Women with disabilities remain especially vulnerable amid Kenya’s combative politics
Source: The Star
Politics has long been viewed as a male-dominated arena, with only a handful of women daring to venture into it.
Even then, women politicians often face dismissal, branded as mere “flower girls” for party leaders.
In Kenya, where politics has historically been associated with aggression and at times violence; the challenge is even greater.
For women with disabilities, the barriers are multiplied.
A fight beyond the ballot
In Mombasa, Hamisa Zaja has twice vied for the Woman Representative seat in 2017 and 2022 without success. Yet she insists she is not giving up.
Hamisa, who has a physical disability and is the founder of Coast Association of Persons with Disability, says the political space is far from welcoming for women like her.
Politics has long been viewed as a male-dominated arena, with only a handful of women daring to venture into it.
Even then, women politicians often face dismissal, branded as mere “flower girls” for party leaders.
In Kenya, where politics has historically been associated with aggression and at times violence; the challenge is even greater.
For women with disabilities, the barriers are multiplied.
A fight beyond the ballot
In Mombasa, Hamisa Zaja has twice vied for the Woman Representative seat in 2017 and 2022 without success. Yet she insists she is not giving up.
Hamisa, who has a physical disability and is the founder of Coast Association of Persons with Disability, says the political space is far from welcoming for women like her.