On 17 January 2020, a national DPO consultation was organised by Sightsavers and NCPEDP in New Delhi, to contribute to the civil society disability report on Sustainable Development Goals. Our founder and executive director Nidhi Goyal and program associate Chayanika Iyer attended this consultation and participated in discussions on different goals and disability inclusion in light of the UN CRPD and RPD act India.
Our Executive Director also presented on goal 5 gender equality and women with disabilities alongside other issues presented by senior activists and leaders from disability spaces and corporate sectors like Bhushan Punani, Chairperson, West Asia International Council for Education of Children with Visual Impairment, Meenu Bhambhani, Vice President, Head of Corporate Citizenship and Inclusion and Diversity, at State Street and Aradhana Lal Vice President-Brand, Communications & Sustainability Initiatives at Lemon Tree Hotels. In her presentation, our executive director focused on women with disabilities and their specific issues at the intersection of the disability and gender dimensions – the lack of disaggregated data, no specific mentions in budgetary funds or legal provisions in acts such as domestic violence and sexual harassment, need for negotiations with two separate ministries were discussed. The impact of the lack of structural facilities like accessible toilets on their education, and the horrors of forced surrogacy, sterilization, medication, hysterectomy, and abortion were presented. She also brought to light the severe lack of familial and social participation of women with disabilities, and how that directly impacts their political participation.
