Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities

International News

Activists From Strength: What You Need to Know to Be a Disability and Gender-Inclusive Funder:

“In a diverse range of countries from the Middle East, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe, organizations led by women and gender-diverse people–with and without disabilities– and individual advocates are transforming traditional patterns of activism for disability rights. They actively seek to advance rights at the intersection of gender and disability. However, despite the transformative nature of their work, organizations and activists working at the intersection of gender and disability still struggle to secure the financial resources and other forms of support they need to sustain their work.” (Mar, Women Enabled International)

Thirty years of implementation of the Beijing Declaration: its potential for women and girls with disabilities, a report. (Jan, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Person with Disabilities)

Making the Invisible Visible: Why disability matters in violence against women and bodily autonomy. “This report examines who and where women with disabilities are, and explores the relationships between disability and intimate partner violence (IPV) and the bodily autonomy of women of reproductive age (15–49 years)”. (2024, United Nations Population Fund)

Women with disabilities stigma inventory (WDSI) “a stand-alone, self-reporting survey tool that can be used to collect data about the experiences of women with disabilities globally in relation to stigma, discrimination, and violence.” (2024, UN Women)

Addressing Stigma and Discrimination to eliminate violence against women with disabilities, policy paper. (Link to pdf, 2024, UN Women)

Measuring violence against women with disability a briefing note on data availability, methodological issues and recommendations for good practice. (2024, WHO)

How to improve digital inclusion and accessibility for girls with disabilities. (2023, UNICEF)

BBC 100 Women 2023 among the list of inspiring and influential women are many disabled women from around the world. (2023, BBC)

Women Enabled International 2022 Annual Report marking their 10th anniversary. (2023, Women Enabled International)

Gender-Based Violence and Disability Inclusion Fact Sheet. (2023, UNFPA)

Meaningful inclusion of women and girls with disabilities in development programmes. (2023, Inclusive Futures)

Be Inclusive: learning report on including women and girls with disabilities in development and humanitarian projects. One of the lessons learned is to interrupt the assumption that participation in a project is in itself to achieve a positive outcome. (2023, Inclusive Futures)

Improving contraceptive choices and bodily autonomy for women and girls with disabilities:

“For example, evidence shows that women with disabilities experience lower coverage of modern contraceptives (44%) compared to women without disabilities (48%). The gap is even larger in South Asia: 48% versus 59%. Similarly, adults with disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa are less likely to have comprehensive knowledge about HIV prevention and transmission (23%) compared to people without disabilities (33%).” (2023, Sightsavers)

Reaching women and girls with disabilities Practical steps and lessons learned. (2023, Inclusive Futures)

Where is a woman's place? Multimedia feature, where six women share how they’ve defied discrimination and negative attitudes to define their own place in society. (2023)

First anger, then action: why you should sign the Feminist Accessibility Protocol. (2023, Sightsavers)

Ensuring girls and women are not left behind learning series evidence brief. See also eight ways to make sure women and girls with disabilities are not left behind. (2023, LFTW)

Notions around a “Successful Woman with Disabilities”: Exploring voices of girls in Nepal, Malawi and Uganda. “Success for both girls with and without disabilities encompassed not just financial independence and accumulation of material wealth but also personal characteristics such as kindness and human connection.” (2023, Inclusive Education Initiative)

Resource guide on strengthening gender inclusion in disability rights spaces. (2023, Women Enabled)

Humanitarian emergencies and situations of risk for women and girls and gender diverse persons with disabilities. (2023, Women Enabled International)

From Beijing to the CRPD: the missing keystone. (2023, IDA)

Centering the Voices of Disabled Youth Activists (2023, Women Enabled)

The Feminist Accessibility Protocol: “a groundbreaking set of commitments that seek to ensure the inclusion of feminists with disabilities in gender equality spaces.” See notes on what it is, and why we need it. (2022, Women Enabled)

Laws across the world fail to consider disability and gender. A policy brief surveys legislation in 190 economies: only ten of them mention women with disabilities in both their gender equality law and disability rights law. (2022, World Bank)

A short brief from UN Women “addressing the intersection” of Gender, age, and disability. The brief focusses on older women with disabilities, which is very important to do – but I can't help but be disappointed by this brief not reflecting more deeply on how interventions on gender, age, and disability intersect. (2022, UN Women)

A Compass to Steer Our Work in Gender Transformation and Inclusion - on steps to put gender equity into practice. (2022, DRF)

Policy discussion on barriers for disability organizations, and especially women with disabilities, to be involved in discussions on gender equality. (2022, Center for Inclusive Policy)

If you stay quiet, you stay invisible Mama Cash report featuring eight profiles of feminist disability rights activism.

