Committee expresses discrimination concerns
GOVERNMENT has been advised to promote a positive image of women and girls with disabilities.
This was after the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women expressed concerns about the high rates of discrimination against women with disabilities in Fiji.
According to a document by the Human Rights Council Working Group for the Universal Periodic Review for Fiji, the committee made the recommendation to Government to also ensure that this group of women had effective access to justice, political participation, education, employment and health care, including sexual and reproductive health care services.
“The Committee on the Rights of the Child regretted that the number of welltrained professionals working with and for children with disabilities was insufficient, and that there were no speech therapists in the country,” the working group also stated in the document.
“The independent expert on albinism noted with concern that the 2011 national housing policy did not include specific sections and policies on the housing needs of persons with disabilities, including persons with albinism, with regard to the required standards of building construction and maintenance, or to programs for the development of accessible and adequate housing.”
Questions sent to Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation remain unanswered.