What’s Happy About Women’s Day- Benjamin Zulu
I wanted to say Happy International Women’s Day but then I felt ashamed when I remembered that the whole Women’s fraternity is hurting from the despicable deed unleashed on one of them yesterday. What is happy about the day for women in my nation when a group of men can descend on a defenseless lady seated peacefully in her car awaiting to solve a traffic issue? What? What is happy about men turning into wild dogs and tearing her clothes and assaulting her as she screams helplessly? What is happy about a group of men shouting to remove from her car to mob justice a woman who was decent and cooperative enough to stop in order to solve whatever had happened between her and the other cyclist?
How many centuries back in lawlessness are these hooligans taking our country?
This is a day of shame for us as a country. ALL those men who put forth their hands to mawl an innocent lady have mothers and daughters and sisters and wives. Would they want them manhandled and tortured like that? We commend the government for jumping into action and conducting arrests, but this time we ask that they don’t stop there. Motor cycle operators have long become a menace in our roads and it’s time they get reigned in.
One day one of them hit the car of former chief of defence forces, Julius Karangi, and within minutes over 500 motorcycles had surrounded him, threatening to lynch him. But they vanished as quickly as they had come when he lowered his mask and looked at them. But yesterday’s case was not a powerful man, but an innocent daughter, mother, wife. It’s a traumatising scene even to watch the clip.
A great congratulations for the person who filmed it. The George Floyd revolution was also sparked by a phone recording and we encourage all of us to record anything we come across. Without this clip these criminals might have gotten away with such a heinous act.
These guys move on the wrong side of the road, they go in the opposite direction of the roundabout, they don’t wear protective gear, they harass pedestrians on zebra crossing and they don’t stop at traffic lights. When they hit a person they run away, and when they hit a vehicle they swarm there to take law into their own hands. We hope this is the end of their madness.
Today’s message for International Women’s Day is to create a safe space for them in our roads. It’s not just the government to do this but all of us collectively. Let’s be agents and monitors of order wherever we are. I know its not all bodaboda riders who are rowdy. There are many sober ones there and I call on them to change the tune from inside. Most of us know at least one good rider who we always entrust with our errands. I call on them to be a light and operate differently. Not only will they win the trust of customers and get more business in the long run, but they will also have done their part in creating a safe space for our women.
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