Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities

Ramadhana is a young, disabled, university student. She recently vied for a leadership position in the University Student Union (Women Students Welfare Association). ‘We must be bold enough to go for these positions,” says Ramadhana, conviction in her voice. While she did not win the position she vied for, Ramadhana mentioned two other roles that she took up at the University, adding that she believes that leadership is not just in positions and titles but in everyday living.  Ramadhana is one among tens of students that we have engaged with in the past two years in a project where we sought to nurture the leadership skills of young girls and women with disabilities in institutions of learning. Whereas we centered young girls/women with disabilities, our project also engaged their teachers and parents. Considering not just our lived experiences as women with disabilities, we know the key role our families and communities play in how we acquire and exercise leadership. In a learning...