WOMEN WITH DISABILITY: A POPULATION AT RISK

Persons with disabilities are the world's largest minority group and are estimated to include about 10% of the global population. About 80% of this population is said to be living in developing countries. Social, architectural, transportation, institutional, and information barriers continue to prevent individuals with disabilities from having access to available resources and opportunities to maximize their potentials. For example, it is estimated that about 90% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend schools, and the global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is 3% and for women with disabilities only 1% are literate. Additionally, according to the United National Enable, about 80 to 90% of persons with disabilities of working age in developing countries are unemployed. In industrialized countries the figure is between 50 and 70%, which is still high compared to the United States' national unemployment rate of 9.4% and the United Kingdom's 5.4 %.

Moreover, many countries in the world do not have all their transport systems accessible to persons with disabilities. An example is Ghana. In Ghana, there is no single accessible transportation system to ease the mobility needs of persons with disabilities. Additionally, the majority of countries in the world have no free medical care or welfare programmes to lessen the economic hardships that persons with disabilities encounter in our societies. Again, an example is Ghana. In Ghana, though there are ring fencing programmes such as the 2% district assembly common fund designated to better the lives of persons with disabilities, such programmes are not individualized. Consequently, persons with disabilities are estimated to account for 15 to 20% of the world's poorest and are among the poorest of the poor.

Women with disabilities experience multiple disadvantages on account of gender and disability. In developing countries, they experience what is termed triple jeopardy as they are discriminated against on account of gender, disability, and geographic region-developing world. Research has shown that the various forms of oppressions women with disabilities face reinforce each other, resulting in unequal opportunities for women and men with disabilities. For instances, research has shown that men with disabilities have more years of education compared to their female counterparts. They are twice as likely to have jobs as women with disabilities, and women with disabilities who work often experience unequal opportunities at their workplaces, including pay for equal work. They are also less likely to work in managerial and official positions but more like to work as sales and service workers. Additionally, inequality exists in the welfare and other community support that men and women with disabilities receive. Women with disabilities also experience a high incidence of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse including rape, incest, and sexual molestation in their everyday lives and are more likely to be victims of sexual assaults and violence than their male counterparts. They experience more discrimination and live in more disadvantaged conditions than their male counterparts. In some cases, women with disabilities do not have control over their lives; they are more vulnerable and marginalized in the society.

Women in general are seem primarily as having nurturing roles in society, including those of mothers, wives, and sexual partners, limiting their participation in the labor force. These roles are usually unpaid, onerous, and time-consuming, especially for women in rural areas. For example, women in the rural areas carry water and firewood for long distances, wash clothes by hand, and obtain and prepare food on a daily basis due to lack of refrigerators in many homes. Women's contributions in their homes and to development are normally not recognized, since it is assumed that such are the roles they have to play in society. Their limited participation in the labor force results in their limited power and influence in decision-making both at home and in the community. Consequently, these views about women affect the way institutions treat them in terms of employment and the pay they receive. In contrast, men are seen as workers and professionals and they dominate the economic, political, legal, and cultual systems of the country. Though these practices are changing, many communities in Ghana still observe them.

Discriminatory practices against women discussed previously may have more unfavorable implications for women with disabilities due to negative perceptions and prejudices relating to disabilities. Women with disabilities are regarded as asexual, thus exempting them from many sexist assumptions and expectations about women's roles (wife, mother, sexual partner) in society. The impairments of women with disabilities are seen as limiting them in performing prescribed women's roles. For example, many women with disabilities have problems developing relationships as a result of the myth regarding their capabilities to perform the traditional roles of women. Studies have shown that parents of adolescent women with disabilities discourage their wards from developing relationships and their sexual identities for fear that such ambition cannot be realized. This practice limits the access of women with disabilities to sexuality education.

Men in general hesitate to marry women with disabilities because they consider them as incapable of performing roles as wives and mothers as well as due to the stigma attached to disability. Some men also fear that a woman with a disability will procreate a child with a disability and hence do not want to develop relationship with women with disabilities. Consequently, many women with disabilities develop relationships with men with disabilities.

In Ghana, the Coalition on Women's Manifesto for Ghana provides an overview of the situation of women with disabilities. According to the Coalition on Women's Manifesto for Ghana, “Gender inequalities in the Ghanaian society result in even greater suffering and discrimination for disabled women” (p. 59). Women with disabilities in Ghana suffer discrimnation and violations of their basic human rights in all facets of life. Many women with disabilities have limited access to education, health care, decision-making, and employment opportunities, thus aggravating their conditions of poverty.

Yet, society sees persons with disabilities as a homogenous group. However, the needs of men and women in general (whether able-bodied or disabled) differ, so do the needs of men and women with disabilities. Thus in our quest to better the lives of persons with disabilities, we must make conscientious efforts to consider the different needs of men and women with disabilities. If we fail to do so women with disabilities might not benefit much from bulk opportunities presented to persons with disabilities in general. This in turn will continue to have negative implication on their lives.

Similarly, as the women's movement strives to advocate for policy change and programmes leading to equal opportunities for women and men, it is imperative to bear in mind that, issues of women with disabilities and other minority groups differ from all other women. Therefore, it is crucial to systematically consider these different issues in all advocacy efforts.

AUGUSTINA NAAMI, C/O ACTION ON DISABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT

BOX 306, TAMALE