Gen Z Revolt: How women took to the front line in anti-Finance Bill protests

As chants rose, tear gas filled the air on the streets of Nairobi and different parts of the country, it was a demonstration like no other, women of different ages were out there fighting.

The fight was not against the Finance bill 2024 alone. It was about dignity, fear, and years of pent up anger

It was a fight to be heard.

Women decided to no longer be victims of bad policies. Mobilisation was done, social media played a big role, X hashtags, Titok reels, WhatsApp statuses, Facebook posts and Instagram stories, reels and lives. Those platforms were not only used for mobilization but to explain in simple terms the jargon that was in the Finance Bill. 

The June 2024 Gen Z protests spotted young people from all walks who came out in large numbers.  Some walked, others used public means while others used private means. 

Activist Njeri Mwangi who was at the center of the protests says the unity gave the demos the weight it needed.

 “It felt like the tide rose with everything that we have been fighting for and finally everyone could see and feel the need and people rose to it to fight for themselves. It felt like we were united and everybody was there fighting for themselves and fighting for their future,” she says during our interview at her home in Nairobi.

Njeri says more women had the confidence to come out during the anti-Finance Bill protests because of the successful anti femicide protests that happened earlier in the year.

 “It gave women more courage to come out because of how the Finance Bill was going to affect them, when you think about the tax on pads, diapers. Things women have no control over,” she says

Anita Barasa, a 19-year-old activist became famous when she recorded her message on video to ODM leader Raila Odinga asking him to stay at home and leave the stage for her generation.

 “Agwambo has always been my mentor, and I just wanted to tell him that his time of awakening the crowd had passed. It was our time, and I had to do something,” she says during an interview at Standard Group center in Nairobi.

“First of all, the economy will not crash when I just got to my good ages, so I had to be part of it actively. My friends were also a source of support plus my roots my dad is also woke,” she says

Anita says she used her social media platforms to pass the message.

 “Before all these demos happened, I was a social media creator, so I had to bring whatever is happening in the country to my safe space, which was TikTok. I have to use social media to push the agenda,”

Anita talks about the dangers women face during demonstrations.

 “Being robbed, men being men. I personally have chest problems, but my chest problems will not stand in the way of my future. The problems that we were going to face on the ground weren’t as bad as what we were going to face in future,” she says

Adele Onyango, former radio presenter and activist believes Kenyan Women face risks every day.

 “Where we go, what we wear, who we go with, you will always ask yourself will I be safe, and protests are no different because there’s an added risk of what could happen to you,” she says

Adele adds Kenyan women deserve more recognition for fighting for human rights.

 “I think Kenyan women don’t get their flowers for being at the front of all revolutions. Not just June 2024, Women show up in different capacities, there are strong ones who are on the frontline they are running, throwing back teargas. We have mothers camping at police stations trying to demand for justice when it comes to how their sons were treated,” she adds

History of Women Protests

Since time immemorial women have been on the frontline of pushing for democratic space. In 1999, Wangari Mathai, later Nobel Laurette was brutally beaten by armed guards for protesting plans to build a golf course on public land within Karura Forest. The attack sparked international outrage and led to a government ban on further public land allocation.

During the fight for independence,  women were in the forest with men braving the cold nights, and attacks from colonialists battalions and their sympathizers, one of those women was Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima.

Women would tend to their daily chores but would strategically place food, weapons, medicine and clothes in places where the Mau Mau would pick.

One of the women was Anna Wamuyu Kabubi, alias Cinda Reri. Her role was to work in the settler’s home and would smuggle guns for the Mau Mau, she perfected that art to an extent they ended up needing a railway wagon to transport the guns, hence the moniker “Cinda Reri.”

In 2014, women led a protest with the hashtag my dress my choice which was supported by men. The protest began after a woman was undressed at a bus stage by a group of men who claimed she was not dressed decently.

In 2018, Kenyan women protested after a woman who was breastfeeding at a restaurant was asked to cover up or breastfeed in the bathroom.

During the protest women came out breastfeeding their children. The incident sparked a conversation around the right to breastfeed in public and the need for facilities to accommodate mothers.

The anti-finance bill protests were covered by all media in the country. Journalists were on the frontline giving the audience a front row seat of what was happening on the streets.

However, part of this work came with its fair share of trauma.

Maryann Muganda, a reporter at The Standard had a rare moment during her work covering the protests. As a health reporter she was sent where first Aid was administered.

 “When I left the office I was more than psyched, because I am a GenZ. At first it was just okay. People were matching, chanting, and singing. I was at Jamia Mosque where we checked the injured, is there anyone who has passed away, how fatal are the injuries. We were recording bullet fatalities,”

Maryann says the area became chaotic.

 “I got home, I showered, I tried sleeping but I was angry. Sleeping wasn’t part of it, you just have to stay awake. But for the rest of the days to come I did not want to cover protests. On 27th when I was assigned to go I was still not okay. When I closed my eyes I was still seeing the violence,” she says

Chebet Birir, also a reporter at Standard Media Group, did not cover the protests but the burial of the first victim, Rex Masai.

 “I remember when I was assigned that story I felt some sort of pain. You can imagine the amount of pain the parents went through. There was a lot of chaos because people were demanding for justice" She says and adds 

 “As a journalist you say you separate yourself from the story, but it was not easy. I am also Kenyan, I felt bad covering the story seeing the parents sad, seeing the siblings crying,”

The story took a toll on Chebet, prior to the burial she had covered two somber stories. 

Apart from psychological trauma, there are some who went through physical trauma, a reporter from Mediamax Catherine Kariuki  was shot with rubber bullets across her left thigh as she covered the anti finance bill protests in Nakuru County, 

​"It was such a traumatic incident, it was at around 3pm. Fortunately I was surrounded by my colleagues who rushed me to a a nearby facility within Nakuru CBD or first Aid and later I was taken to Nakuru PGH Annex, where I was operated on and the 3 bullets were removed,"

"My physical mobility is not as it used to be, my walking style has changed, but that has not hindered me from doing my day-to day work. When it comes to my mental health, it's a challenge one year down the line, it's a process and the fact that I am still in the surrounding that incident happened, it takes longer to accept the reality and when you have to met the people who put you in that situation it makes it hard to accept the reality and live with the scars, I am still going through my sessions with my psychologist and I believe it is one step at  a time.

“I have not gotten my justice yet but as per now we have started  ajourney we are doing it behind the curtains with my lawyer and I believe it will get me justice .”

Counselling psychologist Jacqueline Gathu urges people to allow themselves to feel all the emotions.

“Seek therapy services. This will help you process the emotions because you'll be dealing with a licensed therapist who will be able to look at the events as they happen...avoid telling people that it gets easier with time because it doesn't. We just learn how to cope with the reality as it is,” she says

Evans Omollo, Provost of the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, together with his fellow clergy walked out during the protests and dissuaded the officers from throwing teargas into the church compound.

Provost believes women did a commendable job during the protests.

 “Women played a critical role. For the very first time in my life I saw younger women 23-24 under 30 in the frontline of protests pushing for what is right. But I think women can do more if they get more support. In terms of agitation,”