04/11/2026
Women human rights defenders with disabilities in Kenya are leading change in their communities in many different ways. They are community organisers, farmers, entrepreneurs, advocates for gender equality and disability rights, leaders of grassroots organisations and champions of inclusion. They work to protect others, challenge discrimination, support survivors of gender-based violence and create opportunities for their communities.
Their experiences reflect the realities of navigating multiple and intersecting identities as women, as persons with disabilities and as leaders in their communities. In many African societies, gender expectations, ableism and social attitudes towards disability can influence whose voices are heard, whose leadership is recognised and who gets to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
Through Her Voice, Her Power: Strengthening the Protection and Leadership of Women Human Rights Defenders with Disabilities in Kenya, Protection International Africa (PIA), with support from the German Embassy Nairobi, worked with women human rights defenders with disabilities to strengthen their protection, leadership and visibility, and contribute to safer and more inclusive civic spaces.
The initiative brought together women from 3 regions (Coast,Nairobi and Western )and different backgrounds, creating opportunities to build knowledge, share experiences, strengthen connections and amplify their voices.
Bringing women together
The project brought 45 women human rights defenders with disabilities together through a series of activities, including the project launch, regional workshops, strategic storytelling, digital advocacy, spaces for dialogue and collective reflection.
Regional workshops were held in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa, bringing together defenders from 22 counties in Kenya. The sessions explored holistic protection through three interconnected areas: physical security, digital security and psychosocial wellbeing.
Participants discussed the risks they encounter in their human rights work and explored practical strategies for strengthening their safety, responding to threats and sustaining their advocacy. The workshops also provided space for women to connect, exchange experiences and recognise the value of collective protection.
Women defending rights and transforming communities
The women who participated in the initiative brought diverse experiences and contributed to different areas of human rights work. Their advocacy includes disability rights and inclusion, gender equality, prevention and response to gender-based violence, Deaf rights and accessibility, community organising, and the economic empowerment of women and their communities.
They lead organisations and networks, support other women, engage in community advocacy, create awareness and challenge practices that exclude persons with disabilities from decision making and public life.
The project’s strategic storytelling and digital campaign dubbed Defenders Beyond Limits highlighted these contributions through individual profiles of 11 women. By sharing their stories, the positive narrative campaign sought to recognise women’s leadership, challenge limiting narratives about disability and make their human rights work more visible.
Amplifying women’s voices through positive narrative
Running from 28 August to 30th September 2026, the #DefendersBeyondLimits campaign used strategic storytelling, social media and influencer engagement to amplify the experiences and contributions of women human rights defenders with disabilities.
The campaign extended the women’s stories beyond the project activities, creating opportunities for wider audiences to learn about their leadership, advocacy and everyday contributions to their communities.
Across the campaign platforms, the content generated:
- Total reach: 1,158,292
- Total engagements: 45,572
- Women profiled: 11
- Influencer reach and engagement: 62,149
These figures demonstrate the campaign’s digital visibility and engagement. More importantly, the stories placed women human rights defenders with disabilities at the centre of conversations about leadership, inclusion and human rights protection.
Strengthening protection, leadership and collective action
The initiative also created opportunities for wider conversations about the experiences and protection needs of women human rights defenders with disabilities.
On 23 September 2026, an online dialogue titled “Defending Rights Without Barriers: Human Rights Defenders with Disabilities in Their Own Words. ” Co-organised by: World Organisation Against Torture and Protection International, brought Human Rights Defenders with disabilities from different regions and backgrounds to share first-hand testimonies about their work. Through personal stories, participants learnt about the different ways disability and human rights defence intersect across diverse political and social contexts.
On 26th September 2026, 15 women human rights defenders with disabilities from Nairobi, Kisumu and the Coast came together in person for the first time during the project evaluation validation meeting. The gathering provided an opportunity to reflect on the project, share experiences and validate the evaluation findings. It also included the launch of two publications: an Advocacy Pocket Guide and a Protection and Referral Guide, developed to support advocacy and access to protection information and services.
Extending the reach to more women: Bungoma
Building on the work of Her Voice, Her Power, PIA extended the initiative to Bungoma with support from the Heinrich Böll Foundation. This extension created opportunities to reach more women human rights defenders with disabilities, bringing protection discussions and capacity-strengthening activities to additional women and communities.
The Bungoma engagement continued the project’s broader focus on holistic security, with rich discussions on physical and digital protection, psychosocial wellbeing and the importance of self-care and rest in sustaining advocacy work.
Impact in their own words
The experiences of the women involved are central to understanding what the initiative has meant and what should continue beyond the project.
“One of the biggest changes I have experienced is an increase in my confidence. As a woman with a disability, I now feel more comfortable expressing myself, sharing my experiences, and speaking up for myself and others.
I have also noticed a positive change in how I participate online. I no longer feel that my disability should stop me from posting or commenting. I feel more confident using my voice and engaging in conversations.
The online visual storytelling sessions have also been helpful. They have encouraged me to reflect on my experiences, learn from others, and understand the importance of sharing our stories.” Purity Tabea , TanaRiver- Coast
“…it was a great empowerment to we women with disabilities in first protecting our lives first as we protect the others” – Amavoke Lucy , Bungoma
Lessons learnt
The project highlighted several important lessons:
- Meaningful inclusion requires flexibility: Accessibility, diverse support needs and flexible budgeting are essential throughout project implementation.
- Protection must be holistic: Physical security, digital security and psychosocial wellbeing work together to strengthen the safety and resilience of human rights defenders.
- Promoting disability inclusion: Recognising and addressing ableism helps create environments where women with disabilities can exercise their leadership and participate fully.
- Recognising invisible disabilities: Understanding the experiences of women with invisible disabilities helps ensure their contributions, experiences and support needs receive equal recognition.
- Visibility should centre women’s voices: Strategic storytelling celebrates women’s leadership, challenges stereotypes and amplifies their contributions.
- Collective spaces build solidarity: Bringing women together creates opportunities for peer learning, connection and shared protection strategies.
- Self-care sustains advocacy: Psychosocial wellbeing and rest are important to sustaining human rights work.
These lessons reinforce the value of protection initiatives that are flexible, accessible and grounded in women’s lived experiences.
Continuing the work
Her Voice, Her Power has reinforced the importance of recognising women human rights defenders with disabilities as leaders, advocates and agents of change. Their protection and meaningful participation are essential to building an inclusive human rights movement.
The work calls on organisations, partners, donors and communities to listen to women with disabilities, recognise their contributions and invest in approaches that respond to their diverse protection and inclusion needs.
Every voice matters. Every contribution counts. Together, we can build safer and more inclusive spaces where women human rights defenders with disabilities can lead, participate and shape change.
#HerVoiceHerPower #DefendersBeyondLimits