"The activist groups featured in this collection are doing ground-breaking work – often with relatively limited resources. Many of them depended on volunteer labour and worked from their homes before they received their first funding." (2022)

Empowering women and changing minds on CBM Germany efforts to support women with disabilities. (2022, D+C)

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Asia-Pacific

Disability, Sexuality, and Gender in Asia an introduction to Asian disability activism and the experience of women and LGBTIQ people with disabilities. (Open access, 2023, Routledge)

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Latin America and the Caribbean

Gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities in Latin America. (In Spanish, 2023, Capacitismes)

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Africa

Building inclusion in the African Continent: DIWA’s decade of advocacy for women with disabilities. (Mar, IDA)

Powerful yet overlooked: African women with disabilities and the ongoing struggle for inclusion, 30 years after Beijing:

“The report reveals significant government failures in addressing the intersection of gender and disability. While global and regional frameworks exist, their implementation is weak. Of 31 gender-based violence policies analysed in the 2024 Policy review of GBV policies by [Making it Work], two-thirds neglect women with disabilities, and only 6% include targeted measures. Women with disabilities are often excluded from economic empowerment, social protection, and leadership opportunities, with policies frequently lacking disaggregated data and failing to address their specific challenges.” (2024, Humanity & Inclusion)

Girls and young women raise their voice profiles of 10 young female advocates in Eastern and Southern Africa. (2023, UNICEF)

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Benin

Alternative Report on the Human Rights Situations of Women with Albinism:

“Albinism groups in Benin have also reported numerous incidents of discrimination against women with albinism in various areas, including marriage, employment, and education.” (2024, Africa Albinism Network)

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Congo-Kinshasa

After surviving sexual violence, youth leader creates change for girls with disabilities in the DRC. (2024, UNFPA)

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Ghana

Alternative Report on the Human Rights Situations of Women
with Albinism (2024, Africa Albinism Network)

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Kenya

Women with disability in leadership profiles of women with disabilities. (2023, Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities)

Healthcare barriers that women with disabilities face (2023, Nation)

Raising the Voices of Women with Disabilities Profile of Roselyne Olewe, “a leading voice in the fight for the labour rights of persons with disabilities in Kenya.” (2023, All Africa)

Profile of Easter Achieng (2022, Inclusive Futures)

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Namibia

Building Dreams Cecilia’s Entrepreneurial Journey. (Mar, Africa Albinism Network)

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Nigeria

I’m Changing the Status Quo For Women With Disabilities profile of Lois Auta and the Network of Women With Disabilities. “I always emphasise three types of barriers stopping women with disabilities. Attitudinal, infrastructural and institutional.” (2024, New Telegraph)

Assessing impact of Disability Act on Nigerian women (2022, BluePrint)

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Rwanda

Improving gender mainstreaming efforts within organizations of persons with disabilities. (2023, African Business)

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Senegal

Book Review: My Name is Yedia “shines a much-needed spotlight on women and girls with disabilities in Senegal” (2024, Memria)

A quest for dignified health care for women with disabilities: “a woman with disability talks about her experience giving birth and how it drives her activism today.” (2022, WHO)

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Sierra Leone

Integrating Disability Justice into Girl-Centered programming. (2023, We are Purposeful)

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Uganda

Profile of Integrated Disabled Women Activities (IDIWA) a conversation with Elizabeth Kayanga, the Executive Director at IDIWA:

“The best moments in my work are when I see adolescent girls and young women with disabilities taking up spaces, engaging, influencing policy, promoting disability inclusion, community development, and participating in IDIWA's program design and implementation.” (2024, Inklusion Leben)

Leave No Woman Behind: A blog on Disability, Gender, and Employment. (2022, Disability Justice Project)

