The recent saga involving two city politicians took a fresh
twist after one of them accused a television station of filming him
secretly when he made alleged sexist attacks on a rival.
Nairobi gubernatorial hopeful Miguna Miguna accused KTN
and the host of the Jeff Koinange Live show, Mr Jeff Koinange, of
filming him during a commercial break, when he made “rape comments”
about his rival for the seat, Ms Esther Passaris.
In
a complaint to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), Mr Miguna said the
clip, which was posted on the internet, receiving thousands of views,
portrayed him as unfit for the position of governor in the August 2017
elections.
“The foregoing media house secretly,
illegally and without consent recorded, maliciously edited and published
a distorted portion of an offensive and unauthorised version of the
illegally recorded conversation on the Internet, in gross violation of
my legal and constitutional rights,” said the Canada-based lawyer.
TAKING THE FLAK
The
show has received wide-ranging criticism for allowing the attacks on
live television, with the host taking the flak for failing to stop
personal attacks between his two guests and looking on as they tore into
one another.
Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki joined the fray, accusing KTN of allowing the guests on its show to engage in personal attacks.
In
a statement, Ms Kariuki said the show had “trivialised the crime of
rape”, adding that the subsequent comments on social media appeared to
glorify violence against women.
“As the Cabinet
Secretary in charge of Gender Affairs, I strongly condemn the
trivialisation of the crime of RAPE as depicted on KTN’s Jeff Koinange
Live Show and the subsequent comments on social media that sought to
normalize this unacceptable and dehumanizing act,” she said.
Accusing
the show of using abusive and derogatory language, she added that it
was unfair to allow victim shaming on the show, irrespective of
political leaning of those involved, and that attacks based on gender,
were unacceptable.
“The comments online further
highlighted how far as a society, we still have to go in changing our
attitudes as a nation towards GBV (gender based violence),” she noted.
CONTINUED ASSAULT
She
said various actors failed collectively to take action as the “below
the belt” conversations were going on the television, which is aired on
prime time, saying the stood by and watched from a distant.
“Why
did the media house allow the continued assault? Why didn’t anyone step
in? Who were behind the scenes? Who were these silent actors?” she
posed.
Commenting on a crime that is mostly cited as a “weapon of war” in failed countries, but which nevertheless occurs with regular spontaneity at least according to police records, in law abiding societies as well, Ms Kariuki, whose ministry advocates against gender violence, said the “silent majority” who take no action are as guilty as the perpetrators.
Commenting on a crime that is mostly cited as a “weapon of war” in failed countries, but which nevertheless occurs with regular spontaneity at least according to police records, in law abiding societies as well, Ms Kariuki, whose ministry advocates against gender violence, said the “silent majority” who take no action are as guilty as the perpetrators.
“Fundamentally, they need to
understand that Gender Based Violence encompasses all acts of violence
be it physical, psychological or verbal,” she noted.
OFFENDING CONTENT
In a week’s time, the country will join the world in “16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence on November 25, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and on December 10 the Human Rights Day, in which incidents of the ministry will lead advocacy campaigns against rape and defilement, which according to the minister, affects both men and women.
In a week’s time, the country will join the world in “16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence on November 25, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and on December 10 the Human Rights Day, in which incidents of the ministry will lead advocacy campaigns against rape and defilement, which according to the minister, affects both men and women.
Referring to the
incident between Ms Passaris and Mr Miguna, Ms Kariuki urged Kenyans to
“use the conversations around this unfortunate and highly publicized
incidence to galvanize our efforts to fight Gender Based Violence.”
She
also urged the Media Council of Kenya to pull down the offending
content of this particular and other similar incidents and in future
take quick and decisive action to protect victims.
The ministry, she said has embarked on the ‘Jitokeze’ campaign to end violence against women and girls and launched the “HeforShe” campaign whose objectives are similar.
No comments :
Post a Comment