This is where intersectionality comes in, helping us understand how these overlapping forms of discrimination shape women’s experiences.

While mainstream feminism in Kenya has made progress, it often overlooks women who face multiple layers of disadvantage. Women with disabilities, LGBTQ+ women, refugees, and those from marginalized communities are at the crossroads of gender inequality and other social injustices. Unfortunately, their voices are often sidelined, and their struggles remain largely invisible.

Real Stories of Struggle and Triumph 

Njeri Wa Migwi is an intersectional feminist, Co-Founder of Usikimye and Human Rights Activist. Njeri runs a project that rescues vulnerable girls and women from SGBV and shelters them. Usikimye’s main goal is to sensitize and educate the public on SGBV, work towards ending the prevalence of SGBV in the country, and push the state to set up shelters for SGBV survivors.

Senator Crystal Asige, diagnosed with glaucoma as a teenager, rose to prominence as a formidable politician. She is also an award-winning singer. Since taking office, she has helped pass bills to uplift people with disabilities, including a tax break for parents and caregivers of children with disabilities, and new support for Kenyan sign language. She empowers society through “art-ivism” and “edu-tainment,” raising awareness about disability, diversity, and inclusion in Kenya and beyond.

Audrey Mbugua is a Kenyan activist who heads Transgender Education and Advocacy (TEA), an organization that defends the rights of transgender/transsexual individuals in Kenya. She fought for her right to change her name and gender legally, ultimately winning a landmark court case.  Mbugua also challenged the 2016 Health Bill by advocating for sex reassignment therapy in Kenya. 

Rukia Ahmed, aka The Hummingbird, is a climate justice activist on a mission to transform the climate narrative in Kenya’s northern frontier. She founded the Green North Eastern Initiative, a community-based organization dedicated to building climate resilience and fostering sustainable practices in the region.

Elizabeth Wathuti, an environmental activist from Nyeri, links climate change with gender inequality, as rural women, particularly farmers, bear the brunt of shifting weather patterns. Her climate justice work through the Green Generation Initiative calls for policies that prioritize the needs of these women in the face of environmental change.

Grace Ngugi Mumbi, Judge of the High Court and Co-founder of the Albinism Foundation for East Africa. She advocates for education, social acceptance, and justice for individuals with albinism. The foundation aims to ensure the social acceptance of people living with albinism, fighting against the unfair reality where individuals with this condition face unemployment, lack of education, and even violence, including being maimed or killed for witchcraft rituals.

What Needs to Change?

These stories are just a few examples of women fighting to be seen and heard. But there’s so much more work to be done. To make feminism truly inclusive, we need to amplify the voices of women who are often left out and actively address their unique challenges.

• Laws: There is a need for stronger legal protections to safeguard the rights of women from marginalized communities, ensuring that they are not discriminated against because of their gender, disability, ethnicity, or social status.
• Support: Grassroots organizations need more funding and resources to continue their vital work. These organizations are often the first line of support for women facing multiple layers of discrimination. 
• Education: Intersectionality should be integrated into educational curricula, teaching young people about the value of diversity and inclusion from an early age.

Inclusive feminism is about fighting for every woman regardless of her background, identity, or challenges. As women like Crystal, Audrey, Peninah, and many others continue to lead the way, we all need to support their efforts and push for change.

By embracing intersectionality and listening to the stories of women who have been overlooked, we can create a more just, equal, and inclusive society. After all, feminism should be a space where every woman, no matter who she is, feels seen and heard.

The post Is Intersectionality a Missing Link in Kenya’s Feminism? appeared first on Woman Kenya Network.

October is  Africa Pride Month – marking 35 years of celebrating diverse identities on the continent and a moment to reflect on the progress made and the continuous threats toward securing rights, health, and choices for all. While vibrant parades and joyous gatherings dominate in many parts of the world, the reality for many of Africa’s LGBTQ+ community remains one of inequality.

A life in shadows

Tremendous progress has been made in ensuring greater equality for LGBTQ+ people in some countries. However, in a few others harmful laws and policies that criminalize same-sex relationships, often with severe implications, are being passed. These laws not only punish individuals for their sexual orientation and gender identity but also perpetuate a culture of fear and secrecy. Societal stigma compounds the problem, leading to widespread discrimination and violence. Often ostracized from families and communities, LGBTQ+ individuals lose their support systems and even economic opportunities. This exclusion forces many into hiding – into the shadows – increasing their risk of violence, and marginalization from their families and societies, limiting access to vital sexual and reproductive health services, including HIV prevention and treatment, which threatens the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

A call for gender-inclusive health services

Together, we must do more to understand better and meet the needs of populations left behind, in particular for transgender and intersex people. Available data highlights that transgender and gender-diverse women, as well as lesbians, are more likely to experience higher rates of violence, alcohol, and substance abuse compared to the general population. The health-related rights, including the sexual and reproductive health rights and needs of LGBTQ+ people, are critical, yet they are often overlooked. A limited understanding of existing laws and policies, societal and individual norms, and attitudes give rise to stigma and discrimination in some healthcare settings that can result in judgemental attitudes and a general lack of understanding of the healthcare needs of LGBTQ+ people.

