Caregivers and parents asked to seek consent before sterilising PWD kins

Stakeholders championing the rights of people living with disabilities (PWDs) have called on the public to respect the rights of women abled differently. 

Executive Director of the Coast Association for Persons Living with Disabilities (CAPWD), Hamisa Zaja, lamented that PWDs, especially women and girls, are still exploited despite the sensitisation programmes by the government and non-governmental organisations. 

Speaking to the Eastleigh Voice, Hamisa mentioned forced sterilisation and mandatory use of contraceptives as some of the exploitation PWD women go through.

"For severe cases of disabilities, it is understandable that parents or caregivers are only protecting the women. But in the case where a woman can comfortably conceive and give birth without any complications, then it is a form of exploitation to sterilise or force them to use contraceptives when they want to give birth," she stated. 

The activist disclosed that some people opt to sterilise PWD women for fear that they will give birth to a disabled child. She argued that PWDs ought to be left to decide whether they want to take up birth control measures or not, rather than being coerced by society. 

"Not all PWD women are helpless. Those with hearing impairment, blindness, dumbness, mild autism, albinism, and dwarfness can get pregnant and nurse their children without a problem. So we do not see why some are prevented from giving birth," Hamisa countered myths and misconceptions about PWDs. 

The activist further urged the government to come up with measures to ensure the rights of people living with disabilities, especially women and children, are not violated.

"I do not see why a parent can opt to have her disabled daughter prevented from menstruating, which is a natural process, when some of these women can be trained to care for themselves from the time they enter puberty," she wondered. 

Director of Tunaweza Women with Disability Group Charity Chahasi insisted that there is a need for the government to issue guidelines to guide birth control measures for PWDs. 

"Contraceptives should not be given forcefully, but according to a person's free will. Why would a person force another to use them if they don't want to? We have recorded cases where some women have been forced by in-laws or even parents to use contraceptives without their consent," Chahasi disclosed. 

She further stated that there is a need for women with disabilities to be sensitised about reproductive health and be armed with enough information to make informed decisions.

"It is sad that some women are forced into contraceptives only to be used in prostitution or taken advantage of by people who have no intentions of settling down with them, "she said.

The director explained that some parents still hide their children with disabilities for fear of being judged and mocked.

"We are in a century where PWD needs to be empowered and not hidden. Hiding them only prevents them from getting their basic rights, "she said, adding that there are parents who even reject suitors who want to marry their daughter who has a disability. 

Violence against women and girls

The United Nations says that violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent, and devastating human rights violations in the world today and remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma, and shame surrounding it.

In general terms, it manifests itself in physical, sexual, and psychological forms, encompassing any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

Lydia Nzau, now 35, is one of the many women with disabilities in the country who have been forced to use contraceptives or undergo sterilisation without their consent.

While narrating her ordeal, Nzau, who is visually impaired, said that in the pretence of being 'protected' by her husband, she was forced to use contraceptives, denying her the opportunity to be a mother, which was her dream. 

Nzau lamented that, being an only child, she had always dreamed of having a big family.

"I wanted seven children. My husband, however, was against it. He said I was not in a condition to raise a child. He went further to suggest that I undergo sterilisation," she alleged while speaking to the Eastleigh Voice. 

Immediately after they started living together, the husband allegedly made her use contraceptives on the pretence that he wanted to get to know her better.

"We went for a five-year implant contraceptive, and after five years, my husband tried to persuade me to get another one for five more years. I refused because I wanted a child so badly. He turned violent and asked me to choose between my desire to have children and him," she claimed.

Nzau said she is lucky that she was able to stand up for herself and walk out of her marriage to start life afresh.

"I am lucky that I was able to stand up for the injustice and walk out of what has turned into a violent marriage. Some women with disabilities have suffered at the hands of their partners for fear of not being stable financially to support themselves or not getting another partner," she explained, adding that some have even lost their lives through gender-based violence.

The Kenyan constitution provides for the right to health for all, including persons with disabilities. Section 43(1)(a) of the Constitution states that "Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care."

The National Reproductive Health Policy 2022-2032 adds that the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide competently, freely, and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of reproductive health. This includes the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion, and violence.