Announcing a New Grant from Disability Rights Fund (DRF)

 

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 rights reflected in the law. Without some of these foundational principles, it can be difficult for rights holders to benefit from pieces of legislation, such as our Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025.

Supporting Women with Disabilities’ Engagement with Legislation  










(Pictured  is Josephine Kalunda, the Team Lead at KNDWPN)






Hosted by Kenya National Deaf Women Peace Network (KNDWPN), this new grant will go a long way in supporting our members to engage with legislation, importantly so by considering and questioning how legislation supports disability inclusion at the local community level. Additionally, organizational strengthening shall happen for KNDWPN through the grant.   

We intend to work to strengthen the capacities of Network Champions across a few counties on disability frameworks and monitoring implementation in their respective communities, after which the champions will be supported to further educate their communities on disability legislation; on how to claim their rights, and how to be actively and meaningfully engaged in monitoring the implementation of disability legislation.

Missing from Leadership

At the network level, we remain cognizant of the fact that women with disabilities, including in rural communities, are missing from leadership spaces owing to multiple stigmas and discrimination. Opportunities to advance their leadership are still limited, and we believe that with initiatives such as supporting them to understand and interact with disability legislation, we shall play a key role in supporting self-advocacy by women with disabilities, which will play a key role in supporting more meaningful participation of women with disabilities in local leadership.

Through the support of this grant, we hope to continue making the experiences of women with disabilities more visible in our communities and supporting them to take up realms of leadership, and by so doing, work towards addressing the underrepresentation of women with disabilities in leadership and governance.

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