Tiziana Oliva, International Director at Leonard Cheshire Disability, discusses how important it is for disabled women to be recognised this International Women’s Day, with a focus on one woman’s story: Hildah.
This year, International Women’s Day (8 March 2015) arrives just as negotiations to agree the post-2015 development agenda reach a critical stage. These goals will replace the Millennium Development Goals which were agreed by world leaders in 2000.
Previously women with disabilities have been left out of mainstream development, however at Leonard Cheshire Disability we are working closely with our partners to ensure that 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 and live as independently as possible.