Leading the Charge a feature on Christine Oliver Dhikusooka and her work mobilizing around women with disabilities. (2022, Disability Justice Project)

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Cambodia

Creating a safe space for women with disabilities in Cambodia. “Vannet leads a women with disabilities group in Kampong Cham, Cambodia.” (2024, ADD)

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Cameroon

Pascaline Mekati Matoko, the founder of Deaf Rights Cameroon Association, is passionate about promoting the rights and education of girls and women with disabilities. (2022, Sightsavers)

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China

Gender and Disability in China: The Rise of Female-Led Disabled Persons’ Organisations (DPOs):

“Amid the growing disability-consciousness movement enabled by digitalisation, a new generation of female-led DPOs has been active and influential in raising disability awareness and organising communities in China. These female-led DPOs are initiated by Chinese disabled women who are based in major cities in China or living overseas. Many founders are highly educated and have been educated overseas. Their organisations aim to build communities (many specifically hope to empower disabled girls and women through targeted programming), share resources, and challenge disability and gender stigma from traditional male-led DPOs.” (Feb, Made in China Journal)

Inclusion, Exclusion, Agency, and Advocacy a book on Experiences of Women With Physical Disabilities in China, With Worldwide Implications. (2024, IAP)

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Georgia

Exploring visions of inclusion: women’s disability activism in Georgia. (2022)

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India

Accessibility advocate Anjlee Agarwal takes over PM Modi's X handle on Women's Day, calls for inclusivity. (Mar, Deccan Herald)

How To Become A Man! Personal reflections on not fitting into hegemonic ideas of masculinity. (2024, Outlook)

How Much Of A Man Is A Disabled Man? “Does patriarchy disable our ability to recognise desire?” (2023, Agents of Ishq)

Trans Persons With Disabilities Lack Enabling Social Systems and Healthcare Support: “the medical fraternity is patronising and insensitive towards their healthcare needs. It does not help that families, already struggling to cope with their disability, find it hard to come to terms with their gender identity.” (2022, BehanBox)

Women With Disabilities Have To Constantly Negotiate Between Isolation And Intrusion

“We noted in our conversations with women with disabilities that they experience social isolation and the invasion of privacy simultaneously. Their body becomes available to other people — parents, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, groups of medical students doing the round of wards, for example.” (2022)

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Jordan

Health and reproductive services are not available to women with disabilities report of a study. (In Arabic, 2024, Mena FN)

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Kyrgyzstan

Abused by Relatives, Ignored by the State Domestic Violence Against and Neglect of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Kyrgyzstan (2023, Human Rights Watch)

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Nepal

Feminist Visions for Disability Liberation a new Intersectional Feminist Forum and short video featuring calls of women with disabilities. (2024, Disability Rights Fund)

Crossroads a video documentary showing the lives of blind women in Nepal particularly in terms of relationships (and two whose husbands left them). Hardship, hope, and the collective efforts of activists working to change. (2024, Disability Justice Project)

Disability and Gender: Lived Experiences of Economic Hardships Faced by Women with Disabilities from Sudurpaschim Province (2022, International Journal of Social Sciences and Management)

My Lens My Reality a photovoice study on the rights of women with disabilities. I appreciated the slippers that illustrate inclusion and exclusion (p16): “The slippers symbolize there are many members in the family. Dad, mom, brother, sister who are actually going outside to work. And me, I’m inside, with my disability, I was always in my room.” (2022, SDDC)

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Pakistan

The stigma against women with disabilities: Women with disabilities suffer from discrimination and are less likely to get married. Why? (2022, T-Magazine)

Tanzila Khan: disability rights campaigner tells young women ‘the world is yours’ (2022, the Guardian)

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Philippines

Intersection of Gender and Disability on Returns to Education A Case from Metro Manila, Philippines. (2023, Merits)

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Yemen

Successes and Setbacks a Debrief feature on the life stories of women with disabilities. (2024, Disability Debrief)

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Europe

Gender stereotypes against women with disabilities. A position paper. (Feb, EDF)

Policy recommendations on intersectionality between disability and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGTBI). (2024, EDF)

See Us For Who We Are series of photos spotlighting women's lives. (2024, Gender Equality Forum)

