Dynamics in the empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya, 1895-2021
Loading...
Date
2025-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
This study examined the dynamics in the empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya from 1895 to 2021. The study was premised on marginal engagement of women with disabilities in societal spaces and a scarcity of in-depth historical investigation on how the marginalisation has been contested. Therefore, the study: explored the level of inclusion of people with disabilities in Kenya's socio-economic and political spaces from 1895 to 1962; analysed how state and non-state actors shaped empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya between 1963 and 1991; investigated the implication of the fight for democratisation on the empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya between 1992 and 2003; and, examined the dynamics between the government and disability rights movement to empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya from 2004 to 2021. We employed strands of gender-power analysis and feminist theories to interpret the data. The study used a descriptive historical research design that was primarily qualitative. One hundred seventy-four informants were selected from three research locales through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Primary data was obtained through key informant interviews, expert interviews, oral history interviews, individual and focused group interviews, and document analysis. The collected data was qualitatively analysed per the research objectives and relevant historical periods. In the colonial period, the study established that while British colonialism intensified disability in Kenya, voluntary and religious organisations pioneered socio-economic rehabilitation and integration of people with disabilities based on charity, medical, and coloniality models. The study thus avers that disability activism in Kenya began in the 1950s, which yielded increased demand for social and economic rehabilitation beyond service provision. In all, women with disabilities were the most disadvantaged. In the post-independent period, the findings revealed that: voluntary and religious organisations, government and international organisations played a critical role in the empowerment of women with disabilities from 1963 to 1991; the democratisation initiatives intensified the struggle for empower women with disabilities from1992 to 2003; government and the disability rights movement were key factors in advancing the empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya from 2004 to 2021. This study also establishes that persisting structural, institutional, environmental, physical, political, personal, and cultural environments continue to impede the empowerment of women with disabilities in Kenya. The study concludes that there has been remarkable progress in the legal, policy, and institutional mechanisms that have significantly contributed to empowering women with disabilities in Kenya.
Description
A thesis submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of Kenyatta University, June 2025
Supervisors:
Dr. Susan Waiyego Mwangi
Dr. Julius Simiyu Nabende
Keywords
HUMANITIES and RELIGION::History and philosophy subjects::History subjects::History