Kenyan Women Organize Sex Ban In Exchange For Unity, Silly or Sexy?
BBC News spotlighted the members of the Women’s Development Organisation coalition as they hoped to mediate conflict between their country by opening their mouths and closing the cookie jar.
The Plan:
Taking notes from the play, Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Kenyan protesters planned to end conflict between the nation’s prime minster and the president by initiating a sex ban for one “long” week. The group was seeking participation from all women, especially from the nation’s leaders’ wives.
The conflict in Kenya sparked from an extremely controversial election between president Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. The election was between only thousands of votes: both of them racking in more than 4 million votes each. Considering the close proximity in the polls, Kenyan residents were outraged at the possible corruption within the government. Kibaki had been in power for years prior, and many were looking for Odinga as an opportunity for advancement. With a nickname such as “the people’s president,” it was no surprise that the masses were furious at the election outcome. War, protest, and riots immediately out-poured. Mara J. Roberts evaluated that brutality affected almost a quarter of a million people- a great number of lives were lost in chaos and even more were innocently injured. Women’s bodies were also put under attack through sexual violence and rape.
The call-to-action was completely necessary. 2 years after the election, tension between both sides was still present. Odinga and Kibaki had attempted to unite powers but the feud continued to linger. Similar to Lysistrata, the women decided to use their bodies and brains to end the war themselves. In this situation, was a sex ban the most efficient form of protest?
Critiques & Concerns I Have For the Plan
One week is NOT long enough. The BBC article reported that someone stated “Kenyan men cannot even abstain from sex for two days.” That statement sounds ridiculous. Although men are sex-driven beings, I am positive they can abstain from sex for more than 48 hours. Especially because masturbation is a thing. If there is one quality that could override a man’s sex drive it would be his pride. The division of the country became a battle against tribes; supporters of each candidate aiming to protect their own. Conflict so contentious will require more dedication than a week from all women. (Like being able to abstain sex a day for every life lost, innocently beaten, or raped type of dedication.)
Also, notice I said “all” women. The participants mentioned they were willing to pay sex workers to keep the momentum going, and that is awesome. However, the protesters (seemingly) did not solidify two of the masters of authority, the wives! In the CNN article covering the sex ban, it states the organizers reached out to the spouses and the response from Odinga’s wife insisted that she “supported the campaign 100 percent.” You support it? But are you participating? The wife of the prime minister, wife to candidate that sparked one of the biggest political uproars in Kenya’s history, simply showed her admiration for the women who were actually banning their men from sex. If anyone could expedite the time it took to resolve the conflict it would be the wives. In conjunction with the coalition, focusing more on the wives to initiate the change they wanted to see would have boosted their success.
Lastly, sexual violence against women could spark if a sex ban had commenced. The interviewee in the previous article who claimed Kenyan men could not abstain sex for longer than two days must be the wife to the husband who stated, “Seven days is just too much,” and “we are being punished.” Therefore, banning sexual practices may cause another power struggle. Sexual violence in Kenya is not a topic unheard of. The Kenyan Woman specifies how almost 40% of women suffer from sexual violence between 14–49. Heck, the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act is only 5 years old. The Women’s Development Organisation coalition were going to have to take notes from the Gulab Gang if they were really about the sex ban life.
Final Thoughts About Sex Bans: Could One Happen in US?
Controversial election. Protesting & rioting. Sounds familiar. The Women’s March that recently pioneered was one of the most inspiring and monumental protests with over 5 million contributors worldwide. Millions of women uniting to affirm their rights and protest against Trump’s inauguration was truly beautiful; and an exemplary example that women can collaborate for a bigger cause. However, if more women were unified before the election maybe we would not have to call Donald Trump our president now.
This relates to my point that I have a hard time believing women can give up sex for a bigger cause. Women love sex as much as the next man; yet still I think the bigger hurdle for women comes from connecting opposing ideologies. Intersectional feminism vs white feminism are concepts that will forever conflict. Women who are conscious of their oppression will be all for using sex as a form of protest. But women who are not affected, or not aware of their oppression will not understand the need to participate. And just like I stated earlier, it’s all or nothing.
For instance, analyzing Lysistrata and the Kenyan conflict, Lysistrata was able to execute her plan because all the women agreed that they wanted their men at home instead of fighting in the war. Everyone’s man was out spending more time brawling in the streets rather than spending time cuddling with their partners at home. Everyone was in the same vicinity, probably of the same racial background, similar social status, heterosexual, open-minded about sex and sexuality active. Homogeneity. Able to recognize and understand one another’s oppression, thus able to collectively unite for a cause. But on the other hand, I do not believe the Kenyan wives of the prime minister and the president would participate with the other Kenyan women because their privilege was different. Raila Odinga’s wife is wealthy, occupying a higher social class, and her husband is not in the streets physically putting his life on the line. The ability to see her oppression and sympathize with other women is biased. This gives insight into why she can give her “support” from afar. Her man may come home late, but at least he is coming home in one piece.
All this is to say that I do not believe a sex ban is the most efficient form of protest because I think it requires too much faith in homogeneity and inclusion. America is the big “melting pot” and I believe our country is too diverse for everyone to agree to give up the peen for a cause-especially if they are not directly affected.
