Muthoni Drummer Queen – ‘Power’

Power Muthoni 2 Power Muthoni 1 Power Muthoni 3

Today, the world celebrates ‘International Women’s Day‘, a constant and sad reminder that humanity still needs to remember itself about gender equality. Kenyan rap artist Muthoni Drummer Queen just provided us with a proper anthem for the day. Her new title ‘Power‘ is a feminist manifesto that denunciates patriarchal societies and likewise portrays female strenght. As the artist puts it at the end of the video, her song is dedicated to “the many women who organise and resist oppression, break molds and defy stereotypes, forge paths and occupy space”. As the puissant line “Getting Loud. Getting Louder” resonates throughout the song, the kenyan singer insists on the fact that women themselves should determine their fate.

“Yeah we’ve always been great, for a long time now
But you always debate, for a long time now
What a woman should make, what a woman should take
But you never ask a woman, what a basic mistake?
… This is for the women who came before for us
Who build the world for us, who made it work for us”

The video – directed by Swiss filmmaker Mei Fa Tan – gives credit to strong Kenyan women in past and present. It shows female Boxing champion Judy Waguthii, who won the WBC Silver Super Lightweight championship in 2018. It also remembers women who protested in Uhuru Park in Nairobi in 1992 for the release of political prisoners. According to the Global Nonviolent Action Database the women (aged 60-70) faced brutal police violence but still continued their protest:

“On March 3, the Moi government decided to forcibly disperse the demonstrators. Government police forces beat protesters with batons, fired gunshots into the air, and hurled tear-gas into the tent where protesters were gathered. To ward off the police, three of the protesting mothers stripped their clothing, shook their breasts, and shouted, “What kind of government is this that beats women! Kill us! Kill us now! We shall die with our children!” The police forces responded by turning away and leaving the scene.”