Creating spaces – for women with disabilities (WWD) to communicate and advocate for their rights in South Asia
Lessons to carry forward
Three key lessons emerged during the course of the project and the partners see it as crucial to advocate for their inclusion within existing policies and programmes affecting the development of WWD in the countries and the region.
Three key lessons emerged during the course of the project and the partners see it as crucial to advocate for their inclusion within existing policies and programmes affecting the development of WWD in the countries and the region. The NSAWWD Executive Board, representatives of the national networks of WWD, the partner organisations and, most important of all, local WWD leaders, recognise that they are best placed to share these lessons locally, nationally, regionally and internationally.
The lessons are:
- Leadership training alone cannot help to improve the livelihoods or achieve the complete empowerment of WWD. They also need practical skills development to be able to seek out inclusive education and employment opportunities. A particular lesson to have emerged is the need to learn English and develop skills for communicating in national, regional and international forums.
- There is an acute need for advocacy for the sexual and reproductive health rights of WWD, because often their sexual identity is not recognised. This project tried to address the inclusion of WWD to some extent, through orientation workshops in some countries, e.g. India and Bangladesh, but more needs to be done.
- Creating spaces has provided an enabling environment for change, but socio-cultural issues and practices still dominate the lives of WWD and need immediate attention. In this regard, the partners see a specific need to research and support inheritance rights.
The partners have been developing joint proposals to sustain the initiative and, when funding is secured they will seek to address these lessons.
Extending the reach of the leadership training to WWD who have not yet had the opportunity to undergo the training, is continuing beyond the life of this project. In Pakistan, the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM), conducted a training workshop in August 2010.