Her life matters: Women come together to denounce increasing gender-based violence, killings [Photos]

From all corners of Kenya flow stories of tears that never dry up among bereaved families, and in Nairobi, hundreds of women met at the University of Nairobi yesterday evening - Thursday 30th May, 2019 - to hold a candlelit vigil for those brutally killed as the nation is asked to stop and reflect.

Families that have lost their loved ones in the most callous ways, young women, activists and leaders, all were united by a common sense of loss and grief. They expressed hope that the killings of nearly 40 women across the country in the past few months would end.

Colouring the university grounds with white and pink attire, the overwhelmingly female attendants decried the killings of women, and other forms of gender violence in the past one year. The event began with a series of entertainment pieces – poems, songs and skits – that celebrate women and highlight the challenges they undergo.

The vigil also marked the start of a nationwide campaign to rally Kenyans around efforts to curb cases of violence against women.