Advocacy For Women With Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI) has expressed concern over the discrimination meted to women with disabilities especially with regards to their sexual and reproductive health.
The group while noting that persons with disabilities (PWDs) are equal with other members of the society says they are entitled to their conjugal and reproductive health rights, urging members of the society and health workers to assist in protecting it.
AWWDI said when persons with disabilities go out to purchase reproductive products like condoms, they are often viewed with disdain, urging the society to end the discrimination against PWDs.
At a training in Abuja on Monday organised for journalists on proper reportage of issues concerning PWDs, AWWDI Programmes Manager, Mr. Kolawole Jayeoba while applauding the media for shaping the minds and thinking of the public said the training was organised to further bring to fore what women with disabilities want concerning their sexual and reproductive health.
He mentioned that lack of sign language interpreters and difficulties in accessing health facilities constructed without consideration for PWDs is a cause for worry, maintaining that they constitute discrimination.
“Women with disabilities are often denied reproductive healthcare and at times are even subjected to forced sterilization.
“When healthcare services are available, they may not be physically accessible for women with varying types of disabilities, or healthcare providers don’t know how to accommodate them”, he stated.
According to him, a lot of persons have a wrong perception about women and girls with disabilities, which equally affects the way they are treated and addressed in health centres when they go out seeking for help.
While appealing to health workers to develop a positive attitude towards women and girls with disabilities, Jayeoba urged for consideration for people with wheelchairs in the construction public health institutions as well as introduction of sign language interpreters.
“Women and girls with disabilities are subjected to multiple layers of discrimination. Based on their gender and disability status they often face “double discrimination”.
“This inequality is exacerbated for women and girls with disabilities who are members of marginalized ethnic or racial groups”, he added.
In her remarks, the FCT Coordinator of Advocacy For Women With Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI), Tashashi Monsurat said women with hearing impairment usually face communication challenges as they find it difficult to decode communications from health workers.
While stating that her personal experience was not palatable, she called on authorities to prioritise the introduction of sign language interpretation in all health centres across the country to foster inclusiveness.
According to her, visually impaired patients should be assisted with braille to enable them read first hand from the doctors.
Monsurat therefore urged the media to give issues around PWDs a top priority, appealing to health workers to respect the rights of women and girls with disabilities to bear their own children.
Titled, “Leave No One Behind (women and girls with disabilities in focus) the training will cover most states across the country.
