79pc women with disabilities deprived of education: Study

Around 79 percent women with disabilities have no access to education in the capital due to a lack of proper infrastructure in educational institutions, said a survey.

Besides, 31 percent of such women face challenges to enrol in schools due to limited numbers of reserved seats for the persons with disabilities, revealed the study titled, "Situation analysis on women with disabilities in Dhaka Metropolitan area", at The Daily Star Centre yesterday.

Women with Disabilities Development Foundation (WDDF) and the Center for Social Programs and Research (CSPR) conducted the study between August 2016 and February 2017 on 101 women (15 to 49 years) with physical, vision, speech and hearing disabilities and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

"If the disabled are boys, parents send them to school, but if they are girls, parents don't. Therefore, the authorities concerned also don't design the infrastructure accordingly," said Harunur Rashid, CSPR chairperson.

The survey found some 67 percent women with disabilities are deprived of family rights and become victims of negative attitude from family and society. Besides, 33 percent cited violence within family and 47 percent faced physical assault, the survey found.

Also, 47 percent women with disabilities used the government healthcare services because of low cost. However, health care service is not favourable to women with disabilities as the service providers have no training to understand about their health issues.

The panelists at the programme suggested taking more proactive actions to ensure access of physically challenged women to education, health and employment.

They said educational institutions should have wheelchair access and other facilities. Also, people need to change their mindset that women with disabilities would be under-performers.

Khushi Kabir, executive director of Nijera Kori, and Shirin Akhter, chairperson of WDDF, also spoke at the event.