Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities

  As the year begins, we are honored and excited to announce a new grant from DRF/DRAF   to support our work in advancing and strengthening the leadership of women with disabilities in our communities. Context One of the really important milestones that we marked as the disability community in Kenya last year was the signing into law of the new Persons with Disabilities Act 2025.    It is a piece of legislation that aligns with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) at the global level, the African Disability Protocol (ADP) at the regional level, and the Constitution of Kenya 2010 at the national level.   It is great that it speaks to issues of women with disabilities, as well as youth with disabilities, among other groups. We recognize that there is a lot needed for the law to be translated into practice. Among others, it is advisable that target communities understand what is in the law and, secondly, know how to claim the...

Why the toilet? You might be tempted to ask. For others, it may not be the first place that comes to mind when they leave home; when they meet someone in a hotel; in a school, a public place, literally everywhere the toilet is found. But for many women with disabilities, the toilet becomes an extremely important place. It is a place where a woman with a disability’s dignity is upheld; or it is the place where her dignity is stripped away, completely. Not just any toilet. But an accessible toilet.  How did this conversation actually start? Remember a while back we wrote about Jane who had travelled for over 15 hours but because there was no cabin wheelchair inflight, using the toilet became one of her worst nightmares. She was asked, ‘must you use the toilet?’  Read here: https://advocacynetwork.blogspot.com/2025/07/flying-as-woman-with-disability-and.html This time round, this is how it began. Rose narrated about this man who was a guide to his wife who is blind and had to get...

With the support of Womankind Worldwide through the  Her Voice Fund (Cycle 4), at the network level, we collectively marked this year’s 16 Days of Activism against GBV across different countries where our members are situated.  Our member, Mildred Omino, co-authored a powerful blog that speaks to these realities.  With the global theme , “ End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls,”   we remain alert that digital spaces, once envisioned as platforms for empowerment, are increasingly becoming sites of harassment, cyberbullying, surveillance, exploitation, and exclusion.  Women and girls with disabilities face even higher risks due to intersecting discrimination.R ead the full article on this link:  https://yoursay.plos.org/2025/12/no-woman-left-behind-ending-digital-violence-against-women-and-girls-with-disabilities/ Here is an excerpt: While TFGBV affects women globally, women and girls with disabilities are disproportion...

Early in the year, together with United Disabled Persons of Kenya and with technical support from the International Commission of Jurists, Africa Regional Programme, we made a submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) on the draft guidelines on addressing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities. Our submission can be read online on this link: https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2025/call-written-submissions-draft-guidelines-addressing-multiple-and Our submission was largely informed by the feedback provided in a forum we convened in September 2025. The forum brought together twenty-five (25) women and girls with disabilities who shared their lived experiences of discrimination across different areas of their lives.  Diverse experiences Our submission describes these diverse experiences where women and girls with disabilities are exposed to multiple and intersecting forms of d...

The Network is honored to have been selected as one of 16 partners under the Meaningful Engagement - Transformative Action (META) consortium that shall receive small grants to strengthen their capacities and influence. Our proposed project is on making the green transition inclusive of women with disabilities.   META is a joint initiative by African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), the Coalition for Sustainable Development (SDGs Kenya Forum) and Stitching Women Engage for a Common Future International (WECF) with support from the European Union Delegation (EUD) in Kenya.  Please read more about the META Consortium and its objectives on this link. About our Proposed Project  The project aims to ensure that women with disabilities in Mandera and Nairobi are meaningfully included in green transition efforts.While Mandera faces the harsh realities of climate change such as droughts, food insecurity and environmental degradation, Nairobi on the other han...

Article compiled by Network Coordinating Team. Email:  advocacynetworkkenya@gmail.com Our member, Benter Mboya, recently attended the 85th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ( ACHPR ) courtesy of the International Commission of Jurists – Africa Regional Programme , which supported all her travel logistics. ICJ-Africa have previously engaged the Network when, together with the United Disabled Persons of Kenya, they hosted a consultative forum with us on barriers that women and girls with disabilities face in accessing justice. We were thus happy that they also supported our members, logistic-wise and technically, in taking part in sessions by the ACHPR.  The ACHPR is a regional monitoring mechanism that forms part of the African Union, established under the African Charter . It is mandated to promote and protect human rights in Africa.   Benter Mboya, a grassroots leader, is a woman with a disability who hails from Kisum...