This year, International Women’s Day falls on 8 March, 2015 and arrives just as negotiations to agree the post-2015 development agenda reach a critical stage. The new Sustainable Development Goals will replace the Millennium Development Goals agreed by world leaders in 2000.
Previously women with disabilities were left out of mainstream development, however at Leonard Cheshire Disability we are working closely with our partners to ensure this changes.
The past 15 years have shown how an international framework can highlight and start to address the issues faced by marginalised groups. Organisations who work in international development now have a better understanding of the causes and consequences of the social, economic and cultural barriers women face, but women with disabilities have largely been forgotten.
I have met many inspirational women with disabilities around the world, and the one thing that has struck me about all of them is their tenacity in overcoming whatever obstacles they face to contribute to their communities as independently as possible.
The story of Hildah
One such woman is Hildah who lives in Harare, Zimbabwe. After an accident left her in a wheelchair with a spinal cord injury in 2010, she lost her job. Her previous employers were not willing to accommodate someone with a disability, leaving her in a vulnerable position and entirely reliant on her husband’s small salary.
Hildah approached the Leonard Cheshire Livelihoods Resource Centre in Zimbabwe where she was able to gain skills-training, and meet other women who could share their knowledge and experiences. She now works with a group of these women who have elected her as chairperson of their beading business.
Hildah told us how her life has been enhanced through the project as she now has her own income and is no longer reliant on her husband. Her confidence has been restored:
“It is as if this programme was specifically designed for me because since I started, I have never looked back and I am realising high returns!”
A powerful partnership
Thanks to the support of The Anglo American Group Foundation, we have helped over 1,100 women over the last two years complete training courses, and we know that already a third of these women are now fully employed or self-employed. Women and girls with disabilities are keen to not only access support where it exists but to prove that with the right support they are able to contribute economically and live independently, with dignity. What we do need is to ensure that women and girls with disabilities continue to have these opportunities, and that these opportunities are tailored to their needs.
We know that these women and girls are working hard to enjoy the same rights and services taken for granted by many of us, and we must support them to break down the barriers that they face. We can make a significant leap toward achieving this by ensuring that the Sustainable Development Goals are truly inclusive of disability.
That is why Leonard Cheshire Disability is working hard with our partners, to place disability at the centre of the global development agenda for the next fifteen years.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Anglo American, sponsor of the social impact hub
