கென்யாவுக்கு சென்ற இந்திய உழைப்பாளிகள் ஹரி அம்பே என்று கூவி கூவி உழைத்தார்கள். அதனால், கென்யாவில் ஹரம்பே என்பது பங்கிட்டு உண்பது, பகிர்ந்து வாழ்தல் ஆகியவற்றுக்கு ஆகுபெயராக ஆனது.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee
ஆனால் கிறிஸ்துவ மிஷனரிகள் ஹரி அம்பே என்று இந்து அம்பிகையை கென்யா மக்கள் வணங்குவதால்தான் ஏழைகளாக இருக்கிறார்கள் என்று பிரச்சாரம் செய்துவருகின்றனர்
கிறிஸ்துவ மிஷனரிகளை கண்டித்து கென்யர் ஒருவர் எழுதிய கட்டுரை இது.
Kenya: What's in a Name? Goddesses Have Always Been Worshipped
The Nation (Nairobi)
COLUMN
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Rasna Warah
Nairobi
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp
Last weeek, PCEA moderator David Githii banned the use of the word "harambee" - the national rallying cry popularised by Mzee Jomo Kenyatta - from his congregation's vocabulary and urged the rest of Kenyans to do the same.
Apparently, the pastor believes that because the word originated from an invocation to the Hindu goddess "Ambee", it is having a negative spiritual effect on the country's mostly Christian population.
According to folklore, in the days when the Uganda Railway was being built between 1896 and 1902, Hindu labourers would shout the words "Har Ambee" (much like the Catholic invocation Hail Mary) when pulling heavy loads together.
This act of "pulling together" is what gave the words new meaning in post-independence Kenya when Kenyatta would urge Kenyans to unite for the development of the country.
During this time, the word harambee was also used to fund-raise for several community-based projects around the country.
If the pastor had objected to the very concept of harambee, which got horribly twisted in the Moi era when it was used to extort money from people and was the vehicle through which many corrupt deeds were committed, I might have understood, but to say that the word itself carries negative connotations, is, to say the least, far-fetched.
Until I heard it from the Rev Githii, I had no idea that Ambee was a Hindu goddess. My main source of information on this Hindu deity was, ironically, a Christian online magazine that suggested that Kenya was disaster-prone because it worshipped a Hindu goddess, and that the USA was a superpower because the words "In God We Trust" appear on the US dollar!
The pastor has thus inadvertently revived a goddess that has mostly been forgotten by the people who once worshipped her.
While it is true that Ambee is a Hindu goddess, the word harambee (as pronounced, spelt and understood in Kenya) does not exist in the Hindu vocabulary.
Harambee may be rooted in Hindu mythology, but it is a word that has been adapted and adopted as a uniquely Kenyan slogan. It is as African as the Kiswahili word binadamu (which means "human being"), which originated from the biblical Adam.
Besides, history shows that goddess worship has been prevalent in most societies around the world, including Africa, since pre-history.
In most cultures that worshipped a female deity, goddesses were not only emblems of fertility and motherhood, but also symbols of the inter-connectedness of life and death.
IN THE HELLENISTIC WORLD, THE goddess Isis was described as "the mother of the universe". The Ibo in Nigeria believed that the cotton tree contained the earth goddess. In Cuba, Catholic female deities (such as the Virgin Mary) are worshipped alongside Yoruba goddesses, among them Ochun, the goddess of love.
Goddesses were invoked to nurture communities and protect them from evil or disaster. The Hindu goddess, Durga, for instance, is seen as the vanquisher of evil. The female warrior goddess was revered in societies undergoing calamity. But men have always sought to diminish the power of goddesses so that they could assert patriarchal monotheism on people.
It has been claimed, for instance, that the Roman Empire was on the verge of evolving into a goddess-focused society until the advent of male-centred religions such as Mithraism and Christianity.
When the Hebrews invaded the promised land of Canaan some time before 1200 BC, they found a thriving, fertile region occupied by Semitic people whose myths and religious practices were similar to those of Sumeria and Babylon. In the biblical book of Joshua, the invasion is described as a holy war against the false gods (and goddesses) of the Canaanites.
