Introduction
In the recent past, education for women and girls has improved remarkably with attempts of achieving equality and giving women their rights being on the increase. However, women and girls continue to face problems in different parts of the world regarding their rights, gender equality and discrimination on the basis of their gender.
Their ability to make decisions and be heard in society continues to decline because of male dominance in the society. In addition, women face economic constraints resulting from unfair inequality. Women with disabilities face more challenges because they are looked at as people who cannot have a positive contribution towards development.
This is a wrong perception since denying women equal opportunities with men makes it difficult for poverty reduction strategies to succeed and hampers efforts of social and economic development.
As a result of this unfortunate situation that women find themselves in, many NGOs and advocacy groups have come to fight for women and ensure that they are not discriminated against and that their positive contribution towards development is not interfered with.
One such NGO which has been active in ensuring that women get their rights and especially the ones living with disabilities is Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), which is based in Canada .
AWID’s Role in Fighting for Women
AWID is an international feminist NGO whose focus is to deal with issues of gender equality, ensure that women with disabilities get their rights and work towards sustainable development. Its members include activists, policy makers, practitioners in development, and business people among others.
The mission of the organization is to enhance the voice of women in society and influence other organizations that advocate for women rights. AWID believes that women are indispensable in dealing with the problems that the world faces. Their contribution can only be significant if poverty is eradicated and the challenges they face are addressed effectively.
The ultimate goal of the organization is to ensure that women achieve their human rights and enjoy life like other members of the society. To achieve its goals, the organization focuses on certain issues that have been described as affecting women to a great extent.
Abuse against Women
The first issue affecting women that AWID deals with is abuse against women. One might think that after women come out of the infant stage they are not exposed to serious problems and that their lives start running smoothly. However, they are still faced with the risk of physical abuse after infancy.
In virtually all societies, women are susceptible to physical abuse. The consequences are usually severe for women who live in societies that do not value the rights of women .The girls are exposed to greater risks because mothers who are denied their rights do not have the capacity to protect their daughters against abuse perpetrated by the male and other people in authority.
Rape cases and abuse against women has been on the increase especially in developing countries. For example, in a country like Ethiopia, research has shown that 45 % of women have gone through physical abuse at some point in their lives.
In 1998, cases of women being abused by their intimate partners were on the increase in Palestine (Worldbank, 2011). Physical abuse against women is a retrogressive act that stalls development since it prevents women from contributing positively towards development.
In certain societies, rape cases and physical abuse are associated with additional stigma that leaves the victims psychologically and physically traumatized. Some cultures are characterized by stringent sexual restrictions that define women and are not allowed to make choices regarding who should marry them.
In addition, they are supposed to tolerate abusive relationships because walking out of the relationships is considered a shameful act to the society that attracts punitive measures. Extreme cases have been recorded where honor killings are committed as a way of repairing the damaged reputation caused by defiant women.
AWID is committed towards ensuring that physical abuse against women is eliminated since this a vice that hinders development. The NGO constantly educates women on their rights and tries to intervene in the societies that think that women have no right to make their choices in life (Worldbank, 2011).
Infanticide and Sex-Selective Abortion
The second issue related to women that AWID tries to address is infanticide and sex-selective abortion. Extreme cases have been recorded where women make the choices of terminating the lives of their baby girls. In some of the most impoverished regions of the world, baby girls are considered to be liabilities.
Their mothers decide to end their lives because allowing them to live means exposing them to the suffering they go through themselves. For example, a country like India records a high number of sex-selective abortions as compared to cases of female infanticide.
The one-child policy adopted by the government has been associated with the weakening track of the country. Another country that has been experiencing such problems is china where the population control programs of the country have led to killings and neglect of girls.
The government has been quoted saying that the declining number of women in the population for the last 20 years can be attributed to sex-selective abortion. This is an issue that affects development because neglect and elimination of girls from the population implies that people who can contribute positively towards development are eliminated.
What such countries should understand is that women can even offer a contribution towards development that cannot be offered by men. AWID has been working hard to ensure that sex-selective abortion does not take place because women have the capacity to influence development positively (ADB, 2011).
Forced Labor
Another issue that AWID deals with is the problem of forced labor that affects women especially young girls. As women grow up, they have the option of attending school but most of them are driven into forced labor when they are supposed to be in school. According to UNICEF reports, the number of girls who miss out school every year is 10 million times more than that of boys.
While boys continue pursuing their dreams through education, girls are forced to join other women in performing housework. In most developing countries, the housework that women are exposed to comprises of hard physical labor. Some are forced to work from morning till evening without taking breaks. Others are exposed to many risks as they walk for long distances to fetch water and collect firewood.
Since most of the societies where women are exposed to forced labor live in poverty, the women do not have appliances to assist them when doing their work. Forcing women into labor instead of allowing them to get education makes it difficult for them to contribute towards development and this is one issue that AWID is committed to fully address and give women a chance to pursue education (ADB, 2011).
Women Education
Giving women education has been described as one of the ways through which the discrimination against women can be eliminated and give women a chance to contribute positively towards development. When women get educated, they increase the chances of eliminating the bias that is directed towards them by men and other people in authority.
