Disabled women shaping the future of Kenya

Women Challenged to Challenge (WCC), Kenya 

Jane Kihungi wakes up every day motivated to shape the future of Kenya and empower other Disabled women to have their say. “I want my voice in development” she says. “I want a voice in [the issues] that affect me”. 

 Jane is the Director of Women Challenged to Challenge (WCC) a Kenyan organisation with the mission to empower women with disabilities. WCC brings together over 1,300 members from across the country to advocate for the rights of women with disabilities in all their diversity. They also provide training to build the self-esteem and confidence of Disabled women to speak for themselves and demand their rights, at home, in their communities and in society. 

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of women holding elected office in Kenya, but Jane wants to see more Disabled women in leadership positions. To date, WCC have supported at least 50 women to contest elections or put themselves forward for nomination at different levels of government.  “We want to see women with disabilities in all spheres of leadership – political, organisational, in the women’s rights movement” says Jane.  

This includes pushing for recognition of the intersectional barriers faced by Disabled women in accessing spaces within the feminist movement. For example, WCC recently contributed to the shadow report Not Yet Equal: Kenyan women with disabilities and the ongoing struggle for inclusion 30 years after Beijing, which highlights the ongoing challenges and barriers faced by Disabled women in Kenya. It calls for a national strategy to address intersectional discrimination against women and girls with disabilities, among other recommendations.  

 WCC has already been instrumental in the inclusion of Disabled women in political and decision-making spaces, but according to Jane, they are just getting started. She wants to grow the organisation and expand their work to all 47 counties in Kenya. “We want to have an academy to train women with disabilities and mentor young girls into leadership roles”, Jane says.