How we’re working towards a society that respects the rights of women with disabilities

Imagine a young woman living in a rural village in Ghana. She is full of ambition and dreams.

However, she faces two significant barriers: she is a woman and she has a disability. Her aspirations are further hindered by a lack of infrastructure and a supportive community in her village.

Women with disabilities face significant discrimination

This is not just a story; it is the reality for many women and girls with disabilities across Ghana, who face significant discrimination in many aspects of their lives.

In Ghana, 8% of the population has a disability, according to the 2021 census. Women and girls with disabilities, especially, face barriers in accessing adequate housing, health, education, training, employment and decision-making structures. Multiple attitudinal and environmental barriers, such as stigma and negative attitudes, discriminatory laws and policies, the unavailability of assistive devices and inaccessible buildings and spaces, play a significant role.

This is why Sightsavers has launched a new programme to strengthen the civil society representation of women with disabilities in Ghana. It aims to develop the capacities of two grassroots organisations to help women claim their rights and hold decision-makers accountable.

Insights from Ghana

To support our work, we needed insight into the systemic issues that women with disabilities face in Ghana. In collaboration with the Alliance for Better Advocacy and Knowledge (ABAK) Foundation and the Women with Disability Development and Advocacy Organisation (WODAO), we undertook a comprehensive gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) analysis in six regions across Ghana with participants including women with disabilities, government institutions, opinion leaders, civil society and community gatekeepers. Its findings offered valuable insights and actionable recommendations to promote gender equality and social inclusion.

According to the GESI analysis, 61.5% of respondents from the ABAK Foundation identified social norms as barriers, 49.4% reported negative treatment from health care providers and 62.3% stated that access to education remained a significant challenge. Similarly, the analysis highlighted that 61.5% of respondents in WODAO recognised cultural obstacles, 61% believed health care barriers existed and 48% saw the lack of access to education as a major issue.

Barriers to inclusion

The GESI analysis revealed the barriers that prevent the full participation of women with disabilities in society. These include:

• Harmful social norms and stigma: Many families hide members with disabilities due to fears of societal rejection, which limits their livelihood opportunities and public participation. Women with disabilities also face unique challenges, including limited mobility and discriminatory treatment in public spaces
• Limited access to education: In the study, 62.3% of respondents identified education as a major barrier that affected women with disabilities’ personal development and economic opportunities
• Economic constraints: The analysis underscored the critical issues of limited employment opportunities and poor job choices. Respondents from the ABAK Foundation shared that people with disabilities encountered significant challenges in securing employment due to discrimination and the absence of inclusive policies. Entrepreneurship also presented challenges for individuals, especially for women with disabilities. The ABAK Foundation’s analysis revealed that many people with disabilities faced difficulties in accessing financial services, such as loans, due to discrimination or doubts about their financial reliability. This lack of credit access hampered their ability to initiate or expand businesses. Similarly, findings from WODAO highlighted that economic constraints hinder women with disabilities from pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities
• Gender-based violence: The WODAO’s regions revealed that women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. They face unique challenges which exacerbate this, such as limited mobility, the forced use of contraceptive medication and discriminatory treatment in public spaces
• Political exclusion: 85.1% of respondents in the ABAK Foundation’s regions reported that people with disabilities do not participate in politics and decision-making platforms. This exclusion further marginalises them and limits their ability to advocate for their rights

Author

Ruth Atengdem is Sightsavers’ programme officer in Ghana.