Chief among these were the "Mother of the Gods" Asherah, her daughter Astarte, and her son Baal. The father god, El, escaped the persecution of the Israelites largely because he was assimilated to their own god, Yahweh-Elohim
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The Hebrew prophets waged a bitter battle against the Canaanite goddesses by blaming them for every disaster that befell them. Astarte, for instance, came to be referred to as Ashtoreth - a combination of her name and the Hebrew word for "shame". Later, Christian theologians resumed their attack on Astarte by demonising her and by defining the practice of offering her food or drink as an act of "devil worship".
The idea that females have divine power is apparently so threatening to most religions that they have sought to vilify female deities. I am inclined to believe that organised monotheistic religions have a deep fear of the power of women - and it is this fear that has driven male-centred interpretations of religious teachings.
This could explain why many women healers in Europe and the United States were labelled "witches" and burnt alive in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Showing posts with label கென்யா. Show all posts
Showing posts with label கென்யா. Show all posts
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
கென்யாவில் 800க்கும் மேற்பட்டவர்கள் இஸ்லாமிய ஷாரியா சண்டையில் பலி
எதிர்கட்சி தலைவராக இருக்கும் ஒடிங்கா கென்யாவில் இஸ்லாமிய ஷாரியாவை அறிமுகப்படுத்துவேன் என்று சொல்லி ஓட்டு சேகரித்தார். ஆனால், ஆளும் கட்சியை சேர்ந்தவரே வெற்றி பெற்றார். தோல்வியை ஒப்புக்கொள்ளமுடியாத எதிர்கட்சி ஆட்களும், விட்டுக்கொடுக்க விரும்பாத ஆளும்கட்சி ஆட்களும் கொலைவெறி கொண்டு ஒருவரை ஒருவர் அடித்துக்கொள்வதில் இதுவரை 800 பேர்கள் பலியாகி உள்ளனர்.
இது போன்றதொரு நிலை இந்தியாவுக்கும் தமிழகத்துக்கும் நடக்காமல் இருக்க இறையை இறைஞ்சுவோம்
KENYA: A Wrong Display of Anger, But Who is to Blame?
Saturday 12 January 2008 04:30. Printer-Friendly version Comments...
By Panther Alier
January 11, 2008 — On December 27th—I was waiting with great anxiety; the kind of feeling one has when waiting for a clean bill of health from a doctor, to see who won the Kenya’s presidential election. I had heard that the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, had promised Muslims in North Eastern Kenya a rule of their own belief: the Sharia law (religious law) in the region once elected president of Kenya. That just turned me right off. He was already bringing trouble to Kenya, since this meant a two competing laws in a country much smaller than its northern-bordering country: Sudan. Sudan has been a victim of this evil law for decades and I would hate to see the country I love, second to my country of birth, go down the same pass.
By now, you should know who I am on their side. So the tallying began and the results were disappointing; the then incumbent president Mwai Kibaki was trailing by about 400,000 votes and it was 75% reporting. At this stage I got naïve and thought no magic would do president Kibaki any good any more. I would like to give you some references, but the sensitivity of the issue has made it even harder to obtain hand-on staff so I hope you can just bear with me. Besides, I am sure many of you were all also watching and following the Kenya’s election so carefully.
But, the next thing you know was president Mwai Kibaki closing the gap and declared the winner and, in no time, was sworn in as the next president of Kenya. In fact, before these sequences of events, the presidents’ constituency was held back to save him from the grave he was about to enter in. At this point if you were “a political detective” you would have a genuine reason to file a report!
