Creating spaces – for women with disabilities (WWD) to communicate and advocate for their rights in South Asia
Issues faced by WWD - the problem to be addressed
Poverty is both a cause and consequence of disability. The disabled comprise 20 per cent of the world's poorest people.
They often pay more for treatment, transport and other services and yet are excluded from economic opportunities, thus placing a greater burden on their families and often driving them into poverty.
Disabled women and girls often find themselves in an even worse predicament, suffering from inequality and facing a double discrimination based on gender and disability.
-
They are often excluded from education, health services, family life
and employment and experience high rates of sexual abuse with the high risk
of contracting HIV/AIDS. They often have low self-esteem and confidence
resulting from a life of discrimination and exclusion"
This discrimination is documented in many studies. One survey from Orissa, India, indicative of many in the participating countries, found that 100 per cent of disabled woman and girls were beaten at home, 25 per cent of mentally challenged women had been raped and six per cent of WWD had been forcibly sterilised. (Mohapatra and Mohanty, 2004) In addition, focus groups have found that the exclusion faced by WWD extends to sectors traditionally considered inclusive - these include NGOs who exclude WWD from accessing micro-credit because they are seen as too great a risk. Women's Organisations and male-dominated DPOs compound this discrimination.
Across each country, the struggle for disabled women and girls finds disturbing parallels, and in each, WWD often feel invisible, but lack the confidence, resources and voice to transform their situation. WWDs are however, beginning to demand more recognition and suggest ways in which this inequity can be better addressed. This includes: more accessible information, multi-layered networks and platforms that enable scope for increased dialogue, appropriate skills and rights training, and specific identification of (and associated action on) WWD issues in policies and programmes.