Online abuse is silencing women on a staggering scale – it’s a democratic crisis | Sharon Kechula

The experience of a Kenyan politician who dared to have her babies abroad is far from unique, and laws are not enough to make digital spaces safe for women In March last year, soon after giving birth to her twins, Susan Kihika was subjected to a campaign of online abuse. Kihika, who is governor of Nakuru county in Kenya’s rift valley, was accused of abandoning her country because she took her maternity leave in the US after being treated there for a high-risk pregnancy. The criticism quickly escalatedto attacks and sexist smears. Soon social media commenters were accusing her of sleeping her way into politics. Her location was shared. Kihika’s deputy, David Kones, and the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) defended her but the abuse continued, online and offline, calling for Kihika’s removal from office because she has dual Kenyan-US citizenship. Kewopa argued that the scrutiny Kihika faced reflected a double standard: male leaders are rarely criticised for taking time off for personal reasons. It was not the first time Kihika had been subjected to sexist abuse. In 2018, when she divorced her first husband, she was criticised for choosing politics over monogamy. T