Women's Rights Fund Partners in Kenya
The Women's Rights Fund currently partners with six grassroots women’s rights organisations in Kenya.
Association of Women in Agriculture in Kenya (AWAK)
AWAK promote women’s rights and build the skills and knowledge of women and young women farmers.
AWAK
Judy Matu, Founder and Chair, Association of Women in Agriculture in Kenya (AWAK)
AWAK champion people having enough to eat, secure rural livelihoods, nature-positive innovations and effective urban food systems.
They've recently worked in two United Nations food system solution programmes (on gender and nature positive innovations).
AWAK has 7 members of staff, 6 contracted staff and 20 volunteers. They support approximately 700 community members per year.
Association for Women in Energy and Extractives in Kenya (AWEIK)
AWEIK is a women-led umbrella organisation working in the extractives sector, addressing challenges faced by women engaged in oil, gas, mining and energy industries.
Hanna Wang'ombe, CEO, AWEIK
Hannah Wang'ombe, CEO, AWEIK, Kenya
The organisation's work includes policy and legislation, training and career development opportunities. They have 6 staff and 4 volunteers and support approximately 1,200 people per year.
Elevate Her
Elevate Her champions the rights of women and girls with disabilities through...
- advocacy
- community engagement
- education
- strategic partnerships
- sports
They strive to ensure that women and girls with disabilities have equal access to all aspects of life, enabling them to excel and be celebrated for their abilities.
Empowering women and girls with disabilities isn't just about levelling the playing field—it's about rewriting the entire game plan with inclusivity as our MVP.”
Juliet Mwongeli, Founder of Elevate Her.
Indigenous Resource Management Organization (IREMO)
IREMO is one of the few women’s rights organisations in Marsabit county, one of the poorest regions of Kenya.
Oxfam
Eva Darare, Executive Director, Indigenous Resource Management Organisation (IREMO).
IREMO works to improve the living conditions of rural women, young people and people with disabilities.
They address female genital mutilation issues, as well as responding to the severe drought in Kenya, advocating for representation of women in political leadership and supporting the county government in the development of gender policies.
IREMO has 3 staff members and 4 volunteers and supports approximately 355 people per year.
Teenseed Africa
Women and Girls are Seeds of Greatness! Teenseed is a story of successful community organizing through collective action to overcome social injustices against women and girls health and rights using feminist principles.”
Winny Obure, Founder and Director; Teenseed Africa.
Teenseed Africa was founded in 2006. It supports teen and young women in Nairobi’s informal settlements and rural areas of Homa Bay, Kisumu, Busia, and Migori Counties.
Teenseed addresses sexual and gender-based violence through...
- advocacy for sexual and reproductive health rights
- education support for survivors
- economic empowerment for young mothers
- efforts to end period poverty
The organisation also engages men and boys in combating rape culture.
Teenseed convenes the Women in Leadership and Development (WILD) Network, uniting over 40 grassroots feminist groups focused on women's and girls' health and rights.
With a team of 6 full time staff, 4 part time and 22 community volunteers, Teenseed reaches over 3,800 adolescent girls and young women annually.
Usikimye
Usikimye means ‘do not be silent’ in Swahili. Usikimye work on the prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence.
Oxfam
We felt there was an intersection between hunger and gender based violence (GBV) and so we started a feeding programme. It became something [of] a necessity in this community as part of mitigating GBV.”
Njeri Migwi, Executive Director, Usikimye, Kenya
The organisation runs safe houses and an emergency hotline for survivors of violence, as well as several programmes including support to teenage mothers and online counselling. Usikimye has 13 staff members and 10 volunteers and provides services to approximately 2,000 people per year.
Past Members
Badili Africa
Badili Africa was founded in Nairobi in 2013. The organisation creates informal and innovative spaces for political discussion for women, such as beauty spas and tea parties. Some of their members ran for office in the Kenyan elections of 2022. The organisation reaches approximately 480 women per year. Badili Africa was a member of the Women's Rights Fund from 2020 until 2024.
Bina Maseno is the Executive Director of Badili Africa in Kenya. Image: Oxfam
The role of Badili Africa is to ensure that women and girls understand that their participation, or lack thereof, [in political processes] has a direct impact on the quality of public service delivery in this country.”
Bina Maseno, Executive Director, Badili Africa, Kenya
Dhobi Women Network
Dhobi Women Network have championed the rights of women and girl domestic workers in Nairobi since 2010.
They specialise in labour rights for local and migrant domestic workers, as well as combatting gender-based violence in the workplace (through a reporting system for violence survivors, connecting women to hospital treatment and more).
Dhobi Women Network support approximately 3,000 people per year. They have 4 staff members and 2 volunteers. Dhobi Women Network were a member of the Women's Rights Fund from 2020 until 2024.
Oxfam
We have been able to build the capacity of women domestic champions from the grassroots level whereby they are able now to stand on their own and claim their rights. When abuses are raised they are able to respond.”
Grace Ngugi, Executive Director, Dhobi Women's Network.
Wangu Kanja
Wangu Kanja Foundation works to end sexual violence in Kenya. It received a one-off grant for work with WRF partners on the prevention of violence in the run up to the Kenyan elections in August 2022. This funding enabled our partners to undertake preventive actions with communities and authorities and reduce women’s vulnerability.