Few hours later, there were claims of votes rigging; followed by violence Kenya has never seen. No one anticipated the scale of this violence, not even the president himself. The guilt of having destroyed their beloved country can be inferred from the chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Mr. Samuel Kivuitu, when he said "‘I wish to say I did not submit this report or authorise my name to be used for its publication. The use of my name is a falsification,’" http://allafrica.com/stories/200801101134.html
Nevertheless, things got to a point of no return. There were calls of ethnic cleansing by the media and the opposing parties were calling it genocide. The churchgoers where hellgoers at this point: always a good reason to keep God away from politics. The spirit of African communality was broken, not once, but many times. Kikuyus became Kikuyus and Luos became Luos and so many other uncounted tribes became them. But, my own analysis to the dead in Kenya does not spare Kenya’s police and the army. On what side were they? This is a question that only the Kenyans can answer. And this is a reason why I do not believe entirely on politics of tribalism being portrayed. I wish I have a courage to say what happened in Kenya was a right anger displayed wrongly and fell on wrong individuals victims, being Kikuyu or Luo or any other different ethnics people that go hurt by the aftermath of the Kenya’s election.
The author is a graduate student studying Masters’ degree in Sustainable International Development at Brandeis University. He can be reached at pantheralier@gmail.com
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இது போன்றதொரு நிலை இந்தியாவுக்கும் தமிழகத்துக்கும் நடக்காமல் இருக்க இறையை இறைஞ்சுவோம்
KENYA: A Wrong Display of Anger, But Who is to Blame?
Saturday 12 January 2008 04:30. Printer-Friendly version Comments...
By Panther Alier
January 11, 2008 — On December 27th—I was waiting with great anxiety; the kind of feeling one has when waiting for a clean bill of health from a doctor, to see who won the Kenya’s presidential election. I had heard that the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, had promised Muslims in North Eastern Kenya a rule of their own belief: the Sharia law (religious law) in the region once elected president of Kenya. That just turned me right off. He was already bringing trouble to Kenya, since this meant a two competing laws in a country much smaller than its northern-bordering country: Sudan. Sudan has been a victim of this evil law for decades and I would hate to see the country I love, second to my country of birth, go down the same pass.
By now, you should know who I am on their side. So the tallying began and the results were disappointing; the then incumbent president Mwai Kibaki was trailing by about 400,000 votes and it was 75% reporting. At this stage I got naïve and thought no magic would do president Kibaki any good any more. I would like to give you some references, but the sensitivity of the issue has made it even harder to obtain hand-on staff so I hope you can just bear with me. Besides, I am sure many of you were all also watching and following the Kenya’s election so carefully.
But, the next thing you know was president Mwai Kibaki closing the gap and declared the winner and, in no time, was sworn in as the next president of Kenya. In fact, before these sequences of events, the presidents’ constituency was held back to save him from the grave he was about to enter in. At this point if you were “a political detective” you would have a genuine reason to file a report!
Few hours later, there were claims of votes rigging; followed by violence Kenya has never seen. No one anticipated the scale of this violence, not even the president himself. The guilt of having destroyed their beloved country can be inferred from the chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Mr. Samuel Kivuitu, when he said "‘I wish to say I did not submit this report or authorise my name to be used for its publication. The use of my name is a falsification,’" http://allafrica.com/stories/200801101134.html
Nevertheless, things got to a point of no return. There were calls of ethnic cleansing by the media and the opposing parties were calling it genocide. The churchgoers where hellgoers at this point: always a good reason to keep God away from politics. The spirit of African communality was broken, not once, but many times. Kikuyus became Kikuyus and Luos became Luos and so many other uncounted tribes became them. But, my own analysis to the dead in Kenya does not spare Kenya’s police and the army. On what side were they? This is a question that only the Kenyans can answer. And this is a reason why I do not believe entirely on politics of tribalism being portrayed. I wish I have a courage to say what happened in Kenya was a right anger displayed wrongly and fell on wrong individuals victims, being Kikuyu or Luo or any other different ethnics people that go hurt by the aftermath of the Kenya’s election.
The author is a graduate student studying Masters’ degree in Sustainable International Development at Brandeis University. He can be reached at pantheralier@gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
கென்யா: சர்ச்சுக்குள் புகுந்த கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் கூண்டோடு எரிப்பு: இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதிகள் குரூரம்
சர்ச்சுக்குள் தஞ்சம் புகுந்திருந்த 50க்கும் மேற்பட்ட குழந்தைகள் பெண்கள் ஆண்கள் கொளுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளனர். தேர்தல் முடிவில் 300 பேருக்கும் மேற்பட்டவர்கள் பலியாகியுள்ளனர்
Kenya: Violence Death Toll Hits 300
New Vision (Kampala)
1 January 2008
Posted to the web 2 January 2008
Kampala
ABOUT 30 people, many of them children, were burned to death yesterday in a church in Eldoret, in western Kenya, where they had taken shelter from tribal clashes as post-election violence continued to sweep the country.
