Introduction

Convening for the Rights of Women and Trans* people with Disabilities in Asia; Women’s Fund Asia

Convening for the Rights of Women and Trans* people with Disabilities in Asia; Women’s Fund Asia

srinidhi raghavan holding a mic in front of her face. she is wearing a pink saree and and ID card with a blue band. beside her sit renu addlakha and pratima gurung. behind the three of them are two white boards

From the 6th to the 8th of February, 2020, Women’s Fund Asia, a feminist donor organisation organised a convening for the rights of women and trans* people with disabilities in Asia. The convening included 25 participants from across 8  countries in the Asia Pacific region and was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The aim of the convening was to map the women and trans* people led disability rights movements across countries in Asia, their strategies as well as critical challenges faced by grassroots women led disability rights groups. 

Our senior program’s consultant, Srinidhi Raghavan, presented on a panel on Cross Movement Conversations: Solidarity and Collaborations. Her presentation included interrogation on the intersection between the digital rights movements, gender rights movements, and disability rights movement. Other panelists included well-known disability rights activist and academic, Renu Addlakha from the Centre for Women's Development Studies and Pratima Gurung from the National Indigenous Disabled Women Associate, Nepal. The panel highlighted the importance of building solidarity across movements and the impact of effective collaborations.