Connecting the Women and Girls,Inspiring the Future;What about the Muffled Cry?

Today is International Women Day. Many of us have said our thank you’s to our mothers, sisters, cousins, grand-mothers name them all. Others have received roses, pleasant surprises of a box of chocolate or perhaps if u were lucky enough you got to be featured in one of the newspapers today.

We have many reasons to thank women, even those who come from Nyeri we applaud them. Women are like beasts of burden. They work tirelessly serving more than one master. They often receive blows just like donkeys do, perhaps urging them to move faster, stop or start. But who are these masters if somebody might ask? In Kenya, it is believed that women are subordinate to men. Previously before the Constitution came to their aid, women could not participate freely in politics, could not inherit land etc but under the new provisions, Women can enjoy participation in politics, inherit land, etc in addition to enjoying all the fundamental rights and freedoms that are provided for in the Constitution.

But even as the women celebrate their freedom. There is a cry muffled amid the joyous ululations and stomping of feet. This woman who is still crawling in terms of growth and visibility in the country eats the dusts of those who celebrate and is stepped on by those that are ignorant of what is going on.

Though today we celebrate the woman but women with disabilities in Kenya hardly have anything to smile about. This is because they often find themselves victims of a two-fold discrimination: as women and as disabled persons. Girls and women of all ages with any form of disability are generally among the more vulnerable and marginalized of society. It is often the attitudinal and environmental barriers that prevent their full, equal and active participation in society. These barriers add to the disadvantage customarily experienced by women.

We all know the current health challenges that Kenya has been facing since last week. The healthcare workers are on strike and there have been reports that some patients have been left with only relatives to look after them while others have died due to lack of treatment. But even as the nation laments over the turn of events in regards to health, the nation is only feeling a slight headache compared with what women with disabilities face in regard to accessing healthcare services.

Truth be told, most of the healthcare facilities are not disability friendly. You will often have to climb 6 or more stairs when you are getting into a hospital, after passing the security, you will probably have to get a lift whereby 20 other people are waiting to get in. You might have to queue for 20 minutes to one hour after which you might be referred for tests in another room and medicines in yet another department of the hospital. It is often an exhausting procedure that one has to follow.

Picture the same scenario for a woman with disability. She might be on a wheel chair, using crutches or blind or deaf. The one on a wheel chair cannot use the stairs and hence will not get inside the hospital without a ramp. The one using crutches will have to break a sweat climbing the 6 or so stairs. Asking for directions to the many rooms for a woman who is deaf is a challenge because many Kenyans do not understand sign language. Moving from one room to another is a big challenge to a woman who is blind because most of the time many do not pause to guide someone who has visual impairment. Am reminded of a friend of mine who is blind who was on a queue and waiting for her turn which never came, people kept taking up her chance all because she could not see that the line was moving.

What am I trying to say on this sunny International Women’s day? Women with disability deserve to enjoy good health so that they can celebrate like the rest of the Women lot. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Article 25 clearly outlines the health rights entitled to Women with Disabilities. The state is responsible for seeing to it that persons with disabilities receive the same standard of healthcare services given to the rest of the population. These healthcare services should be as close as possible to ones community and should be affordable or free at that. In addition to that, the state is supposed to ensure that health care workers do not address Persons with Disabilities in a demeaning way. As you go on about your way enjoying the privileges accorded to you by your country, think about Women with Disabilities, join in the efforts towards advocating for the well being of Women with Disabilities, they are not yet there!

Caroline Chencha