"I saw about 10 to 15 bodies crammed in a corner. They were charred, I could not look at the scene twice," a local reporter told Reuters from Eldoret town.
The incident raises concerns that the violence, which has now claimed nearly 300 lives, could develop into a full-blown ethnic conflict.
The reporter said about 200 people, mostly Kikuyus, had sought refuge at the church, about 8km from Eldoret, fleeing tribal clashes after President Mwai's re-election.
"Some youths came to the church. They fought with the boys who were guarding it, but they were overpowered and the youths set fire to the church," he said. Another local journalist in Eldoret said about 30 bodies lay in the church, while four more lay outside.
"This is the first time in history that any group has attacked a church. We never expected the savagery to go so far," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told a news conference in Nairobi last night.
Reinforcements were being rushed to the area to arrest all troublemakers, he said. "Our officers are exercising a lot of restraint in maintaining the law. This restraint will not last forever," he warned.
By press time, thousands of terrified Kikuyus had taken shelter in churches in Eldoret as vigilante gangs roamed outside.
"There are four to five thousand in the main cathedral, and thousands in other churches," Father Paul Brennan, an Irish Catholic priest told Reuters from the town.
"Houses are being burned. It is too dangerous to go outside and count the dead." Eldoret, located in the Rift Valley, a stronghold of opposition candidate Raila Odinga, has witnessed some of the worst violence.
Earlier in the day, a top police commander told AFP the nature of attacks in the Rift Valley were ethnic cleansing.
"One tribe is targeting another one in a fashion that can rightly be described as ethnic cleansing," said the commander on anonymity.
In Garissa, a town in northeastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, six Kikuyu families cowered at a mosque.
"These are your neighbours, you've lived with them for long," said the mosque's leader, Sheikh Ali, in a New Year sermon, calling for peace and tolerance between tribes. World leaders called on the rival leaders to stem the violence and open dialogue.
"What I want to see is them coming together, I want to see talks and I want to see reconciliation and unity" said British Premier Gordon Brown.
"But the first priority is that the violence is brought to an end. It is unacceptable that lives are being lost."
The British premier called on the African Union and the Commonwealth to help reconcile the parties.
But Odinga refused to negotiate until Kibaki owned up to vote-rigging allegations and stepped down.
"I have asked my people to be peaceful, to desist from acts of hooliganism or thuggery, but to continue to protest peacefully until Kibaki agrees to hand over power," he said in an interview with BBC.
He had called for a one-million people mass rally tomorrow at Nairobi's Uhuru Park but the Police have banned the event.
Meanwhile, the EU election monitors released an interim report, confirming opposition claims of irregularities in the vote counting and tallying.
"The 2007 general elections have fallen short of key international and regional standards for democratic elections," chief EU monitor Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told reporters yesterday.
Relevant Links
East Africa
Conflict, Peace and Security
Kenya
"Most significantly, they were marred by a lack of transparency in the processing and tallying of presidential results, which raises concerns about the accuracy of the final result of this election."
He noted "serious inconsistencies and anomalies" in the results announced by the Kenyan Electoral Commission.
"For example, in Molo and Kieni, there were significant differences between presidential election results reported by EU observers at the constituency level and results announced by the Electoral Commission at national level," his 15-page report read.
Kenya: Violence Death Toll Hits 300
New Vision (Kampala)
1 January 2008
Posted to the web 2 January 2008
Kampala
ABOUT 30 people, many of them children, were burned to death yesterday in a church in Eldoret, in western Kenya, where they had taken shelter from tribal clashes as post-election violence continued to sweep the country.
"I saw about 10 to 15 bodies crammed in a corner. They were charred, I could not look at the scene twice," a local reporter told Reuters from Eldoret town.
