It is been over a week now since Kenyan women vowed to stop any ‘bed business’ with their husbands until the government cooperatively fulfills and implements its obligations. The first time it was announced by female activists, it sounded funny but it has turned to be a serious matter. People couldn’t believe it when it this ‘strike’ was announced. It sounded abnormal for women to deny their husbands sexual pleasures but the Kenyan women have indeed proved to the world that everything can be normal as long as there is a genuine cause. They have managed to do it and have vowed to continue with it until they are convinced that there will be major reforms in the way the Kenyan government operates. Critics of this movement argue that such actions violate the matrimonial obligations made on the couples wedding day. However, whether these women stick to their guns or not, the question remains; shall it bear fruits? Many analysts believe that this action might actually pressure the Kenyan government to change tack but they also believe that it will have dire consequences in the women’s homes. Many of these women’s homes may end up breaking up because men may not be able to adjust and tolerate such a situation. I hope the proponents of this action have thought it through before calling upon women to get involved. Interestingly Ali Mutasa, a BBC correspondent based in Kampala, in an interview he held with the BBC Swahili program on the 6th, said that Ugandan women were ready to cross over to Kenya to assist the Kenyan men should their women continue with the strike. This sounds amusing but it shows how serious things can become when our sexuality is forcibly denied-especially in situations like this one. Our Kenyan mothers should save us a situation, where we may have mass family breakage. It would be disastrous to have a situation of this nature happen in our region. The Kenyan government shouldn’t have let such a situation happen in the first place. I know that it must have been difficult for women to come out publicly and announce is iniative; more especially when put in our cultural context. The fact that women did this means that there is something so wrong that that the ‘nuclear’ option was the only weapon Kenyan women had left. Kenyan leaders have to look at the issues and do something about them; the male voters aren’t enjoying their wives cold shoulders. phatari@yahoo.co.uk
