Elizabeth Ibrahim Ekaru

Ekaru was from Isiolo County, Kenya, and lived in Isiolo at the time of her death. She was married with five children.^[1] In 2011, Ekaru's husband was murdered; as of 2021, his killers had not been apprehended.^[2]

Ekaru grew up in a rural community where cattle rustling was common, causing conflict between different communities. Ekaru's own cattle were stolen in an attack that saw three herders killed; when Ekaru made a criminal complaint against the thieves, she was imprisoned by local police officers until a local human rights group successfully campaigned for her release. Ekaru went on to work as a peacemaker in Isiolo County through the Isiolo Peace and Resolution Committee, and advocated for the equal compensation of male and female victims of communal conflict in Isiolo and Garissa.^[2][3] In 1998, Ekaru became president of Turkana Dancer, a pacifist group that used dance as a tool for promoting change.^[3]

Ekaru became a noted advocate for the rights of women in Isiolo County, particularly indigenous women. In 2005, she was elected president of the feminist organisation Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, and was a member of the Defenders Coalition of Kenya's National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders.^[3] Ekaru advocated for girls' education and female empowerment through village savings and loans associations and self-help groups; she also supported women with HIV and victims of forced marriage.^[1][2] Ekaru challenged laws and traditions that forbade indigenous women from inheriting land, which was later enshrined in law in 2016, although this was not widely followed by many communities nor enforced by authorities.^[3] Her lands rights work also focused on the impact of climate change, promoting the cultivation of crops in areas impacted by drought.^[4][2]

In 2010, Ekaru represented Isiolo at the National Constitution Conference in Nairobi in which a new constitution was drafted.^[2]