The incident raises concerns that the violence, which has now claimed nearly 300 lives, could develop into a full-blown ethnic conflict.
The reporter said about 200 people, mostly Kikuyus, had sought refuge at the church, about 8km from Eldoret, fleeing tribal clashes after President Mwai's re-election.
"Some youths came to the church. They fought with the boys who were guarding it, but they were overpowered and the youths set fire to the church," he said. Another local journalist in Eldoret said about 30 bodies lay in the church, while four more lay outside.
"This is the first time in history that any group has attacked a church. We never expected the savagery to go so far," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told a news conference in Nairobi last night.
Reinforcements were being rushed to the area to arrest all troublemakers, he said. "Our officers are exercising a lot of restraint in maintaining the law. This restraint will not last forever," he warned.
By press time, thousands of terrified Kikuyus had taken shelter in churches in Eldoret as vigilante gangs roamed outside.
"There are four to five thousand in the main cathedral, and thousands in other churches," Father Paul Brennan, an Irish Catholic priest told Reuters from the town.
"Houses are being burned. It is too dangerous to go outside and count the dead." Eldoret, located in the Rift Valley, a stronghold of opposition candidate Raila Odinga, has witnessed some of the worst violence.
Earlier in the day, a top police commander told AFP the nature of attacks in the Rift Valley were ethnic cleansing.
"One tribe is targeting another one in a fashion that can rightly be described as ethnic cleansing," said the commander on anonymity.
In Garissa, a town in northeastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, six Kikuyu families cowered at a mosque.
"These are your neighbours, you've lived with them for long," said the mosque's leader, Sheikh Ali, in a New Year sermon, calling for peace and tolerance between tribes. World leaders called on the rival leaders to stem the violence and open dialogue.
"What I want to see is them coming together, I want to see talks and I want to see reconciliation and unity" said British Premier Gordon Brown.
"But the first priority is that the violence is brought to an end. It is unacceptable that lives are being lost."
The British premier called on the African Union and the Commonwealth to help reconcile the parties.
But Odinga refused to negotiate until Kibaki owned up to vote-rigging allegations and stepped down.
"I have asked my people to be peaceful, to desist from acts of hooliganism or thuggery, but to continue to protest peacefully until Kibaki agrees to hand over power," he said in an interview with BBC.
He had called for a one-million people mass rally tomorrow at Nairobi's Uhuru Park but the Police have banned the event.
Meanwhile, the EU election monitors released an interim report, confirming opposition claims of irregularities in the vote counting and tallying.
"The 2007 general elections have fallen short of key international and regional standards for democratic elections," chief EU monitor Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told reporters yesterday.
Relevant Links
East Africa
Conflict, Peace and Security
Kenya
"Most significantly, they were marred by a lack of transparency in the processing and tallying of presidential results, which raises concerns about the accuracy of the final result of this election."
He noted "serious inconsistencies and anomalies" in the results announced by the Kenyan Electoral Commission.
"For example, in Molo and Kieni, there were significant differences between presidential election results reported by EU observers at the constituency level and results announced by the Electoral Commission at national level," his 15-page report read.
Monday, July 16, 2007
பர்தா அணியும் விபச்சாரிகள்
கென்யா மொம்பாசாவில் போலீஸ்காரர்களிடம் மாட்டிக்கொள்ளக்கூடாது என்று விபச்சாரிகள் பர்தா அணிகிறார்கள். இது மொம்பாஸா முஸ்லீம்களிடமிருந்து எதிர்ப்பை தோற்றுவித்திருக்கிறது.
இந்த பாலுறவு தொழிலாளிகள் சோமாலியா மற்றும் எதியோப்பியா போன்ற முஸ்லீம் நாடுகளிலிருந்து அங்கு நடக்கும் உள்நாட்டு போரால் துரத்தப்பட்ட பெண்கள். இவர்கள் கென்யாவில் பாலுறவு தொழில் செய்து பிழைக்கிறார்கள். இவர்கள் முழுக்க மூடும் பர்தா அணிந்து வாடிக்கையாளர்களை பிடிப்பதால், வாடிக்கையாளர்கள் பர்தா அணியும் சாதாரண பெண்டிரையும் இழுக்க வாய்ப்பு அமைந்துவிடுகிறது.
