Article by: Faith Gikunda and Cynthia Meru
Last week, on 28th and 29th August 2025, ICCASA engaged in the development of a National Engagement Framework for Women with Disabilities in Climate Action for Kenya. The two-day workshop organized by the STREVOW project implementing partner Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE), brought together over 30 Women with Disabilities representing different counties, government representatives, Civil Society Organizations, academia, community leaders, youths and disability rights champions.
The engagement was anchored under the Strengthening the Voices of Women with Disabilities to Actively Participate in Climate Change Policy and Negotiations (STREVOW) Project, implemented by the Centre for Inclusive Climate Change Adaptation for a Sustainable Africa (ICCASA) and Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE). The project is funded by the Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“Thanks to the STREVOW project, we have gained confidence to advocate and document how climate change affect our lives differently depending with ones disability (ies). This workshop has enable us identify entry points for engagement at the local, county and national level in climate policies, projects and programmes to champion inclusivity” – Halima Sharif, woman with multiple disability, representing Kajiado County
“Despite facing the greatest risks from the impacts of climate change, women with disability often lack facilitation to access platforms where their voices can shape the policies and programs that affect their lives. Without a deliberate framework, their contributions risk being overlooked, and climate responses remain incomplete and inequitable.” – Faith Gikunda, STREVOW Project Coordinator, ICCASA
Once completed, the framework will provide a structured pathway to ensure inclusive participation of Women with Disabilities in climate change programming, policy, and negotiations. The framework will focus on the following pillars:
✅ Institutionalize Participation: Involves creating clear structures through deliberately reserving seats for WWDs, setting quotas, and ensuring inclusive tools like sign language, braille, and easy-read materials to guarantee consistent and equitable representation of Women with Disabilities.
✅ Bridge Lived Experiences with Policy: Emphasizes onturning lived realities into policy action through consultations, storytelling, and community-driven research, ensuring climate priorities reflect the actual needs of Women with Disabilities.
✅ Strengthen Accountability and Accessibility: Recommends the use of disability-sensitive indicators, regular reporting, and independent oversight to hold institutions accountable while making venues, processes, and materials accessible for all.
✅ Apply Negotiation and Advocacy Skills: Advocates for equipping Women with Disabilities with the tools to negotiate and influence in competitive policy spaces, ensuring their voices shape outcomes at all levels of climate governance.
✅ Build Sustainable Engagement: Means moving beyond one-off participation to continuous involvement through long-term partnerships, capacity building, and strategies that bring government, NGOs, and other stakeholders on board.
The framework provides for application at both national and county government levels, while also creating room for domestication in other African countries to scale inclusive climate action beyond borders. The STREVOW project will continue to build the capacity of Women with Disabilities to understand their position in influencing climate change decisions, using their lived experiences to shape processes that are best suited for them. At its core, the project emphasizes disability-inclusive climate programming, ensuring that no one is left behind in climate action.