Women education starts by eliminating poverty which is a major factor that contributes towards discrimination of women. The basic skills in literacy enable women to get employment opportunities and become self reliant. Research has shown that the possibility of uneducated women living in poverty is twice as much when compared to that of women who are educated.
When women stay in school for a longer period of time, they increase their chances of securing good employment and advancing their education. This enables them to avoid the impacts associated with poverty and lack of education. Women who have gone through school usually get married at a later age hence they have the capacity to bring up healthy children and educate them.
They also have the knowledge to take care of their children in terms of nutrition and health services. AWID is committed towards ensuring that women get education since educated women have a positive contribution towards development. When they raise healthy families, this implies that resources that would have been directed towards medical expenses are used in developmental projects.
AWID emphasizes the fact that educating women is a way of initiating change in the society. Women who go to school and get good jobs raise their statuses in the society. As a result, they can use their status to influence other societal members and initiate development.
When women education becomes a cultural norm in many societies, women have the power to defend themselves. Acts like sexual and physical abuse against women can only be fought by women who have the power to speak about their problems fearlessly.
Educated women are less likely to suffer from physical abuse and cultural practices like female genital mutilation. In addition, they are able to protect their female children from going through the same challenges. Women education is therefore an issue that AWID has been advocating for since education gives women power and the ability to increase their contribution towards development.
Evaluating the Work in the Context of Course Readings
Most of the issues that AWID deals with can be interpreted in the context of the course readings. To begin with, AWID focuses on eliminating poverty by ensuring that women get education. Lack of education is one of the factors that force women to live in poverty.
AWID is also committed towards ensuring that women get their rights since denying them their rights hinders development. These goals of AWID resonate with the goals of the United Nations enable which is focused on ensuring that women get their rights.
The United Nations enable pays close attention to women living with disabilities because they are at a high risk of being marginalized. Poverty contributes towards disabilities among women in various ways. For example, women who are malnourished and living in dangerous conditions may suffer from various disabilities .
According to United Nations enable, women have an important role to play in the achievement of millennium development goals. However, for them to achieve their full potential they must be given the opportunity to acquire education, be free from gender discrimination and access to their rights.
This makes them important people when it comes to their participation in development. The issues that are addressed by AWID are all geared towards giving women education, reducing gender discrimination, eliminating violence against women and ensuring that women with disabilities are recognized and given the assistance they need (Chin, 2007).
Handling Issues of Race, Gender and Class
AWID uses different strategies to handle the issues affecting women. The NGO is aware of the fact women empowerment plays an important role towards women liberation. Some of the ways the NGO uses to empower disabled women include starting organizations that assist women achieve financial stability.
These organizations train disabled women in various technical jobs that provide them with self sustenance means. Another way through which the organization empowers women is by educating them on their rights. When women have knowledge of their rights, this gives them the power to fight for what they deserve in society. AWID also ensures that women with disabilities receive education since education is important in development.
Apart from working on empowering women, AWID also has the responsibility of handling issues of race, class and gender. Gender discrimination is one of the problems affecting women and development. In most countries, discrimination is based on factors such as class and race.
AWID deals with issues of gender discrimination by conducting educational forums that are aimed at eliminating racial and class biases. This is made possible when women are given chances to prove their ability by being elected as representatives of various movements. This proves that they are able hence they cannot be discriminated on the basis of gender, class or race (Chin, 2007).
AWID’s Vision for the Future
AWID is very optimistic regarding the future plans that it continues to come up with. The NGO intends to work with many other organizations in the world that value women living with disabilities and which are keen to change their lives.
The NGO sees itself as an important organization through which women get their rights and gain freedom from the effects of gender discrimination. This enables them to take an active part in development activities.
AWID is confident that through the numerous efforts of the organization, there is a bright future for women living with disabilities and other women who have suffered the negative effects of inequality and gender discrimination.
The NGO is confident that with the support of governments and other willing advocacies, gender inequality will be a thing of the past. Eventually, an era marked by respect for human rights for all and recognition of the fact that women can make a positive contribution towards development will emerge.
Conclusion
Women, disability and development are important issues that many countries take with a lot of seriousness. This is because women have been victims of gender inequality, discrimination and violation of their rights. This affects their capacity to contribute positively towards development.
The situation becomes even worse for women living with disabilities since they cannot do much on their own. As a result, NGOs and advocacy organizations such as AWID have been on the forefront to fight for the rights of women and ensure that those living with disabilities get assistance. Through such organizations, women are given the chance to contribute positively towards development.
References
ADB. (2011). Fighting Poverty in Asia and the Pacific. Web.
Chin, J. (2007). Women and leadership: transforming visions and diverse voices. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Miusa. (2011). Women with Disabilities and Development. Web.
Sweetman, C. (2004). Gender, development, and diversity. London: Oxfam.
UN. (2008). Mainstreaming disability in the development agenda. Web.
USAID. (2010). Women in Development. Web.
Worldbank. (2011). Women with Disabilities in Development. Web.