இதனால், பாலுறவு தொழிலாளர்கள் பர்தா அணியாமல், பழையபடி கேவலமான உடையையே அணியவேண்டும் என்று மொம்பாசா முஸ்லீம்கள் சொல்கிறார்கள்.
நல்ல பெண்டிரை கேவலப்படுத்துவது போல பாலுறவு தொழிலாளர்கள் உடை அணிவது தவறு.
Sex clothes anger Kenyan Muslims
By John Nene
BBC News, Mombasa
Prostitutes are known for their skimpy attire, but Kenya's coastal port of Mombasa is witnessing a controversial fashion makeover.
The twilight ladies, as the city's residents refer to the sex workers, have traded their revealing outfits for the more austere buibui - a loose, floor-length gown and head covering favoured by Muslim women.
Walking along the city's main red-light streets at night, one comes across many of the buibui-clad prostitutes.
The buibui has lost its respect. I feel so embarrassed
Mariam Salma
Mombasa resident
Although most shy away from speaking to the press, a few are willing to talk.
"I'm better off wearing the buibui so I look respectable. I can avoid arrest. I am just trying to get some money to live on," one says.
Another claims she wears her buibui to hide her identity.
"I know I am sinning, but I'm forced to because I am looking for my livelihood. So to me, it's acceptable," she says.
Most of her customers are local men, not tourists. She says wearing a buibui helped them to more easily pick out women from the region.
But the phenomenon is causing a stir in the predominantly Muslim city where religious women are required to cover their bodies from head to toe.
Some female residents say it is a big disgrace.
"I feel so embarrassed that sometimes I contemplate removing my buibui and throwing it away. The buibui has lost its respect," Mariam Salma says.
Another resident, Asha Hussein, claims the sex workers are not native to Mombasa.
"They are not Muslims. Most are from Somalia and Ethiopia. They wear it to avoid public humiliation," she says.
Crackdown
Wearing the buibui not only allows prostitutes to mingle freely with other women, black buibuis allow them to hide under the cover of darkness.
When night falls it is even easier for Mombasa's prostitutes to hide
City authorities have mounted numerous operations over the years to get prostitutes off the streets, with limited success.
After the crackdowns, the prostitutes go underground for a while, creating the impression that the operation has succeeded, only to emerge later.
The newly adopted attire has ensured their trade is not disrupted.
However, it is not the first time the prostitutes have used this tactic.
It was popular in the 1990s until a religious vigilante organisation illegally rounded up the prostitutes hiding under buibuis and flogged them publicly.
The uniform of prostitutes is well known. They should stick to their disgraceful attire
Sheikh Muhammad Khalifa
Council of Imams of Kenya
Religious leaders are now urging the government to take action.
"We cannot arrest any of these women; it is the government's responsibility," says the organising secretary of the Council of Imams of Kenya, Sheikh Muhammad Khalifa.
"We are saddened because the government is ignoring the problem."
If the trend continues, police are likely to mistake respectable women for prostitutes, he says.
"For God's sake, if one has decided to join this profession, the uniform of prostitutes is well known.
"They should stick to their disgraceful attire."
இந்த பாலுறவு தொழிலாளிகள் சோமாலியா மற்றும் எதியோப்பியா போன்ற முஸ்லீம் நாடுகளிலிருந்து அங்கு நடக்கும் உள்நாட்டு போரால் துரத்தப்பட்ட பெண்கள். இவர்கள் கென்யாவில் பாலுறவு தொழில் செய்து பிழைக்கிறார்கள். இவர்கள் முழுக்க மூடும் பர்தா அணிந்து வாடிக்கையாளர்களை பிடிப்பதால், வாடிக்கையாளர்கள் பர்தா அணியும் சாதாரண பெண்டிரையும் இழுக்க வாய்ப்பு அமைந்துவிடுகிறது.
