People with Disabilities, all over the world face discrimination and is stigmatized within family and in the community at large. They face multitude of obstacles in accessing their fundamental human rights. They are economically, socially, politically and culturally isolated. Their health and sanitation needs are neglected. Women with Disabilities (WWDs) are even more disadvantaged, facing the compounding issues of their gender. The situation of women with disabilities in South Asia is deplorable owing to the respective country’s socio-economic infrastructure. They are subject to marked discrimination in the entire region. In brief we can gauge the situation of WWDs in some South Asian countries.

In India there are around 21.9 million persons with disabilities, out of which 9.3 million are women with disabilities. According to 2001 census, the disabled population in India constitutes 2.13% of the total population. The WWDs face discrimination in every sphere of life – rehabilitation, health, education, training, employment, recreation, family and social life, participation in decision-making process and social security. They are neglected by their parents and family members, which robs them of all opportunities in life, thereby hindering their overall social development. Disabled girls and women experience sexual abuse and all kinds of exploitation within the family as well as outside the family. The situation is shocking when it comes to girls & women with intellectual disability, for almost nothing exist specially in the rural areas to support them for living a minimum decent life. The highest incidence rate of elderly women being abandoned by their family comprises women with disabilities. In spite of the appalling condition of women and girls with disabilities, they get less priority when it comes to research, framing policies, empowerment or rehabilitation programmes. Disabled women have been seldom taken as partners in the women’s movement. Mainstream women’s empowerment programmes too have hardly included disabled girls & women.

In Sri Lanka, the number of persons with disabilities varies from 2% (census 2001, Govt. of Sri Lanka) to over 10% quoted by some NGOs. Women with Disabilities constitute 3 % of the country’s total population. With total employment rate of 16% among people who have disability, gender-wise it stands at 22% for men and 8% for women. Fewer women have had the opportunity of going to school than men have – 63% to 71%. Even those women, who have had the opportunity, have generally had a lower level of education. Poverty among women is greater than among men. While 74% of women have an income of less than USD 1.00 day, and 98% less than USD 2.00 per day, the comparative figures for men are 48% and 89% respectively. Females encounter a greater degree of negative attitudes. The condition of WWDs in the urban area is worse than those in the rural area for the urban WWDs have no jobs, no husband, and no children. But this is not so for WWDs in rural areas, where they can still get married. Families tend to protect their female members who have disability but this protection sometimes leads to over-protection leading to oppression as women or girls who have disabilities have no opportunity for education, no chance of getting employed and no prospects of marriage, having no future at all. There is some inclusion of persons with disabilities at the grass-root level but this is far from enough and women with disabilities are even less included. There is lack of awareness about how to integrate persons with disabilities into mainstream activities of the society. The WWDs are not aware of their rights or about laws that can help them achieve those rights, even the stakeholders (NGOs, government officials) are not well informed about these laws.

In Bangladesh, the number of people with disabilities is high enough to draw special attention. Based on an assessment of the available figures and estimates by WHO and World Bank for developing countries, there is prevalence of disability in 10% of the population. There are 10.2 million adults with disabilities in Bangladesh. Although women with disabilities constitute a large proportion of this disability population, very little information is available about their characteristics and their challenges in everyday life. They are almost totally excluded from education, job and other socio-economic opportunities. There is very little government intervention for addressing WWDs’ issues. Women with disabilities face discrimination within family – both mental and physical. Sexual abuse of WWDs is fairly common and families do not even protest, so as to protect ‘family honour’.. Families are disinterested in enrolling disabled girl in schools. Also, accessibility is another factor for girls with disabilities not getting enrolled to schools. The teachers in schools are insensitive towards disabled students. Very few WWDs receive education and those who manage to get higher education, do not get any job. Not even 10% of persons holding jobs in the disability quota are women. Girls or women with disabilities face verbal abuse at public places showcasing a negative attitude of the society towards them. Property rights are denied to WWDs  and to make situation worse, they do not receive legal aid.

In Nepal, no comprehensive data on disability exists; even the number of people with disabilities varies according to sources. According to World Health Organization (WHO) in 1976 it was estimated that around 10% of the population of Nepal have some form of disability. The most recent country census (census 2001) in Nepal shows that 0.45% of the population has disability, while National Planning Commission indicated 1.63% of the population being disabled. Due to this variation in data it is difficult to get a proper estimation. Persons with disabilities face stigma and discrimination and are considered an object of shame by the family members. Access to education for children with disabilities is difficult since the terrain itself makes accessibility an issue, where in the hilly areas, commuting to schools continues to be a problem. The literacy rate is considerably lower for females than the males; participation of persons with disabilities in skill training is also negligible. A large number of people with disabilities do not receive the required medical treatment due to inadequate health facilities lack of sufficient resources of the family. More so there is a general belief in the society that impairment can be treated. Programmes and services to address the issue of disability are very limited and they are focused specially in the urban areas. These initiatives are charity based and not from the rights perspective.

Theoretically, WWDs are entitled to all the rights and provisions/facilities mentioned in respective Constitutions and various acts, legislations and policies formulated for ‘all categories of the population’. But for them, the real barrier is to access and exercise these rights. Unless that barrier is removed, they will keep on being excluded from all important areas of life: social interactions, such as friendships, marriage and parenthood; developmental activities in education and training; and economic opportunities in the areas of employment, earning money and maintaining control in their lives.