Author: By Kavutha Mutua

Activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire while narrating their harrowing experiences at the hands of Tanzanian Authorities last Month. [Bernard Orwongo, Standard] I watched in tears as human rights defenders Agatha Atuhaire and Boniface Mwangi narrated their traumatic experiences of torture and ill-treatment in Tanzania. The two had traveled to attend the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, a trial already raising alarms about political repression. What they endured was nothing short of state-sanctioned brutality: physical assault, verbal abuse, and sexual harassment while in custody. These are not isolated incidents. They meet the internationally accepted definition of torture. According…

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Abortion laws and legislation on unborn baby as a fetus with a justice judge gavel representing the social issue and concept of rights with 3D illustration elements. [Courtesy/iStockphoto] Recently, I attended the launch of the National Study on the Incidence of Induced Abortions and the Severity of Abortion-Related Complications in Kenya. The findings? Eye-opening. But the online reaction? Even more telling. It turns out that 79 per cent of post-abortion care patients are married women, and 90 per cent identify as Christians. Yes, you read that right, Christian, married women. So much for the age-old myth that abortion is a…

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