By Pauline Odhiambo
Crystal Asige lost her eyesight to glaucoma in her early 20s, but her clarity of vision as a human rights advocate has only gotten better with time.
At 33, Crystal became a senator in Kenya's parliament and has officially represented people with disabilities since 2022.
Before embarking on a career in politics, she jocularly referred to herself as "VIP", short for "visually impaired person". The "person" has graduated to "parliamentarian".
While Crystal may never have intended to pursue politics, she always knew that making music and championing human rights was her life's calling.
"Becoming a senator is an extension of my voice and my God-given gift of singing," the singer-senator tells TRT Afrika.
"Earlier, I would use my singing to advocate people's rights. Now, as a senator, I speak up for rights."
Crystal's initiation into activism was partly triggered by her experience of contending with bullies on the nursery school playground. Instead of complaining to her parents, she would return home and sing about it.
Deteriorating eyesight
In high school, Crystal was active in theatre when she noticed that reading was getting more challenging. She adapted to the challenge by always sitting in the classroom's front row for a better view of the blackboard.
"I also memorised my scripts as soon as I got them. This helped me avoid embarrassment in front of the entire cast. " she recounts.
After completing high school in 2007, Crystal went to the UK to study film and theatre at Bristol's University of West of England. The lecture halls were significantly larger than the ones at her high school, so she was forced to get an eye exam and discovered she had glaucoma.
Glaucoma is a condition in which the eye pressure builds up, which damages the optic nerve. The prognosis was grim. Doctors predicted Crystal would be blind by 2013.
The news plunged her into depression. She contemplated suicide even as she underwent several surgeries to help ease the pressure in her eyes.
Crystal then found solace in music, releasing her first album, Karibia (Get Closer), in 2014. The album received accolades for its vibrant sound. Pulled Under, a single from the album, climbed to No.1 on one of the UK charts in 2016.
Music and politics
Before venturing into politics, Crystal had built a career as a public speaker, confidently addressing large crowds worldwide. But politics proved different.
"I hardly spoke during my first few months in Parliament. It was intimidating being among all those political heavyweights who had been in the field for up to 30 years," Crystal tells TRT Afrika.
"But when I finally spoke, my peers started seeing me as an expert in my field, not just the little girl who had been brought there on affirmative action."
Mixing music with political activism, she released her song Tattoo to coincide with a rise in femicide and gender-based violence in Kenya.
"On Valentine's Day, I moved a motion to adjourn Parliament to discuss the femicide cases. I had earlier lobbied women parliamentarians to wear black instead of red on the same day in a show of solidarity with the women who have lost their lives to gender-based violence or are victims of physical abuse," says Crystal.
Disability Bill
By February 2024, four bills Crystal had brought up for debate in Parliament were passed unanimously in a historic move that saw her ranked among the country’s best-performing senators.
Of the bills passed, the Learners with Disability Bill seeks to integrate disabled students into mainstream schools.
The Kenya Sign Language Bill ensures that deaf learners are given the same opportunities as everyone else in the education system.
The Startup Bill recognises the vital role played by start-ups in attracting foreign direct investment and tackling unemployment among the youth, including people with disabilities.
According to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, about 918,000 people aged five and above have a disability. Many of these people are often stigmatised, with limited or no access to education systems.
"We want to move away from the segregation of schools for those with special needs and get more learners with disabilities into the traditional system," explains Crystal.
The Persons with Disability Bill is one that Crystal is most proud of, as it seeks to repeal the 2003 Persons with Disability Act.
"The previous legislation ensured that people with disability are tax-exempt once they get into employment. But what about people with severe disabilities who cannot get jobs because they are fully dependent on their caregivers?" she says.
Positive representation
Crystal hopes that more people with disabilities can get into politics to create tailor-made legislation befitting the goal of empowering disabled communities.
According to the Kenyan Constitution, at least 5% of jobs in the public and private sector should be reserved for people with disabilities, but that is unfortunately not the case in both sectors.
"I am the only visually impaired parliamentarian in both the Senate and National Assembly and one of two people with disability among 67 senators. Out of 359 parliamentarians, we are about 11 people with disabilities. So, there is definitely a need for more representation,” she says.
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