Global Roundup: Kenyan Women Protest Femicide, Iran Morality Law Threatens Death Penalty, Indigenous Women's Healing Arts in Peru, All Women's Sports Network, Trans Protest in D.C.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday to demand that the government take action to stop the killings of women and girls.Credit...Simon Maina/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday, where they blew whistles and chanted, "Stop killing women!" and “Women have rights too” to protest gender-based violence and femicide and demand that the government take action to stop the killings of women.

Kenyan police fired teargas and arrested at least three people, including Irungu Houghton, executive director of Amnesty International Kenya. Protesters were repeatedly dispersed by police officers firing teargas from moving vehicles before regrouping anew.

Protests also took place in the cities of Mombasa and Lodwar, according to videos posted on social media.

The protesters in Nairobi were peaceful and it was not clear why the police intervened.

This protest was a courageous stand against the killing of women, a demand for urgency in investigating these murders and a call for perpetrators to be held accountable…The violent response by police ... is a direct attack on Kenya's democratic principles and the human rights of its citizens. =Joint statement by Amnesty International Kenya with three other organisations

One activist, Mwikali Mueni, told The Associated Press that she suffered a neck injury from uniformed police officers and was heading to the hospital.

It is very sad that I was injured while championing for women not to be injured or killed. If the president is serious about ending femicide, let him start by taking action on the officers who have brutalized us today. -Mwikali Mueni

Kenya has a silent epidemic of gender-based violence. Police said in October that 97 women had been killed since August, most of them by their male partners.

The police did not provide statistics for earlier periods, but according to figures compiled by the Africa Data Hub collective based on media reports, there were at least 75 femicides in 2022 and 46 the year before.

Patriarchal views and insufficient legal protections are major factors behind Kenya's high levels of gender-based violence, researchers say.

The police crackdown on protesters on Tuesday during Human Rights Day has been criticized by activists.

Why are we being beaten and tear-gassed, yet we are peaceful? We will keep coming to the streets till the day women will stop being slaughtered like animals. -activist Mariam Chande