Contribution posted on behalf of Lasanthi Daskon Attanayake, Program and Inclusion Manager at IFES Sri Lanka.

1. What is the level of political participation of women with disabilities in your country/region? Where can this information be found? 

Political participation of women with disabilities in Sri Lanka is extremely low. Despite the 25% quota for women introduced in 2018 for the local government elections, there was only 1 recorded woman with a disability who contested through the nominated list. She too did not get elected.

The information on women with disabilities engaging in the political process is not available anywhere.

3. What are the obstacles limiting women with disabilities’ participation and representation in politics in your country?  

Women in general face numerous barriers in accessing the political process in Sri Lanka. A quota of 25% for women was introduced in the last local government elections in 2018, however there were many obstacles to implementing this quota and women who came forward to contest faced attitudinal barriers, intimidation, and financial barriers and generally there was no level playing field.

Women with disabilities in Sri Lanka face multiple barriers where stigma, discrimination and lack of opportunities hinder their social inclusion. Most of the women lack access to education or to productive employment. They are often subject to abuse.

Voting itself could be a major barrier due to the lack of awareness and accessibility.

Therefore, women with disabilities in Sri Lanka do not even have minimal political participation.

4. What can be done to increase women with disabilities’ access to political leadership roles in your country? How inclusive of women with disabilities are existing programmes focused on women’s political participation? Please share concrete examples of programmes, laws, regulations, and practices. 

• There is a need for women’s organizations to recognize the specific issues faced by women with disabilities and include more women with disabilities in their organisations,
• Governments need to take measures to increase access and opportunities for women with disabilities to get an education, get employed etc,
• Political parties need to enroll more women with disabilities as their members,
• Election Management Bodies can encourage and support women’s political,
• participation - the Election Commission of Sri Lanka has taken a number of measures,
• IFES-Sri Lanka encourages more women with disabilities to participate in their women’s political leadership programs.

Posted on behalf of Maribel Derjani Bayeh, Policy Specialist, UN Women. 

1. What is the level of political participation of women with disabilities in your country/region? Where can this information be found? 

An estimated one in five women live with a disability. Historically, their equal participation and inclusion in society has been hindered by systemic marginalization and structural barriers, which often lead to less access to: education, health care (including sexual and reproductive health), information, public services, justice as well as less participation in civic and political processes and decision-making. Women still represent a minority of decision-makers worldwide, and there is no official data on the representation of women with disabilities in political decision-making. Recognizing that women’s equal political participation and representation is the key to achieving sustainable development, most countries in the world have agreed to reach “gender balance” in decision-making, including in the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action. Yet today, only 24 per cent of the world’s parliamentarians are women. Only 6 per cent of Heads of State and 5 per cent of Heads of Government are women. In short, women’s voices are missing.

More than 10 years after the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, significant gaps continue between commitments and action to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities. Nonetheless, some women with disabilities are playing a prominent role in the public sphere, demonstrating their capacity and transformative role in political leadership.

• Women with disabilities are severely underrepresented in decision-making: while both women and men with disabilities are underrepresented, evidence from 19 countries in 2017 shows that only 2.3 per cent of women with disabilities compared to 2.8 per cent of men with disabilities held a position as a legislator, senior official or manager. According to 2017 data, in 14 out of 18 countries in Asia and the Pacific region, there was no female parliamentarian with disabilities in the national legislative body; and in the other four countries, the share of women parliamentarians with disabilities ranged from 0.3 to 6.3 per cent.
• Women with disabilities are underrepresented in national coordination mechanisms on disability matters: across 17 countries or areas from the Asia and Pacific region in 2017, organizations of persons with disabilities included nearly twice as many men as women – representing 21 per cent and 12 per cent of all mechanisms respectively. In other types of organizations, men were similarly overrepresented – making up 43 per cent of all mechanism members, versus 24 per cent for women.
• Women with disabilities are underrepresented in gender equality institutions: in 7 of those same 17 countries, national machineries for gender equality included no women with disabilities among their membership, and in the remaining five countries, only 9 per cent of members were women with disabilities.  
• Fewer women lead organizations of persons with disabilities: social media data analysed in 2017 indicated that 42 per cent of women versus 58 per cent of men held leaderships positions in Spanish-speaking organizations working on disability issues or with persons with disabilities.

