Lizzie Kiama

Lizzie Kiama is a Kenyan disability rights activist. She is the managing trustee of This-Ability Trust, a Kenyan disability rights organization.[1][2]

Early life and education

Kiama is from Mombasa and was the first born of four children.[3] She has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the United States International University.[4]

At the age of 18, Kiama was injured in a car crash, which resulted in a physical disability.[2][5][6] Complications while giving birth a few years later resulted in her disability becoming permanent.[5]

Career

Kiama founded This-Ability Trust, in 2012, to support companies with inclusion of people with disabilities and to teach women and girls skills, and to promote rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[5][7]

In 2018, as the director of gender and disability at This-Ability, she was one of several activists chosen to attend the 62nd session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW).[8] In 2020, Kiama advocated for better access to sexual and reproductive health services for people with disabilities.[9] In 2021, she was a contributor to a UNFPA report, "My body is my own: Claiming the right to autonomy and self-determination."[7] In April 2021, with support from UNFPA, This-Ability helped create a toll-free and confidential phone number for women with disabilities seeking sexual and reproductive health services.[10]

Kiama is an Ashoka fellow.[11]

Family

Kiama is married and has one daughter.[4]

References
  1. ""We have sexual desires, too": Young women with disabilities demand access to information and services". United Nations Population Fund. 3 Dec 2019. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  2. "Kenya: Against All Odds - the Abilities of Women With Disabilities". allAfrica.com. 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  3. "Lizzie Kiama". Global Sports Mentoring. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  4. Lustig, Hannah (2014-11-02). "LIZZIE KIAMA CHANGES PERCEPTIONS OF DISABILITY IN KENYA". This Ability. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  5. "Ensuring equal rights for women with disabilities through sport | sportanddev.org". www.sportanddev.org. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  6. "This Ability". African Visionary Fund. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  7. Muchangi, John (April 15, 2021). "Millions of Kenyan women lack power to refuse sex — UNFPA". The Star. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  8. Ochiel, Linda (July 11, 2018). "What we learned from a delegation of disabled women activists". Ford Foundation. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. MacKinnon, Jessica; Bremshey, Alexane (2020-01-01). "Perspectives from a webinar: COVID-19 and sexual and reproductive health and rights". Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters. 28 (1): 1763578. doi:10.1080/26410397.2020.1763578. PMC 7888038. PMID 32354272.
  10. Waweru, Muthoni (December 9, 2021). "Kenya: Toll Free Service Launched to Help Women With Disabilities Fight GBV". AllAfrica. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  11. "Lizzie Kiama | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
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