Claske DIJKEMA, Grenoble, mayo 2009
Kenya: the power of nakedness
The online course on gender and conflict transformation give opportunities to share experiences and tell stories of which others might learn.
Keywords: Teoría de la no violencia | Resolución no violenta de los conflictos | Resistencia no violenta | Respeto de los derechos de las mujeres | Desmilitarización del poder | Las nuevas tecnologías al servicio de la paz | Elaboración de instrumentos pedagógicos de educación a la paz | Educacion a la gestion no-violenta de conflictos | Organización comunitaria | Organización de habitantes de barrios urbanos | Asociación local de Mujeres | Grupo de resistencia no violenta | Ciudadanos por la paz | Reformar las relaciones sociales | Reformar las relaciones sociales para preservar la paz | Kenia
Jane Wanjiru Ngugi tells the story of how women have been able to resist non-violently against the police in Kenya. There are little means to verify whether the account of the events is accurate, so its strength is rather in the story than in the facts.
“At the height of political oppression in Kenya detentions without trial were very common. The mother of one of the detainees, Koigi Wamwere mobilized women to a national park where they camped and went on hunger strike. When police tried to disperse them, the women stripped naked and the police beat a hasty retreat. It is a curse for a young man to see a woman who is old enough to be his mother naked.”
“Although the detainees were not released, the act of stripping was very powerful and the police did not disturb the women for the rest of the duration that they stayed at the park. The spot where they had camped is up to this day known as « freedom corner » and it is normally used whenever people want to protest against any form of injustice by the government. Another form of protest by the family of the same political detainee is the refusal to bury his father until he, Koigi, was released.”
Commentario
The story of Koigi Wemwere and his mother has been told by Jane Wanjiru Ngugi during the online Course on Gender and Conflict Transformation which took place in July 2006. The objective of sharing these stories is to demonstrate the different forms of power which people dispose of in order to change an oppressive situation.