Streets harassment has been a constant damaging experience women have been experiencing in certain countries on the corners of the streets they walk through on a daily basis, and they tread these streets with fear, but now women in Kibera, Kenya Nairobi have taken to the streets to speak out about the damaging experiences they have had to endure for years in a movement they call ‘’chalk back’’.
The chalk back is a movement introduced by Zubeida Yusuf, a woman who has lived all her life in Kibera, Nairobi Kenya, and for as long as she has been walking on the streets, sexual harassments has been a common phenomenon that many women go through, of which herself has constantly experienced.
Men on the streets of markets and residential areas, would haul offensive remarks at women walking through, sometimes even go as far as touching and pulling them, ‘’ men will say things like : You’re very fat. Is your mother a butcher? Did God use his last piece of clay on you because you have large breasts and a big behind it’s a lot for us to take in when we walk out here in the streets’’ said a 22-year-old girl, another added ‘’ it affects one’s self-esteem? When I sit by myself, I wonder am I really as worthless or as ugly as that person has said that I am ‘’.
These experiences inspired the implementation of the’’ Chalk Back’’ liberation movement, Zubeida hopes to use this movement as a medium for women to voice out their pain in one big voice and put a stop to these streets harassment, the movement aims to help people of the society realize that it is never okay to body shame, or touch a woman without consent on the streets.
It aims to reveal to the society that these streets harassment is just as damaging as every other sexual harassment in society because since it’s existence the society has portrayed it to be a trivial issue, thereby making women powerless when they encounter these situations on the streets, so the women are telling their stories to the public through the’’ chalk back’’ campaign by writing their personal experiences of street harassment with chalks and markers on walls and pavements in corners around the streets of Kibera, Nairobi Kenya.
The campaign so far has forged strength amongst the women and has brought to light so many remarks these women received from men and have held in for so long that has caused them great pain and shame walking along the streets, words like ‘’ Chura hii ( Swahili slang for prostitute and also word for frog), ’’ Unaringa, wewe ni vajo ‘’ which translates to ( You think you are too good for us, yet you’re still a virgin), each of these words and many more degrading and indicating words ‘’Respect my body”, grace the walls of various places all around the streets of Kibera.
Further, the campaign has helped men in the streets realize that women deserve to be respected and deserve to walk through the streets regardless of how they look without being called out and insulted when they don’t respond , ‘’ Our mentality for a long time has been that we are entitled to women. We think if we talk to a girl she must talk back. We didn’t know it was not ok until recently. We are slowly learning ‘’ said 25- year-old Wilson Mania
Another, Jarius Omulando added ‘’ I think we know better now we have been enlightened about issues surrounding sexual and gender-based violence and how to deal with it ‘’.
Zubeida’s movement ‘’chalk back aims to continuing spreading the word and this will most definitely continue to liberate women that have been subjected to keeping silent when faced with street harassment.