News related to WWD issue

Mainstream Women with Disabilities (WWDs) into Developing Economic

Most of persons with disabilities live in rural area in Asia Pacific region especially women with disability. In any movements of women’s activities in general, be it a local, national or international level; there have never been any issues of women with disabilities (WWD) in their agenda or policies. With such absence, WWDs, especially in rural areas, are likely to be left out of the mainstream social and economic development. Being women and having a disability, they therefore have become the poorest of the poor among women and men. Besides, WWDs are more risky to be victims of physical and sexual violence or abuse.

Who do we mean by Women with Disabilities?

1. Girls (Individal Impairment)
2. Teenager (Individal Impairment)
3. Adults (Individal Impairment)
4. Middle age women (Individal Impairment)
5. Elderly women (Individal Impairment)

Who do we mean by Women with Disabilities?

Being women with disabilities are faced 2 perspectives; woman and disability.

Women perspectives

1. man power
2. family belonging
3. work at home
4. sexual abuse
5. Gender bias ext.
6. Social standard: wife and mother are considered as primary role of women

Disability perspectives

1. Negative attitude such traditional believe or attitude barriers.
2. Discrimination
3. violence and Human rights abuse
4. Physically barrier
5. systematic barrier
6. information and technology barrier
7. Social standard: WWDs can not be mother, bare a child.

These 2 perspectives push women with disabilities into the corner of marginalized group being poorest of the poor; money and opportunity because they can not exercise their rights, civil and human rights, these two factors deprive WWDs to access to natural resources, resources provide by GOs and other funding support so it is very difficult for WWDs to get out of poverty circle.

Diagram: the Vicious circle of poverty of WWDs

At family level, family and parent always have negative attitude and control WWDs.

At Local level, DPOs, SHGs and stakeholders concerned rarely give opportunity to encourage or included WWDs in decision making process.

At National level, there is no realistic data of women with disabilities because of the ignorance of those stakeholders that WWDs are existing.

At Regional and international level, there are CEDEW or Women Rights Convention doesn’t have a clear concept or even mention to WWDs. There are also neglected in the research or even women in general movement.

Critical Problem

• Sexual Abuse and Violence
• Human rights abuse

Majority of women with disability are living in grassroots level without support and can not exercise their right so they always depend on their family, relative or care taker. Onec women with disabilities are abused and face the violence. It tends to be longer than women without disabilities because of the feeling of love, dependency and so on. When WWDs face sexual abuses that are usually by family members, relative or neighborhoods, the issues never come into court. In case WWDs and their family decided to report. The policeman rarely trust WWDs because their believe that WWDs were un trustfulness. Furthermore, Society labels WWDs as persons with disabilities so WWDs more likely is not women in society images. That’s why people believe that WWDs can not bare a child so they are sterilized.

Mainstream WWDs

According to World Program of Action, 1982, There are 3 works related to disabilities and development

1. Prevention
2. Rehabilitation
3. Equalization of opportunity.

The first 2 works are usually belong to professional in each field such as medical doctor ext. However, nobody can give the equalization or open the opportunity if WWDs themselves don’t take them in to account like nothing about us without us. If WWDs have equal opportunity. It means they can access or exercise their rights as citizen of the country or human being.

Comparison of strategic movement towards WWDs

How to;

From WWDs side

• To establish WWDs networking and collaboration. WWDs should group together and work at cross countries
• WWDs should build their capacities and have a positive thinning.
• WWDs should be strengthened.
• To approach to women in general activists, this is absolutely not easy however WWDs should not wait for invitation to join their activities. We should keep participate their activities and take opportunity to raise our issues

From Stakeholders side

• To Building the capacity of WWDs both in Urban and rural area.
• Stakeholders should give more opportunity to include WWDs in every process at the beginning step. Futhermore, WWDs should be encouraged to get tainting such as capacity training, ext.
• Stakeholders should remove barrier in environment such as physically barrier, attitude barrier, communication and technology barrier and systematic barrier.

If WWDs become professional in networking, collaboration, their capacity are improved, and they would be able to work with GOs, INGOs, and all stakeholders. They can be not only partnership but also ownership in all level of the development aspect and procedure.

Our lessons learned are.

1. WWDs need to be mainstream in all aspect of Women in general activities to ensure WWDs issues will be included in their agenda in the future. This means WWDs should not wait for invitation we have to use the participatory approach strategies (In a positive way).
2. WWDs need to formulate a group and to network with civil society comprising of stakeholders, WWDs, NGOs. This means we need to seek common interest/ issues or universal issues such as poverty and human rights.
3. WWDs leader need to have holistic vision and to have life long learning.

Thai WWDs alliance meets the first step to mainstream WWDs. However, we haven't success yet because mainstreaming does not ensure that WWDs will be include so WWDs alliance has to seek other strategies and work closely with stakeholders.

The key successes are

1. To mainstream WWDs in to WWW activates.
2. To have a strong alliance or network included civil society.
3. To be proactive.
4. To be voice of our own and self representation in WWWs activities.
5. To be life long learning.
6. To have lobbying and advocacy skills.
7. Leader should have a clear holistic vision.

In conclusion

To mainstream women with disabilities (WWDs) into developing economic, WWDs should be included in all aspect of development. Participations of WWDs are the key factors of economical development. If WWDs can exercise their rights both civil and human rights, poverty will be eliminated. Furthermore, WWDs should be proactive to mainstream into women in general activities.

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