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Nurturing Leadership Skills of Young Girls with Disabilities:Focus on Learners in Tertiary Institutions

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As part of our Ford Foundation funded grant on engaging young girls with disabilities (and boys) on their leadership trajectories and civic engagement, we had the honour to meet learners in tertiary institutions as part of our project participants. The learners, young women with diverse disabilities, are pursuing different degree courses at both the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University. We see their participation in the project as being really important as they join others from primary schools, as well as a High school. At Network level we are intentional about making these intergenerational connections among different age groups of women with disabilities, if only it can play a part in supporting more engagement by women with disabilities in leadership opportunities. We base all this in the context of underrepresentation of women with disabilities in governance and leadership.   This meeting was especially inspirational as it vividly showed us the journeys that our...
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Flying as a woman with a disability and exclusion from global spaces

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Commentary by Elizabeth Ombati and Jane Kihungi Many activists and human rights defenders spend a considerable amount of time on travel. The disability mantra has always been nothing about us without us, signifying the critical importance especially for activists with disabilities to be in spaces where decisions are made that affect the lives of people with disabilities.  Many activists have often decried global travel experiences; with many calling the processes surrounding this travel as humiliating. This is more so when it comes to the acquisition of visas. Visa restrictions for activists from the Global South is not new to many activists. Visa restrictions is one of the many ways that meaningful participation by activists and human rights defenders in global convenings is hampered.  But it is not the only one. For activists with disabilities, it is often double tragedy, especially when it comes to airplanes. In March this year, I (Jane) was invited to take part in the 69th...
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Disability is not Contagious!

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By Rose Resiato  As a woman with a disability, Rose Resiato has often found herself having to take the role of a ‘teacher’ if only to make her community a little more inclusive, and a little more aware about people with disabilities. ‘It is not always easy,” she says, ‘to keep telling people that as a woman with a disability, I am still a person, that disability is not contagious, and that they should not look at me as one that should be avoided.’ It can be tiring, rightfully so, because no one wants to explain their circumstances daily to people around them. No one wants to have people’s lingering gazes on them each second of their life. Yet, as Resi reminds us, ‘ableism is so entrenched in our communities, and we must do all we can to stop it.’ Read on     On this day, I was traveling to Nairobi to meet some friends. I chose my usual spot in the bus — the one with enough legroom to sit comfortably. A mother and her young daughter boarded shortly after. The girl was...
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Nurturing leadership skills of young girls with disabilities: Spotlight on Rural Women Voices CBO, Kajiado

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Rural Women Voices CBO is a grassroots member of the Network, based in Kajiado County under the stewardship of Rose Resiato. At Network level we have been happy to engage with Rural Women Voices CBO who bring perspectives and experiences of indigenous women with disabilities from the Maa Community. As Rose notes, ‘in the Maasai community, there are certain cultural practices that still undermine the space of women and girls with disabilities within our communities, leading to their exclusion from participating at community level.’ At Network level, we recognise the intersecting identities of our members more so groups that are likely to face further marginalisation such as indigenous, rural women and girls with disabilities.   As such, Rural Women Voices CBO is another Network member that is implementing the Ford activity where at Network level we are seeking to nurture leadership skills of young girls with disabilities. Read more about the Ford Foundation grant, as well as more...
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Nurturing leadership skills of young girls with disabilities: Spotlight on FEDWEN

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The Federation of Deaf Women Empowerment Network (FEDWEN Kenya) is a strong member of our Network and is doing amazing work with Deaf women and girls. Fedwen is one among three Network members who are implementing activities that seek to nurture the leadership skills of young girls with disabilities under the Network. Read more about our Ford Foundation grant here. On 29th March, the Fedwen team made its way to the Rev. Muhoro School for the Deaf, where they have brought together young Deaf girls and boys whom they intend to support in this leadership trajectory, a process that is geared towards supporting the young girls and boys in meaningful civic engagement in their communities.   Rev. Muhoro School for the Deaf is situated in Nyeri County, a few kilometers from Karatina town, close to a three-hour drive from Nairobi city. The school rests in a picturesque place. Beautiful hilly landscapes with a river flowing between the hills are a few landmarks that give someone a sense...
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Processing our Pains, our Traumas... Collectively

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We live in a world that does not recognize pain," said Melissa Wainaina in a recent session with us. "To survive, we've been pushed to mask what we feel to fit in." These poignant words set a stage for us, as women with diverse disabilities in our Network, to start a reflection process. To not only think about the pains we go through at individual levels but also begin to think not just about pain and trauma but broadly about how they intersect with our collective advocacy...and what we would do about it. Unwelcoming Ableist Spaces as a Source of Trauma Experiences of trauma are not alien to many of us. Some experiences of growing up with disabilities in ableist societies include abandonment, exclusion and segregation, invisibility, esteem issues, fear, and uncertainty about acceptance, among many others. It goes without saying that many of these experiences are traumatic, yet often, we push them to the periphery. We don't talk about them. We immerse...
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A New Grant to Nurture Leadership Skills of Young Girls with Disabilities

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For two years, from October 2022 to October 2024, as the Kenya Network of Women and Girls and Disabilities (Network), we have been implementing a leadership program supported by the Ford Foundation. We sought to address gaps that exist within leadership and governance spaces for women with disabilities.  Indeed, strengthening the leadership skillsets of women with disabilities goes a long way in supporting them to occupy leadership and decision-making spaces where they remain underrepresented.  We reported diverse successes. Among others, we have seen strengthened collaboration between women with disabilities and county government departments that included the signing of memoranda of collaboration, inclusion in local community committees, and an increase in self-confidence, as reported by the women with disabilities in the program. We are thus highly encouraged and inspired to receive a new grant; 2024-2026) from the Ford Foundation that intends to build on the impact we have ...
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