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2018). “Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals by, for and with persons with disabilities.”

2. What are the obstacles limiting women with disabilities’ participation and representation in politics in your country?  

Barriers to the political participation and leadership of women with disabilities. These include discriminatory practices in political institutions and local authorities, limited knowledge among duty bearers on their needs and rights, stereotypical perceptions of their capacities, inaccessible processes and facilities, lack of assistance services, devices and facilitating measures, lack of encouragement by family and community and above all limited access to civic information. Perhaps more concerning, women with disabilities have lower levels of internal political efficacy (perception of their abilities) and interest which significantly limits their participation. Like their non-disabled counterparts, women with disabilities who wish to participate in the disability movement work in a male-dominated environment which is not always appreciative of gender equality arguments.

Source: Political Participation of Women with Disabilities in Cambodia, Research Report 2010, UNDP Cambodia.

3. What can be done to increase women with disabilities’ access to political leadership roles in your country? How inclusive of women with disabilities are existing programmes focused on women’s political participation? Please share concrete examples of programmes, laws, regulations, and practices. 

Actions at country level

UN Women’s programmes on leadership and political participation are guided by commitments to women’s representation, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which upholds women’s right to participate in public life, the Beijing Platform for Action which calls for removing barriers to equal participation, and the Sustainable Development Goals which measure progress towards gender equality in part by the share of women in national parliaments and local government. In coordination with national and UN partners, UN Women has supported the promotion of inclusive electoral processes and the political participation of women with disabilities. This support includes:

• Technical assistance to electoral stakeholders on promoting inclusive electoral arrangements and facilitating the participation of persons with disabilities (i.e. accessible voting procedures, facilities and materials);
• Capacity-building, targeting electoral officials and aspiring women candidates with disabilities;
• Promoting civic and voter education, encouraging general awareness on the political rights of persons with disabilities;
• Capacity-building and sensitization of security forces to ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities, especially those of women, are considered when promoting a safe and conducive environment for people to exercise their political rights. 

Examples

• MOLDOVA: In 2017, UN Women supported a comprehensive capacity-building programme to enhance the civic and political leadership skills of 39 women with different types of disabilities. It culminated with a National Forum of Women with Disabilities, “We have abilities – we want possibilities!” involving the Prime Minister, ministerial representatives and parliamentarians. Women trained through the programme publicly advocated for greater support for entrepreneurship, access to education and protection of reproductive rights for women with disabilities, leading to the launch of a Women with Disabilities Network. This effort was further supported by a national media campaign on intersectionality in 2019 as well as the development of a new guide on how to run for local office using tactile signs. At least 12 of the programme participants have expressed plans to run for local office in Moldova's upcoming local elections.

• UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA: As part of efforts to improve the participation and representation of women, youth and persons with disabilities as leaders in political processes, UN Women helped strengthen gender mainstreaming and inclusive electoral management and processes in coordination with UN partners ahead of the 2015 election. Consideration for persons with disabilities led to the introduction of a tactile ballot system for the first time, and specific arrangements to ensure polling stations and information were accessible. In 2017, building on the results and partnerships with networks of people with disabilities UN Women supported reviews of discriminatory legislative frameworks, contributing to the enactment of the Legal Aid Act which formalized legal aid services, a key indicator for access to justice to women and girls, especially women with disabilities and the elderly, who have less access to legal support.
• TUNISIA: UN Women supported civil society advocacy efforts, which led to the adoption of legal requirements for horizontal parity in local election candidate lists in 2017. An historic 47 per cent of women were elected to local council positions following the May 2018 elections. The Organic Law n° 2017-7 also mandates that a woman or man candidate with a physical disability and status as a ‘handicap card-holder’ must be included among the top 10 of each candidate list. A total of 18 candidates with disabilities, including five women and 13 men, headed candidate lists.

