Women protests after Nairobi Restaurant ‘shames’ breastfeeding mother

Women demonstrators in Nairobi have marched on a restaurant that allegedly asked a breastfeeding mother to cover up or breastfeed in the bathroom. The women say restaurants and other facilities need to support mothers who choose to breastfeed in public spaces.

What is so offensive about breastfeeding that you would send a mother to the bathroom?

This was the question posed by women taking part in Tuesday’s march from Nairobi’s Freedom Corner to parliament, and then to Olive Restaurant in downtown Nairobi.

It was at this restaurant that 26-year-old Beth Njeri says she was humiliated by a waitress for breastfeeding her baby.

It was early afternoon Njeri stepped inside the restaurant with her 16-month-old daughter, Alyssa, and ordered some food.

Njeri explains what happened.

“My baby did not settle. She was moving, she was trying to stand, she was disturbing and moving all around. I took her and started breastfeeding her, so that she can be calm because the order took some time. When I was still feeding her, a lady came and told me to cover up or stop breastfeeding. I stopped breastfeeding. I engaged her with some questions, if there was somewhere I could breastfeed, well, she rolled her head towards the washrooms,” she said.

Njeri was angry and in her rage posted a description of the incident on her Facebook page. The post was picked up by members of other groups and quickly went viral, with mostly women jumping to her defense and even planning Tuesday’s march.
“Women should breastfeed anywhere, even in public places, because you cannot choose where the baby will want to breastfeed. It is nature.”

Kenya’s parliament is considering two bills that would mandate safe and convenient spaces for lactating mothers. Both would require employers to set aside special areas for breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.

Source: VOA