IWD: The paradox of ‘forgetful’ exclusion
By Nnedinso Ogaziechi
The international Women’s Day is annually commemorated on the 8th of March. However, the whole month of March is still dedicated to the women of the world. It is a period of seeming stocktaking. The few achievements of women are celebrated but attention is equally drawn to the perennial challenges women go through around the world. The poverty, illiteracy, injustices, the inequities, domestic and sexual violence and sundry problems that women go through on a daily basis.
However, while globally economic, political and socio-cultural issues seem to affect women on an equal basis, in Africa, the inequities and injustices weigh heavily against the women due to the fact that most African governments have still not realized that it is high time they go back to the pristine period when women and men existed in shared governance structures till the colonialists came and imposed their mono governance structure on the continent.
This year’s celebrations, muted as it was due to the Covid-19 restrictions came with all the media fanfare and cymbals across the world. The orthodox and social media platforms were filled with all sorts of audio-visual activities from virtual conferences to limited physical activities all aimed at women raising their voices to call the attention of governments and society in general to those issues that affect women.
One major observation however by the RoundTable Conversation is that most of the International Women’s Day events were organized by women through their socio-cultural, economic, political or religious groups. However, in Nigeria, there are major women groups that were either given a perfunctory mention or representation as the events lasted – the core rural women, the displaced, other vulnerable women and women living with disabilities. A few NGOs had one or two events for some of these vulnerable women groups but the percentage seems quite negligible in comparative terms. The vast group of women organizations seemed totally oblivious of the existence of women living with disabilities amongst the womenfolk.
The RoundTable Conversation had a chat with the former President Special Sports Federation of Nigeria (SSFN) and founder and National President Association for Comprehensive Empowerment of Nigerians with Disabilities (ASCEND), Chief Cosmas Okoli (OON). He regrets that able bodied women have left the women living with disabilities behind in the fight for equity and justice and the recent celebration of International Women’s Day again reinforced the fact that even women play the exclusion game they accuse men of.
Chief Okoli noted that African women living with disabilities suffer triple jeopardy in the world. First there is discrimination against them as women, then as persons living with disabilities and again as black women. To him, life cannot get more Hobbesian than that. In Africa, governments do not factor the disabled both men and womenin policy formulations and executions. There are no policies or legislations committedly executed to help those with disabilities especially as it concerns women.
He says he would love to see the able bodied women carrying along their own – women living with disabilities in ways that their advocacies for women rights are seriously inclusive of those of the women living with disabilities. Women must in agitating for political inclusion include their own even when they have challenges. Women must do more than they are doing now.
It seems that only able bodied women are getting all the considerations for a better life. The women living with disabilities are also women and the more they are given considerations and appointments that can empower them, the faster things will begin to change. We are all humans in pursuit of happiness. The able bodied women must realize that if and when they win the war of inclusivity, they might have future fights for the inclusion of their own women living with disabilities. They need to be carried along now because in most cases they are even more feisty and articulate for issues that concern women. It is a win-win situation for women when they carry fellow women along in the struggle. Cerebral capacity and professional competence do not belong mainly to those without disabilities. Most often those without cognitive challenges are as productive if not even more productive than others who feel that ability lies in physiology.
Women should stop personalizing struggles because it is not always profitable. Equal opportunities should not just be about men and women so women must seemingly come to equity with clean hands in terms of inclusiveness. Group struggles must not be monopolized. Those with talents and ability must be included despite any challenges they may have.
Hope Ngwube is the South East coordinator of ASCEND and a woman living with disability and feels so bad that both the governments in the country and their fellow women seem not to have remembered them during this year’s IWD as is always the case with events held in honour of women.
To her, nobody remembers the women living with disabilities not just during events but even in policy making. To her, unlike in other countries, buildings and roads are structured without any consideration for the disabled and it is worse for women because very often, they get pregnant and the task of moving from place to place becomes more arduous and draining.
To her, women have disabilities already so an additional burden comes with living with disabilities. A woman with disability is facing a lot. The various tiers of government seem not to care too much for disabled people. There are no legislation functionally compelling families to send their children living with disabilities to school so most parents or guardians do not care for their children living with disabilities. In cases where they are lucky to be sent to school, the facilities are not there for their comfort and ease of movement. Most activities and teaching aids are for the able bodied as though those living with disabilities do not deserve full education and full extra-curricular activities.
When they even struggle to get an education they graduate into a labour market that give them no opportunities. The governments must begin to plan the infrastructure in ways that every citizen able or living with disabilities can comfortably have some ease of movement. Some women living with disabilities cannot even access their office buildings especially when they are pregnant for those who can even afford a wheel chair or crutches. We expect the Women Affairs ministries across the country to look into the plight of women living with disabilities but it seems they keep forgetting that we have several challenges.
The women living with disabilities just sat back watching all the events for women during this year’s IWD even though we heard of very few ones across the country. We the women want to be availed scholarships as a route to economic empowerment or sponsorships to learn a trade or acquire a skill. A woman living with disability who has an education can struggle and get a job and cater for her needs and that of the children.
There should be automatic employment for women living with disabilities to make them less dependent on people who often exploit their situation. An educated person living with disability cannot be a burden on anyone. The fact that most persons living with disabilities are often stigmatized must be addressed because when they are free to be fully productive, they can contribute to the growth of the economy.
The fact that about 95% of women living with disabilities are illiterates is not good for the country’s economy. That makes them fully dependent on others and that again affects the productivity of their care-givers. The three tiers of government must be involved in the plan to make lives better for persons with disability in a country where fatalism forces most people to see disability as a curse from the gods and as such they care little for those with such disabilities.
The RoundTable Conversation wants women in all sectors, the private and public sector to show less apathy to the welfare of the women living with disabilities. True there are some efforts to care for some of the women but it does seem it is a tad too little given the plethora of complaints from those that spoke to us. Again the paradox of women forgetting their other half while complaining about male exclusion is so unnerving.
Like Chief Okoli observed, most of the women living with disabilities are very cerebral, eloquent and talented and as such the women advocates must carry them along the general aspirations of all women because womanhood is the same and they have shared human experiences that must make them care for each other.
The RoundTable however applauds a state like Lagos that has appointed a female living with disability, Adenike Oyetunde as a Senior Special Adviser on People Living With Disabilities (PLWD) in addition to having an agency that handles their issues and some other incentives for their public transportation system. The Roundtable expects the womenfolk in Nigeria to walk the talk and advocate for the needs of every woman irrespective of class or status.
The dialogue continues…
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