"This year's International Women's Day on March 8th reminds us again that society cannot progress without the inclusion of fifty percent of the population. Yet, despite a century since the first International Women's Day in 1911, women and girls with and without disabilities around the world continue to confront inequities" she says. "In too many countries, fewer girls than boys attend school, and women still struggle for economic equity".
"These challenges are further compounded for women and girls with disabilities. Women and girls with disabilities face widespread discrimination, human rights abuses, and marginalization in employment, health, education and political settings" she says. "The issue of social and psychosocial isolation is also very relevant to women and girls with disabilities in most countries. It is a common practice in many societies to lock women and girls with disabilities in the home, or to exclude them from the community".
"The disability movement has conducted several statistical surveys and found that women with disabilities are among the poorest people in society. Very few efforts have been undertaken by States to remove the obstacles to improving the economic situation for women with disabilities who are even more likely to live in extreme poverty" she says.
"International Women's Day calls on States to pay greater attention to the needs and rights of women and girls with disabilities, particularly in light of the dedicated articles on women and girls in the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ireland is a signatory to this Convention and should ratify and implement it without delay" says Moya Brennan.