Applying a PRIDE approach to health care services can have far-reaching positive impacts on the health and well-being of all and in particular LGBTQ+ individuals.

What is a PRIDE approach?

1. PEOPLE – It places the needs of people at the center of everything we do.
2. RESPECTFUL – It provides services that are respectful and responsive to the rights and choices of all.
3. INTEGRATED—It includes integrated services that combine the prevention and treatment of diseases with a sex-positive approach and a focus on the health and well-being of the person in totality.
4. DIVERSITY – It includes services that recognize diversity and are inclusive of all.
5. ENABLED – The services it offers are enabled by policies driven by fundamental human rights, including the right to health and sexual and reproductive rights; they counteract biases, stigma, and discrimination, thereby increasing trust in the health care system.

Empowering communities for better health outcomes

A community-led approach is fundamental in ensuring a PRIDE approach to health care systems. Communities must be included and involved in designing, delivering, advocating for, and evaluating health services. Community-led initiatives built on the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people have proven to be highly effective.

Peers drawn from within the community can navigate the complex healthcare system, empower their peers, and build trust through shared understanding. This shared experience allows them to offer relevant information and address specific concerns in a sensitive and affirming manner that leads to better health outcomes and a stronger sense of well-being.

Towards a more just future

A PRIDE approach can only be achieved if it is enabled by the principles of equality and non-discrimination that are at the heart of human rights and public health. Everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, is entitled to their human rights, including the right to privacy, the right to be treated as equal before the law, the right to health, sexual and reproductive rights, and the right to protection from discrimination.

Legal protections aligned with international human rights standards are crucial to advance the health and well-being of LGBTQ+. While several countries such as Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, and South Africa have decriminalized same-sex relations, governments, professional associations of health care workers, faith-based, traditional, rights-based, and community-based organizations must do more to address societal attitudes and promote diversity and inclusion.

Pride beyond October

Pride is not just a month-long celebration, it’s a reminder and call to action that we should continuously strive to educate and promote respect for the rights and freedoms of all. Collectively, UNAIDS and UNFPA   remain committed to supporting national and community-led actions towards increasing access to information and services for key populations in our region using innovative approaches for advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of key populations. 

Through the Joint United Nations Regional Programme 2gether 4 SRHR implemented by our agencies, we supported the finalization of the SADC Parliamentary Forum Minimum Standards for the protection of the SRHR of key populations in the SADC region which is comprehensive SADC Guidance Document on Key Populations on the minimum threshold of acceptable protection for key populations, and include reducing stigma and discrimination, ending violence against key populations, monitoring and reforming laws and policies, and ensuring access to information and services.  Following the Global Coalition Roadmap and the SADC Key Population Strategy, the guide is intended to assist Member States scale up their programs for key populations and provides guidance supported by case studies from the SADC region. Areas for guidance include developing minimum service packages; developing a scale-up plan; differentiated service delivery and integration; and resource mobilization and sustainability.

The program also supported work with civil society on addressing the needs of key populations through peer-led interventions, including drop-in centers, outreach activities, mobile services, and linking and referral to public health facilities, which have resulted in some progress towards attaining the SRH rights for these key populations.

Furthermore, South Africa and Kenya tested models of service provision for key populations that have yielded valuable insights.

We will continue to work together with governments, the community, and other stakeholders to advance rights for all, where no one is left behind, and to advocate for a world in which all people can achieve their full health and well-being, free of violence, stigma, and discrimination. These are the basic tenets of regional commitments such as the SADC regional strategy for HIV prevention, treatment and care and sexual and reproductive health and rights among key populations, resolution 275 of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, the Maputo Plan of Action, and they are fundamental principles core to the Sustainable Development Goals, including to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

For resources and stories about LGBTQ+ in our region, visit the SRHR knowledge hub at www.2gether4SRHR.org. For information about Pride Month events throughout October visit  Pride of Africa. 

Anne Githuku-Shongwe, UNAIDS Regional Director, East and Southern Africa

Lydia Zigomo, UNFPA Regional Director, East and Southern Africa

The post Beyond the rainbow: LGBTQ+ rights and health in Eastern and Southern Africa appeared first on Woman Kenya Network.