At the Global level:  High-Level Meeting of Women with Disabilities in Political and Public Leadership: Towards Beijing 25, New York, 12 June 2019

Co-organized by the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations on Disability and Accessibility and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the High-Level Meeting of women with disabilities that have a clear political and public role of incidence in society will contribute, among other things, to increase the visibility, including in global media, of women with disabilities in leadership positions in political and public life during the High-Level Meeting and beyond.  Participant will present (a) a declaration by women with disabilities from different regions that would contribute to their development, advancement and empowerment, as well as (b) specific recommendations addressed to governments for the inclusion and effective participation of women and girls with disability in national public policies and life. The outcomes of the Meeting will also contribute to the twenty fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 2020 (Beijing+25).

The co-signers of this Declaration call upon all Member States to strengthen efforts to empower women and girls with disabilities and enhance their participation and promote leadership in society, particularly to:

(a) Ensure the full and equal participation of women and girls with disabilities in decision-making, through the formulation of national laws and policies, consistent with their exercise of legal capacity, equal protection under the law and prohibition of discrimination;

(b) Promote and protect the human rights of women and girls with disabilities with respect to power and decision-making from early childhood, recognizing that decision-making is a process that develops throughout life and is reflected in everyday life, beginning from the family, where opinions of women and girls with disabilities must be considered in individual, family and collective decisions;       

(c) Take measures to address the multiple barriers faced by women with disabilities that prevent them from exercising their political rights, including as voters and candidates;

(d) Adopt zero tolerance policies for violence against women with disabilities in politics, including psychological violence perpetuated by prejudices and stereotypes that women with disabilities are incapable of having independent opinions about public affairs and policies or the knowledge of their equal political rights;

(e) Strengthen institutional and environmental support for women with disabilities, most of whom lack the necessary supportive and enabling conditions for developing a political career, even when they are interested and qualified;

(f) Promote political participation of women with disabilities in all policy matters, including by demonstrating and valuing how their experiences, perspectives and expertise enrich whole societies when they are reflected in policy outcomes;

(g) Promote the visibility of various women with disabilities who currently occupy high-level leadership positions and whose leadership positively impacts on the lives of women, girls, men and boys as a result of their merits, abilities and skills, who can serve as role models for millions of women and girls with disabilities in the world; and

(h) Provide equal opportunities for civic education and political leadership training to encourage women with disabilities to pursue decision-making positions.

Posted on behalf of Gulmira Kazakunova, Chair of NGO Ravenstvo (Equallity) and Chair of the Central Asian Network of Women with Disabilities.

Question 1: What is the level of political participation of women with disabilities in your country/region? Where can this information be found?  Какой в вашей стране/регионе уровень политического участия женщин с инвалидностью? Где можно найти эту информацию? [Какие женщины-инвалиды на политических руководящих должностях в вашей стране, какие группы женщин-инвалидов (например, женщины с сенсорными нарушениями, такими как нарушения зрения и слуха, физические нарушения, интеллектуальные и психосоциальные нарушения) наиболее представлены? ]

Answer 1: In our country (Kyrgyzstan), women with disabilities are not represented on any level of political participation; therefore, there is no available data to answer this question. [В нашей стране женщины с инвалидностью не представлены ни на каких уровнях политического участия. соотевтественно нет и информации.]

Question 2: Amongst women with disabilities in political leadership roles in your country, which groups of women with disabilities (e.g. women with sensory disabilities such as visual and hearing impairments, physical disabilities, and intellectual and psycho-social disabilities) are most represented? [ Среди женщин с инвалидностью, которые занимают лидерские позиции в вашей стране, какие группы инвалидности наиболее представлены (к примеру, женщины с сенсорной инвалидностью как ограничение зрения и слуха, или интеллектуальной и психосоциальной инвалидностью)?]

Answer 2: There are no women with disability representing any of the categories of disability in leadership positions. [На руководящих должностях также нет женщин с инвалидностью всех категорий инвалидности]

Question 3: What are the obstacles limiting women with disabilities’ participation and representation in politics in your country?   Какие барьеры ограничивают участие и представленной женщин с инвалидностью в политике вашей страны? [Какие препятствия ограничивают участие женщин-инвалидов в политической жизни в вашей стране?]

