Online Reporter
Disability Issues
Dr Christine Peta
Women with disabilities are often overlooked in gender equality conversations.
Despite making up nearly one-fifth of the global female population, the voices of women with disabilities are often absent from feminist movements, policy debates and mainstream media.
These “invisible” women are often marginalised on the basis of both gender and disability, and their exclusion reveals the urgent need for inter-sectional justice.
Globally, women with disabilities experience higher rates of poverty and unemployment than men with disabilities or women without disabilities. Workplace discrimination often stems from assumptions that women with disabilities are less productive or more costly to accommodate.
Additionally, women with disabilities are more vulnerable to gender-based violence, as they are disproportionately targeted for abuse, often by caregivers or family members.
In some cases, perpetrators exploit their isolation and dependence. Shelters and support services are frequently inaccessible, leaving survivors with nowhere to turn.
In many societies, cultural stigma compounds challenges experienced by women with disabilities, as they are generally regarded as dependent and incapable of contributing to family and community life.
For example, the marriage prospects of a young woman with physical disabilities, who is also a wheelchair user may be very limited, due to stigma, in a context where gender and disability intersect to create unique barriers.
Sexual and reproductive health rights are another battleground.
In several countries, women with disabilities have been subjected to forced sterilisation or denied the right to have children.
These practices reflect deep-seated prejudices about their autonomy and humanity.
Throughout the world, Covid-19 exposed these gaps dramatically. Lock-downs left many women with disabilities without caregivers, medication or access to information.
The pandemic highlighted how crises magnify existing inequalities, making “invisible” women even more vulnerable.
Mainstream feminist movements have historically sidelined women with disabilities.
Campaigns for equal pay and reproductive rights rarely address the specific needs of women with disabilities.
This exclusion perpetuates invisibility, reinforcing the idea that disability is a separate issue, rather than integral to gender justice.
The exclusion of women with disabilities from feminist movements, policy debates and public life is a loss not only for them, but for society as a whole.
International frameworks like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for inclusion, but implementation across nations remains uneven.
The Government of Zimbabwe has since moved to action, ensuring that women with disabilities are no longer left behind.
The National Disability Policy of Zimbabwe has a section that is dedicated to women with disabilities, which among other things directs development and support of organisations of women with disabilities.
Additionally, the National Disability Policy of Zimbabwe directs that women with disabilities must be enabled to realise their right to legal capacity, including with respect to health decisions, financial and bank transactions, the right to work and to participate in public and political life.
Taking cognisance of the fact that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple forms of discrimination, the full development, advancement and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities is directed by the National Disability Policy.
The same policy directs the protection of women and girls with disabilities from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, both within and outside the home.
The struggle for gender equality cannot be complete without the full inclusion of women with disabilities. Their invisibility in mainstream feminist movements, policy frameworks and social discourse undermines the very principles of justice and equality that these platforms claim to uphold.
Zimbabwe’s National Disability Policy offers a promising example of how governments can begin to dismantle systemic barriers, with sustained commitment of all sectors of society.
By amplifying the voices of women with disabilities and ensuring their participation, societies can move closer to genuine equality, where no woman is invisible and every woman’s potential is valued.
Dr. Christine Peta is a Disability, Public Health, Policy, International Development and Research expert — she can be contacted on: [email protected].
