THE BAD GIRLS ASSOCIATION

The anti-Finance Bill protests in Kenya have been full of surprises. First, we are all used to following Raila's command but this time round, mobilisation was done through social media.

They were led by the Gen Zs who have nothing to do with tribal politics. But the most significant change is that we have seen young women at the forefront. They no longer fear the system. They are now leading this generational revolution against high taxation. They were led by social media influencers like Hanifa and other young women who think that enough is enough.
Hon. Millie Odhiambo has encouraged the girls not to be afraid to be labelled as ''good girls''. She said that being a bad girl has its benefits.  Kenya has had many ''bad girls'' in the political scene and there is emergence of a new breed.

During the struggle for independence, men were given all the credit without even mentioning the role that women played. While women were involved in the armed struggles and even fought on war fronts and lived in bushes, women still played a very decisive role.
In Kenya during the Mau Mau revolution, it is arguable that women played more important roles than men. While men were in their hideouts, it was women who collected vital information and relayed it to them.
 Women also took care of their families while their husbands were in hideouts. Though it looks as if they did little or no work, it meant a lot to their families.
Women like Marshall Muthoni fought physically and tirelessly defending Kenya knowing that one day her fellow women would enjoy the fruits of her struggle only to be betrayed a few decades later.

 She is going through hard times when she hears that her fellow women are being chased down the streets by police for just demanding their rights; indeed it is a great shame.
Mekatilili Wa Menza, a prophetess, led the Giriama people in resisting the oppressive colonial regime. Though she was just a woman, the whites had a tough time subduing the revolts.  

Her passion for freedom increased after one of her brothers was forcefully recruited into the Kings African Riffles by the British.

She got married but her husband died while she was still very young. This gave her the freedom to move without restrictions since she was a free woman.
 She was able to move around mobilizing all the Giriama to resist British rule. 

 She was against the British who wanted to force all of the people into Christianity.  She regarded this as disrespect to her culture. She used her dancing skills to mobilize the women.
Culture also played a vital role in moulding her into a future leader. During those days, many communities did not allow women to speak in front of the elders. This was different in the Giriama community where all women were allowed to speak in front of elders. This worked in her favor and her status in the society was elevated.

 She used what she had to get what she wanted. Her dancing skills attracted many people and this enabled her to get the opportunity to address the people. She used to dance wherever she went to get public attention.
She got more followers and later she started administering the 'mkushekushe' oath to the people. This was to ensure that they stood by each other and never let out the secrets of the community.
The main turning point of the community under her leadership was when she led protests against the rules imposed by the British. This caused a heated argument which led to the British officers using bullets.
 She was later arrested and taken to Western Kenya but somehow managed to escape. No struggle, no success. She returned and still led her people in resisting the colonial government.
 She was re-arrested and later sent to Somalia but still escaped but she had already succeeded in her mission. The British were unable to take control of the area fully.
 She gave them a spirited fight until they gave up. She was an enigma.

 .After her death, her name has been forgotten not because she never made it but because she was a woman. She is only mentioned during the Mashujaa Day celebrations.
The late Priscilla Abwao, a social worker-cum activist who championed for gender equality in Kenya has been forgotten by the new breed of leadership. In the next thirty years, she will be erased from the memories of Kenyans. She was the African first woman to sit in Legco. She was the only woman when the delegates from Kenya went to Lancaster to make the independent constitution.

Professor Micere Mugo, one of the finest authors Kenya has ever produced is among one of the few who chose to be brave at the time when all the brave men were in jail. Considered a more vocal nuisance by others who only think women should not voice their concerns about matters relating to governance.
  A daring, intelligent and strong woman as others describe her was brought up in a family where everyone was encouraged to speak their minds regardless of gender and her parents shaped her views.
She is a teacher, playwright, poet and scholar who taught at the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi until 1982 when things got worse for her just because she spoke and stood for what she thought was unfair. Today she is a professor at the University of Syracuse, New York. She was amongst the few people who had the courage to criticise the government of ''Nyayo''.

So the wave that is being experienced in the country is not something new, the only only difference is the means being used to fight for the rights.

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