Answer 3: There are many barriers. 1: The attitudes and approaches to the disability itself. 2: the attitudes to women in general. 3: double discrimination, recently there was lobbying for a law on 30 percent quota for women in the parliament, but it did not include women with disabilities. [Препятствий много, 1. подход к самой инвалидности, 2 подход вообще к женщинам 3. двойная дискриминация  . недавно был лоббирован Закон о 30% квоте представленности женщин в парламенте страны, но здесь ничего не говориться о вхождении в эту квоту женщин с инвалидностью.] 

Question 4: What can be done to increase women with disabilities’ access to political leadership roles in your country? How inclusive of women with disabilities are existing programmes focused on women’s political participation? Please share concrete examples of programmes, laws, regulations, and practice? [Что можно сделать, чтобы расширить доступ женщин-инвалидов к роли политического руководства в вашей стране? Насколько охватывают женщин-инвалидов существующие программы, ориентированные на участие женщин в политической жизни? Пожалуйста, поделитесь конкретными примерами программ, законов, правил и практики.]

Answer 4: All of the programmes  aimed at women do not include women with disabilities at all. In order to widen the access for women with disabilities to political participation, the attitudes towards persons with disabilities and the disability itself need to be changed. There are lots of various barriers starting from physical accessibility and ending with attitudes to persons with disabilities. There are a lot of stereotypes about women and men with disabilities. The low level of education of women with disabilities, the passivity, psychological and economic dependency are also the reasons of their political non-participation. [все программы, ориентированные на женщин не охватывают женщин с инвалидностью вообще. Чтобы расширить доступ женщин с инвалидностью к политическому участию , во первых нужно изменить существующий подход в стране  к людям с инвалидностью и инвалидности вообще. Много разных барьеров начиная от физической доступностью, кончая отношением к людям с инвалидностью.Очень много стереотипов в отношении женщин и мужчин с инвалидностью. Низкая образованность самих женщин с инвалидностью, пассивность, психологическая и экономическая зависимость также является причиной их не участия в политической жизни.]

Posted on behalf of Alfa Nur Aini, Malaysia.

1. In principle, all women with disabilities in Malaysia can participate in all political and public activities; refer article 8(2), article 10(1), and article 119 of the Malaysia Federal Constitution. Women with disabilities in general who age 21 years and above can vote and run for office - now Malaysia is in the process of lowering the minimum age of voting to 18 years old.   All women with disabilities can join civil society organizations and appointed as senator or member of government level council. For record, we have a female senator who has mobility impairment. We also have three female members of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. There is also a female representative with mobility impairment in the National Education Advisory Council.

2. In terms of representation, a number of women with disabilities who hold leadership roles in NGO sector. There is also am NGO of women with disabilities (but it is not confirmed whether it still active or otherwise).

Few women with disabilities hold a position in local government.

So far, no women with disabilities who are elected to political leadership role.

3. There are several challenges faced by women with disabilities in this country such as access to information for those who are visually impaired and also those who are hearing impaired, inaccessible polling station for those who are physically disabled, and feeling intimidated when voting for those who are learning with disabilities.

Posted on behalf of Hannah Loryman, Policy Adviser – Social Inclusion and Education, Sightsavers.

What are the obstacles limiting women with disabilities’ participation and representation in politics in your country? 

