Women and girls living with disabilities want inclusion in every sphere of the society and country to make best use of their potential.
“There has to be overall inclusion of all persons with disabilities in all sectors,” Ashrafun Nahar Misti, founder and Executive Director of Women with Disabilities Development Foundation (WDDF) in Bangladesh said, as the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence ended on Saturday.
“If we can make inclusion in every sphere of our society and country, then women and girls with disabilities will get the space to explore and make use of their potential and capacity to get involved with various initiatives, and make a co-creation environment for all,” Misti said.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Within that, December 3 is globally observed as International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security. It is also central to the promise of the SDGs, where no one is left behind. Of the one billion populations of persons with disabilities, 80% live in developing countries.
One in every five women is likely to experience disability in her life, while one in every ten children is a child with a disability.
"Women and girls with disabilities face lots of limitations throughout their lives. It starts from their family, and then percolates to the society, community and institutions. They face multiple forms of violence, including mental torture. Many of those coming from poor families are even physically tortured by their own family members and community people,” Misti said while sharing her experience.
“The continuous bad experience of mental and physical torture breaks down the confidence level of women and girls with disabilities, and prevents them from becoming strong women who can enjoy their lives.
“If we can make inclusion in every sphere of our society and country, then women and girls with disabilities will get the space to explore and make use of their potential and capacity to get involved with various initiatives, and make a co-creation environment for all. There has to be overall inclusion of all persons with disabilities in all sectors.
“If there is inclusion in educational institutions, we will automatically think of inclusion in communication and accessibility systems, as women and girls with disabilities will not be able to reach educational institutes, without inclusive communication and accessibility systems in place.
“Inclusion of women and girls with disabilities is a human right. It is about their dignity and acceptance. Inclusion is a powerful message for others to make their services available for all,” she said.
“Having a positive attitude, behaviour and acceptance of women will go a long way in reducing violence against all, including women and girls with disabilities. Also we have to take more innovative steps to incorporate the rights of all persons with disabilities in all services".