இதனால், பாலுறவு தொழிலாளர்கள் பர்தா அணியாமல், பழையபடி கேவலமான உடையையே அணியவேண்டும் என்று மொம்பாசா முஸ்லீம்கள் சொல்கிறார்கள்.
நல்ல பெண்டிரை கேவலப்படுத்துவது போல பாலுறவு தொழிலாளர்கள் உடை அணிவது தவறு.
Sex clothes anger Kenyan Muslims
By John Nene
BBC News, Mombasa
Prostitutes are known for their skimpy attire, but Kenya's coastal port of Mombasa is witnessing a controversial fashion makeover.
The twilight ladies, as the city's residents refer to the sex workers, have traded their revealing outfits for the more austere buibui - a loose, floor-length gown and head covering favoured by Muslim women.
Walking along the city's main red-light streets at night, one comes across many of the buibui-clad prostitutes.
The buibui has lost its respect. I feel so embarrassed
Mariam Salma
Mombasa resident
Although most shy away from speaking to the press, a few are willing to talk.
"I'm better off wearing the buibui so I look respectable. I can avoid arrest. I am just trying to get some money to live on," one says.
Another claims she wears her buibui to hide her identity.
"I know I am sinning, but I'm forced to because I am looking for my livelihood. So to me, it's acceptable," she says.
Most of her customers are local men, not tourists. She says wearing a buibui helped them to more easily pick out women from the region.
But the phenomenon is causing a stir in the predominantly Muslim city where religious women are required to cover their bodies from head to toe.
Some female residents say it is a big disgrace.
"I feel so embarrassed that sometimes I contemplate removing my buibui and throwing it away. The buibui has lost its respect," Mariam Salma says.
Another resident, Asha Hussein, claims the sex workers are not native to Mombasa.
"They are not Muslims. Most are from Somalia and Ethiopia. They wear it to avoid public humiliation," she says.
Crackdown
Wearing the buibui not only allows prostitutes to mingle freely with other women, black buibuis allow them to hide under the cover of darkness.
When night falls it is even easier for Mombasa's prostitutes to hide
City authorities have mounted numerous operations over the years to get prostitutes off the streets, with limited success.
After the crackdowns, the prostitutes go underground for a while, creating the impression that the operation has succeeded, only to emerge later.
The newly adopted attire has ensured their trade is not disrupted.
However, it is not the first time the prostitutes have used this tactic.
It was popular in the 1990s until a religious vigilante organisation illegally rounded up the prostitutes hiding under buibuis and flogged them publicly.
The uniform of prostitutes is well known. They should stick to their disgraceful attire
Sheikh Muhammad Khalifa
Council of Imams of Kenya
Religious leaders are now urging the government to take action.
"We cannot arrest any of these women; it is the government's responsibility," says the organising secretary of the Council of Imams of Kenya, Sheikh Muhammad Khalifa.
"We are saddened because the government is ignoring the problem."
If the trend continues, police are likely to mistake respectable women for prostitutes, he says.
"For God's sake, if one has decided to join this profession, the uniform of prostitutes is well known.
"They should stick to their disgraceful attire."
Friday, July 13, 2007
மற்றுமொரு தலை துண்டிக்கும் மதம் கென்யாவில் தோற்றம்
கென்யாவில் இரண்டு வயது குழந்தையின் தலை துண்டிக்கப்பட்டு துண்டுதுண்டாக வெட்டப்பட்டது.
இதனையும் புதியதாக தோன்றியிருக்கும் முங்கியிகி மதத்தினரே செய்திருப்பார்கள் என்று போலீஸார் அஞ்சுகிறார்கள்.
இந்த மதத்தில் இணையும் இளைஞர்களை மூளைச் சலவை செய்து, இவ்வாறு கழுத்தை வெட்டி துண்டிப்பது தெய்வத்துக்கு உகந்தது என்று போதனை செய்துவருகிறார்கள் இந்த முங்கியிகி மதத்தினர்.
இவர்கள் தங்கள் வன்முறை மார்க்கத்தை விட்டு அன்புவழி வர இறையை இறைஞ்சுவோம்.
