As a protest against factional political conflict, Kenyan women (including wives at the top ranks of politics) are calling for a sex-strike...Here's Lola Adesioye, writing in the Guardian:
With the support of both the prime minister's and president's wives – and to the consternation of many Kenyans – they have called for a week-long sex strike. It would be easy to dismiss the strike – in which sex workers have also been encouraged to participate – as a headline-grabbing stunt. After all, the concept of women saying no to sex is not a huge deal to those of us who have been raised to believe in a woman's right to choose. However, this boycott is significant as it says a great deal about women's progress, the way in which women are reconsidering their role in Kenyan society and how they are reclaiming power where they can.
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Reactions have been telling. A male Kenyan legislator has called the sex strike a "shame", going on to say that it is "un-African" and "rubbish". Another group has been quoted as saying "[women] are trying to use sex as a tool to molest men in the society."
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Will this strike achieve its aims? That's debatable. However, even if the government doesn't end its feuding, this modern-day version of Lysistrata has already had a useful effect. It has put the spotlight on women's roles, power and rights and is showing how national politics affects the individual.
Thanks to Classics-L, which see for more discussion...
[Ah, and of course, see now the RogueClassicist's more comprehensive collection of recent Lyistrata-evoking episodes...]
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