Combating violence against women with disabilities A guide on monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women. (2024, EDF)

Empowerment and Leadership Third EDF Manifesto on the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities (2024, EDF)

Stories and voices of women and girls with disabilities winners of a photo competition. (2024, EDF)

Intersections: a survey on experiences of LGBTI persons with disabilities in Europe. (2023, ILGA Europe)

Addressing the invisibility of women and girls with disabilities (2022, Council of Europe)

Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit 2024 (2019, EDF)

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Estonia

Neurodiversity movement in Estonia: an interview with cofounder of the Estonian Association of Autistic Women Birgit Soans. (2024, ERR)

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Ireland

More harm, more barriers, more silence: intimate partner abuse leaves disabled women feeling hurt, disbelieved and isolated, new research finds:

“abusive partners, often in the position of a carer, weaponise women’s disabilities including withholding medication, denying basic care and mobility needs, using impairments to portray the woman as an unfit parent and inflicting verbal and physical abuse that targets their disability.” (2024, RTE)

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Moldova

Women with Disabilities in Business a report on identification of Problems and Obstacles Faced. (2024, Center for International Private Enterprise)

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Netherlands

An overview of issues of women and girls with disabilities from an intersectional perspective. (In Dutch, 2024, Alliantie VN-Verdrag Handicap)

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Spain

10% of women killed by gender-based violence had disabilities (In Spanish, 2023, Efemenista)

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United Kingdom

Women with learning disabilities star in menopause film A film has been made by and for women with learning disabilities or autism to explain that perimenopause and menopause symptoms are not "embarrassing or scary". (2024, BBC)

How to promote disabled women in academia (2023, THE)

Invisible: Documentary about 6 disabled women activists. (2022, Tend Project)

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Dominican Republic

Women with disabilities: physical and social barriers. (In Spanish, 2024, Acento)

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Honduras

Lack of employment reinforces cycle of exclusion and violence against women with disabilities. (In Spanish, 2024, Radioamerica.hn)

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Mexico

What is the national day of women with disability? (In Spanish, 2023, Yo También)

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United States

Eliminating Barriers to Employment for Disabled Women from playbook for the advancement of women in the economy. (2024, Center for American Progress)

Nearly half of women with disabilities report experiencing sexual harassment or assault at work 48% of women with disabilities reported this compared to 32% of women without disabilities. (2023, the 19th)

Michigan Transphobic Attack Leaves Trans Disabled Man Injured “Andrew Blake-Newton reported a group of people in a van shot him with pellet gun bullets and hurled transphobic slurs at him.” (2023, Huffpost)

Book review of V. Jo Hsu's Constellating home: trans and queer Asian American rhetorics which “enfolds transnational and Black feminism, critical race, disability, queer and trans studies into its’ theoretical framework.” (2023, Disability & Society)

A federal appeals court finds that gender dysphoria is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (2022, CT Mirror)

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Australia

Loneliness and social isolation: How to make connection accessible for women with disabilities (2024, Women's Agenda)

Accessing Formal Supports in Australia: The Experiences of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Women with Disabilities. (2023, Women With Disabilities Australia)

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Fiji

Pride and Inclusion in the Pacific “video featuring Eve Naqio, a trans woman and deaf advocate, who is the spirited project officer for the Disability Pride Hub in Fiji.” (2023, DRF)

LGBTQI + People with Disabilities Should Not Be Left Behind “Isoa Nabainivalu from Fiji is Creating a Safe Space For Members of His Organization to Feel Comfortable About Their Sexual Orientation and Identity” (2023, Disability Justice Project)

Needs assessment on women and young people with disabilities. (2022, UNFPA)

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New Zealand

Disabled women on writing their own rulebook. (Mar, D*List)

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Samoa

Needs assessment of women and young people with disabilities. (2022, UNFPA)

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Vanuatu

Needs assessment of women and young people with disabilities. (2022, UNFPA)

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Colombia

Cultivating Autonomy Colectiva Polimorfas: ‘Donors should listen. That’s the number one thing,’ says Yoli. ‘That’s what we do ourselves – we listen to the voices of people with disabilities that may be different from ours.’ (link to pdf, 2022, Mama Cash)

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