Two-year-old boy beheadedFrom correspondents in Nairobi, Kenya
July 12, 2007 03:42am
A TWO-year-old boy was beheaded and chopped up in a Kenyan capital slum today, police said, amid a fierce crackdown on an illegal sect blamed for a string of murders and decapitations.
The boy's mutilated torso was discovered in a maize farm and his head 500m away at a river bank in capital's Nairobi's crime-prone Korogocho slums, police commander Paul Ruto said.
The remains had no limbs, the chest was lacerated and the genitals chopped off, raising speculation that the body parts might be used in rites by the politically-linked Mungiki sect.
“The boy has been identified positively by his father who says he went missing two days ago,” Mr Ruto said.
"We have recorded statements from several people and are now searching for the killers."
The remains were discovered hours after police said they had killed 12 people in a crackdown on organised crime gangs in Nairobi, including members of Mungiki.
Once a religious group of dreadlocked youths who embraced traditional rituals, Mungiki has morphed into a ruthless gang blamed for criminal activities including extortion and murder.
Since March, the sect - which was banned in 2002 - has been blamed for the murders of at least 43 people, 13 of whom were beheaded, mostly in Nairobi slums and central Kenya.
The group also has alleged historic ties to the Mau Mau independence uprising, and is said to perpetuate customs such as female excision.
The police crackdown against it comes ahead of December general elections.
So far, it has resulted in the deaths of at least 79 Mungiki members and more than 3000 arrests nationwide.
Police said 11 of the 12 suspects killed were linked to a foiled carjacking and robberies in three Nairobi suburbs.
At least three of them were members of the Mungiki sect, they added.
“We have intensified the crackdown on all organised gangs, including Mungiki,” said another police commander, Julius Ndegwa.
இதனையும் புதியதாக தோன்றியிருக்கும் முங்கியிகி மதத்தினரே செய்திருப்பார்கள் என்று போலீஸார் அஞ்சுகிறார்கள்.
இந்த மதத்தில் இணையும் இளைஞர்களை மூளைச் சலவை செய்து, இவ்வாறு கழுத்தை வெட்டி துண்டிப்பது தெய்வத்துக்கு உகந்தது என்று போதனை செய்துவருகிறார்கள் இந்த முங்கியிகி மதத்தினர்.
இவர்கள் தங்கள் வன்முறை மார்க்கத்தை விட்டு அன்புவழி வர இறையை இறைஞ்சுவோம்.
Two-year-old boy beheadedFrom correspondents in Nairobi, Kenya
July 12, 2007 03:42am
A TWO-year-old boy was beheaded and chopped up in a Kenyan capital slum today, police said, amid a fierce crackdown on an illegal sect blamed for a string of murders and decapitations.
The boy's mutilated torso was discovered in a maize farm and his head 500m away at a river bank in capital's Nairobi's crime-prone Korogocho slums, police commander Paul Ruto said.
The remains had no limbs, the chest was lacerated and the genitals chopped off, raising speculation that the body parts might be used in rites by the politically-linked Mungiki sect.
“The boy has been identified positively by his father who says he went missing two days ago,” Mr Ruto said.
"We have recorded statements from several people and are now searching for the killers."
The remains were discovered hours after police said they had killed 12 people in a crackdown on organised crime gangs in Nairobi, including members of Mungiki.
Once a religious group of dreadlocked youths who embraced traditional rituals, Mungiki has morphed into a ruthless gang blamed for criminal activities including extortion and murder.
Since March, the sect - which was banned in 2002 - has been blamed for the murders of at least 43 people, 13 of whom were beheaded, mostly in Nairobi slums and central Kenya.
The group also has alleged historic ties to the Mau Mau independence uprising, and is said to perpetuate customs such as female excision.
The police crackdown against it comes ahead of December general elections.
So far, it has resulted in the deaths of at least 79 Mungiki members and more than 3000 arrests nationwide.
Police said 11 of the 12 suspects killed were linked to a foiled carjacking and robberies in three Nairobi suburbs.
At least three of them were members of the Mungiki sect, they added.
“We have intensified the crackdown on all organised gangs, including Mungiki,” said another police commander, Julius Ndegwa.
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