Women Rights organisations in Lamu have decried increasing gender-based violence in the region following massive job losses occasioned by the new Lamu port. Speaking in Lamu town on Monday, Lamu Women Alliance chairperson Raya Famau said many of the fishermen have turned their frustrations on their wives, beating them at the slightest provocation. She said she would receive less than three cases a week before the port project but now handles between 10 and 15 cases weekly. Khadija Shebwana of the Voice of Lamu Women said men have become temperamental and unapproachable. As such, the court awarded the fisher folk a compensation of Sh1.76 billion to 4,734 fishermen as the port project violated the local community’s cultural rights.

Source: The Star June 07, 2021 18:56 UTC