Integrated Disabled Women Activities (IDIWA) is a women-led organization founded in 2000 to empower women and girls with disabilities to challenge discrimination and inequality. Based in Uganda’s Eastern region, with a focus on the Busoga subregion, IDIWA is part of the disability, women’s rights, and feminist movements. We’re excited to share a discussion between the LIN and IDIWA’s Executive Director, Elizabeth Kayanga, who is also a LIN member.
Please introduce yourself and your role in IDIWA.
I am Elizabeth Kayanga, the Executive Director at IDIWA. I am responsible for overall program management including planning and implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning, financial management and administration, and resource mobilization and fundraising. I head the senior management team, therefore I am also responsible for staff development to ensure adequate skills for effective program implementation, and member development, which means capacity building for members and associations of women and girls with disabilities dotted around the districts of operation. IDIWA maintains a cooperative relationship with members, therefore, supporting them to develop capacity is very critical for them to tap into local resources and opportunities in their communities.
The best moments in my work are when I see adolescent girls and young women with disabilities taking up spaces, engaging, influencing policy, promoting disability inclusion, community development, and participating in IDIWA's program design and implementation. My heart melts when I see sustainability just around the corner. I can leave the frontline service, and just watch or guide teams from the background.
Can you tell us about IDIWA’s current projects and their impact?
Right now, IDIWA is focused on three main areas: empowering girls and young women with disabilities to participate in decision-making, eliminating violence against women and girls with disabilities, and strengthening institutional responses to crises. Since January 2024, we’ve supported 1,200 women and girls with disabilities to engage with leaders, demand their rights, and access services for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
We’ve trained paralegals and peer educators who raise awareness in their communities, mediate conflicts through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), follow up on SGBV cases, and ensure survivors get the care they need. We also have teams conducting accessibility audits and advocating for disability-inclusive budgeting. These efforts have led to real changes—like public spaces becoming more accessible with ramps, adjustable labor beds in health centers, and dedicated budget lines for disability inclusion in local governments.
We’re also seeing women and girls with disabilities take on leadership roles. They’re active in decision-making platforms, presenting alternative budgets, and participating in high-level discussions. For instance, they’ve raised issues like child marriage at the UN Human Rights Council and discussed disability and climate change at international conferences.
How does IDIWA address the intersection of disabilities with issues like gender and climate change?
At IDIWA, we’re implementing a project called “Mainstreaming Gender, Disability, Environment, and Climate Change Nexus.” It connects natural resource management and disability, focusing on how climate vulnerabilities affect women and girls with disabilities, especially those with conditions like albinism. We’re working to address food insecurity, land loss, and climate impacts by influencing policies, such as revising the Kaliro District Policy to include climate justice.
We’ve also trained community structures—like paralegals and environmental defenders—to combat discrimination and promote climate resilience through gender-transformative approaches. Women and girls with disabilities are now telling their stories through blogging, videos, and photovoice to engage policymakers.
Additionally, in partnership with the local government, we’re promoting climate-smart agriculture. Demonstration farms teach sustainable practices like crop rotation, mulching, and agroforestry, helping improve food security and livelihoods while conserving the environment. Women and girls with disabilities are leading these efforts as change agents in their communities.
As an OPD, which are the biggest challenges your organisation faces in advocating for persons with disabilities?
In the last 24 years, IDIWA has positively influenced society towards respect for human rights, however, persistent discrimination against women and girls with disabilities hinders access to vital services such as education, employment and healthcare, and perpetuating a cycle of poverty, low self-esteem and self-stigmatization, For example, many legislative frameworks and policies are embedded in a patriarchal system; community midwifery does not handle women and girls with disabilities, always arguing that their birthing process requires a specialist, which is not necessarily the case. However, many women with disabilities are turned away when they seek services, since there no sign language interpreters, and adjustable labour beds in hospitals. This jeopardizes our advocacy efforts.
The challenge of managing IDIWA growth and development is high on the agenda; we need to position the organization strategically in a changing environment, to attract resources for stability and sustainability.
An ideal inclusive project should address reasonable accommodations to enable people with disabilities to participate in all spheres of life on an equal basis with their non-disabled counterparts
What is your wish from development cooperations when seeking out partnerships with organisations like yours?
As a disability justice organization, we appreciate partnerships that prioritize listening to each other, participation and lived experience leadership, more decision-making power, better access to resources, unrestricted funding, and equality for marginalized groups. We believe that development partners can influence the wider sector.
What do you look forward to for the next five plus years for your organisation?
IDIWA is seeking to expand the program and reach out more women and girls with disabilities in the central and northern regions of Uganda. IDIWA will investment in services for women and girls with disabilities in refugee settlements, and environment and climate change action. Improving organizational policies and strengthening governance, change management and communication systems, human resources and transport facilities, are critical for our growth and development, and sustainability.
Any recommendations for the network members? What should they consider in their work when partnering with OPDs?
IDIWA is happy to be introduced to the Living Inclusion Network Newsletter; we recommend more opportunities for sharing and learning among members, be it through online or physical meetings.
