Her Voice by Jasmine Mbugua

It’s my turn, 

Turn to speak, 

Turn to educate, 

Turn to share, 

I hope they listen. 

It’s my time, 

Time to engage, 

Time to communicate, 

Time to inspire, 

I think they’ll listen. 

It's their turn, 

Turn to laugh, 

Turn to whisper, 

Turn to judge, 

Am I not good enough? 

It's their time, 

Time to leave, 

Time to sleep, 

Time to look away, 

Don’t they want to stay? 

I skipped my turn, 

Turn to speak, 

Turn to educate, 

Turn to share, 

They won’t listen anyway. 

I miss my turn, 

I wish I spoke, 

I wish I shared, 

I wish I educated, 

It wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. 

I’m scared. They will laugh at me. They won’t take me seriously. They will talk about my clothes. They will judge me. They will disregard what I have to say. They won’t listen to me. They will point out my flaws.They will shout slurs at me. These, among many others, are excuses that women and girls give to avoid getting in front of a crowd and presenting their ideas to others. For instance, during the 2013 elections in Kenya when a woman, Martha Karua, ran for president, many people laughed at her and disregarded her only because she is a woman. Many said that they couldn’t elect a woman as their leader. This discouraged women and girls from running for positions in the government.During an interview she had,

the interviewer told her that women were taught to stay at home and do house chores or take care of younger siblings. She replied by saying that she was not taught. She used her voice to inspire women and girls in Kenya to fight for what they believe in and speak their truth. No woman was taught that she belonged to the house but almost every woman and girl in Kenya has been made to feel that way. Wangari Maathai also used her voice to fight for the environment, to share her passion with the world and did everything in her power to create the world she envisioned. These women have inspired girls to speak. 

I hid my voice too. I was silent for a long time and I always opted to not say anything when I should have said something. Realising that this not only affects me but millions of women in Kenya and in the World has motivated me to use my voice. To use the only readily available 

tool to express my thoughts, opinions and emotions and I have been able to make a difference. The biggest problem facing women in Kenya is the fact that our voices are suppressed, disregarded and shunned. This has not only made us insecure, but also vulnerable. This has made us hide our opinions and listen to others more than we listen to ourselves. Decide not to speak each time an opportunity arises. This has grown due to the fact that we do not realise the great power we hold in our voices and that’s a big problem. It is not because women are not capable of being leaders, it is not because women are not educated and it is not because women belong at home. It is because we hide our voices or rather hide behind our voices. 

Voices that can make great changes, voices that can educate and voices that can encourage, motivate and inspire. The voices of the youth play a critical role in shaping the society. All we need is to stand up and speak out. Let’s talk about politics. Let’s talk about social injustices. Let’s talk about the upcoming elections. Let us talk about the police brutality in Nigeria. Let us talk about the stigmatization that refugees from the LGBTQ+ Community in Kenya face. Let us talk about the femicide in South Africa. Let us talk about how various women have used their voice to change the world. Let’s talk about equality. Let’s talk about confidence. Let us channel our voices into words and writings and use them to empower. Let us speak. This is the only way that women and girls in Kenya will be able to own their voices, truths and opinions. Speak on what affects them, what inspires them, what motivates them, what guides them, what drives them and what builds them. Through speaking, Kenyan women and girls will be able to overcome this problem. Change the narrative by speaking it.