, the nonprofit’s co-founder, was leading a training session for girls and women when she was suddenly called to a nearby house in Kayole, a low-income, high-crime neighborhood east of Nairobi.

In the dimly lit house, Jacinta Ayuma, a day laborer and mother of two, lay lifeless, bloody bruises visible on her face, neck and left arm. Police said she was killed by her partner. He fled and they haven’t arrested him yet. An autopsy determined she died from blunt force trauma that resulted in multiple organ injuries.

Cries of fear rang in the air as several officers carried the body on a thin blanket into a police car. Three neighbors said they heard someone screaming for help throughout the night until about 6 a.m. However, they said they did not intervene or call the police because the sounds of beatings and distress were common and they considered it a private matter.

Ms Migwi, back in her office nearby, said she had seen too many similar cases. “I’m grieving,” she said, her head in her hands. “With all of this comes a helplessness.”

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, women’s rights activists in Kenya organized a vigil in the capital that they called “Dark Valentine” to commemorate the women who were killed. According to this, at least 500 women were victims of femicide in Kenya between 2016 and 2023 a current report until Africa Data Huba group of data organizations that work with journalists in several African countries and have analyzed cases reported in Kenyan news media.

About 300 people in black T-shirts waved red roses, lit red candles and observed a minute’s silence.

“Why should we have to keep reminding people that women need to be alive,” said Zaha Indimuli, a co-organizer of the event.

Among the women whose names were read out at the vigil was Grace Wangari Thuiya, a 24-year-old beautician who was killed in Nairobi in January.

Two days before her death, Ms Thuiya visited her mother in Murang’a county, about 35 miles northeast of Nairobi. During the visit, her mother, Susan Wairimu Thuiya, said they talked about a 20 year old student who was dismembered Just a few days earlier, there was an apparent epidemic of violence against women.

Ms Thuiya warned her daughter, who she described as ambitious and cheerful, to be careful in her dating decisions.

“That day, fear gripped my heart,” Ms. Thuiya said of their last encounter.

Two days later, police called Ms. Thuiya to tell her that her daughter had died after her boyfriend attacked and repeatedly stabbed her. Ms Thuiya said her daughter never revealed she was seeing anyone. Police said they arrested a man at the apartment where Grace Thuiya was killed.

“This is all a bad dream that I want to wake up from,” Ms Thuiya said.

Ms. Thuiya’s murder, among otherssparked large-scale protests across Kenya in late January. There have been anti-femicide protests in Kenya in recent years Killing of female Olympic athletesand also in other African countries including South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda.

Activists say the demonstrations were among the largest non-political protests in Kenya’s history: At least 10,000 women and men crowded the streets in Nairobi alone, with thousands more joining in other cities.

At a time of increasing anti-gay sentiment, the protests were also intended to send a message The violence that non-binary people facequeer and transgender women, said Marylize Biubwa, a Kenyan queer activist.

The movement has sparked a backlash, particularly online, from men who argue that a woman’s clothing or choices justify abuse. Such comments are spread using hashtags like #StopKillingMen and by social media influencers like Andrew Kibe, a men’s rights advocate and former radio host whose YouTube account was shut down last year for violating the company’s terms of service.

“Shut up,” he said in a recent video, referring to those outraged by the killing of women. “You have no right to have an opinion.”

Activists say they are not seeing enough outrage from political, ethnic or religious leaders.

In Kenya, President William Ruto is criticized for not personally addressing femicide. A spokesman for his office did not respond to requests for comment. But after the protests, his government praised to speed up investigations and introduced a toll-free number for the public to report perpetrators.

Still, activists in Kenya and across Africa say more investigators need to be hired, judges need to decide cases more quickly and lawmakers should pass laws to punish perpetrators harsher.

Data collection and research on femicide needs to be funded, said Patricia Andago, a researcher at data firm Odipo Dev.

For now, the murders continue to leave a trail of devastation.

On a recent afternoon, Ms. Thuiya, whose 24-year-old daughter was killed in January, sat cuddling her two granddaughters, five-year-old Keisha and 22-month-old Milan. She said Keisha believed her mother had ascended “to heaven” and asked if she could get a ladder to follow her.

“It was very painful,” Ms. Thuiya said of hearing her granddaughter’s questions. “I just want justice for my daughter. And I want that justice now.”