• Cultural beliefs and attitudes can be a major obstacle. Evidence from Kenya shows that the belief that women are unequal to men can lead to their civil and political involvement, or their desire to access it, being questioned [1]. In Cameroon [2], people with disabilities experienced negative attitudes about their participation in political processes, or if they were asked to participate this was seen to be done out of ‘pity’ rather than being genuine inclusion. In Senegal [3], the perception that people with disabilities were incapable often led to exclusion. Cultural beliefs and attitudes can be amplified for women with disabilities – who experience them based on both their disability and their gender.
• Socio-economic conditions – women with disabilities experience multiple forms of discrimination that means they experience worse socio-economic conditions that other people. For some women with disabilities, this means that political participation is not a priority [4]. Political participation may also have a direct cost, for example in Cameroon a financial contribution is often required to join a political organization [5]. 
• Access to documentation can also be a challenge for persons with disabilities and in particular women with disabilities. A study in Cameroon found that rates of birth registration and birth certificate ownership were low amongst people with disabilities and that women with disabilities were even less likely to own a birth certificate – creating significant barriers to political participation.
• A lack of legal and policy provisions can also be a barrier. For example, despite legal provisions in Kenya designed to encourage the participation of women in politics, this does not apply to women with disabilities [6]. In Senegal the Social Orientation Act of 2010 does not exclude people with disabilities – however the elements that could promote inclusion In Uganda, the National Council for Disability Amendment Act 2013 and its regulations talk of “where applicable” and “willingness to participate” when it comes to ensuring gender and disability balance while constituting electoral colleges. However, the 2016 National Electoral College had limited participation by people with disabilities, in particular women with disabilities – suggesting that further measures to promote gender and disability inclusion.
• Discrimination can also lead to people with disabilities choosing not to engage politically. For example, in Cameroon and Senegal people with disabilities often experienced low self-esteem due to discrimination, which led to low participation. In Cameroon, women with disabilities often aspired to join women’s groups – whereas men with disabilities had broader goals around participation. While involvement in women’s groups can be positive, this can also entrench existing norms and women with disabilities.
• Caring responsibilities were also seen as a barrier to political participation for women with disabilities in Cameroon, particularly for single mothers. 
• Accessibility can also be a major barrier for people with disabilities. This can also have specific gender elements, for example, it may be culturally inappropriate to carry women when the terrain is inaccessible – but men may be carried to overcome inaccessibility.

What can be done to increase women with disabilities’ access to political leadership roles in your country? How inclusive of women with disabilities are existing programmes focused on women’s political participation? Please share concrete examples of programmes, laws, regulations, and practices.

• There is a need to educate communities, organisations, and institutions about disability, inclusion and gender in order to overcome misconceptions that exist around women with disabilities. Awareness raising is needed in a range of political arenas including local councils, political parties, amongst traditional networks and development actors;
• The disability movement itself should ensure that it is inclusive. Disabled People’s Organisations should increase the membership of women with disabilities and employ more women with disabilities in leadership positions [7].
• Organisations of women with disabilities can play a key role in enabling women’s participation and so they should be supported – however, it is important that these spaces are not seen as the only solution as if women with disabilities are only active in these group’s this may limit their broader political participation;
• Increase awareness of the rights of people with disabilities and women with disabilities to participate in elections and ensure that existing policies and legislation are implemented [8];
• Support women with disabilities to register and to obtain official documentation;
• Ensure that mainstream women’s groups are accessible to women with disabilities;
• Improving access to political participation for women with disabilities should go alongside taking steps to improve their socio-economic situation – as this can also be a major barrier. Efforts to remove financial barriers to participation should also be reduced;
• There is a need to ensure that election processes are accessible and that they do not present barriers to people with disabilities – this should include considering any specific barriers that women with disabilities may experience, such as long-distances to polling stations.

[1] Page 23: https://www.sightsavers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Disability-inclusive-elections-in-Africa-a-qualitative-systematic-review.pdf

[2] Sightsavers, Four studies on political participation in Cameroon and Senegal, publication forthcoming: https://www.sightsavers.org/disability/politics/

[3] Sightsavers, Four studies on political participation in Cameroon and Senegal, publication forthcoming: https://www.sightsavers.org/disability/politics/

[4] Page 23: https://www.sightsavers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Disability-inclusive-elections-in-Africa-a-qualitative-systematic-review.pdf

[5] Sightsavers, Four studies on political participation in Cameroon and Senegal, publication forthcoming: https://www.sightsavers.org/disability/politics/

[6] Page 23: https://www.sightsavers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Disability-inclusive-elections-in-Africa-a-qualitative-systematic-review.pdf

[7] Page 27: Page 23: https://www.sightsavers.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Disability-inclusive-elections-in-Africa-a-qualitative-systematic-review.pdf

[8] From ‘Participation of Persons with Disabilities in Electoral Processes in Uganda’ available at: https://www.ncd.go.ug/publication Page 6