Disabled Sri Lankan women twice as disadvantaged as men: UN study

A study by United Nations Women ( UN Women) said that people with disabilities in Sri Lanka encounter multiple barriers in accessing economic opportunities, and women with disabilities are twice as disadvantaged when entering the work force.

In a report compiled by UN Women together with the Ministry of Women and Child Af f airs and Dry Zone Development, and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea titled ' Women with Disabilities and Their Access to Economic Opportunities: Through the Lens of Gender Budgets' advocates that, to address the issue, the government should take up gender budgeting in its budgeting framework where government plans, policies and budgets and its impact on women with disabilities is made inclusive.

Although the 2012 Census found that there are more women with disabilities than men across all age groups, the UN Women study has shown that women with disabilities comprised only 15% of persons with disabilities.

UN Women, Country Focal Point- Sri Lanka, Ms Ramaaya Salgado speaking at the launch of the report on Thursday (07) said that women and girls with disabilities face multiple and intersecting levels of exclusion, discrimination, abuse and marginalisation, and have to confront additional disadvantages compared to men with disabilities.

In a study that included 400 persons with disabilities, covering 4 districts, concerning difficulties and the ability to enter and stay in the workforce, it had been found that they encountered multiple barriers in accessing economic opportunities.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Sri Lanka, Mr Heon Lee stressed the importance of national budgets that address gaps in gender equality and also examine how national programmes could help women with disabilities access inclusive and accessible employment and livelihood opportunities.

Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Dry Zone Development, Ms Dharshana Senanayake, speaking at the launch, said that Sri Lanka had taken gender budgeting initiatives such as in 2016 where a minimum 25% of investment allocation in rural economic development projects were to benefit women.

A set of recommendations made in the report also promotes creating an inclusive, accessible and enabling social environment for women with disabilities.

It also calls for a thorough review of the National Action Plan for Disability from a gender perspective to ensure that indicators are gender-responsive and the targets are sex-disaggregated. In addition, the report recommends gender-sensitive key performance indicators in Budget Call Circulars to be expanded to include disability dimensions wherever relevant.