The rights of women with disabilities are an integral part of women’s rights agenda, and the protection of their rights would be impossible without the support of a larger women’s movement.
To strengthen cooperation between organizations working on the rights of women with disabilities and the empowerment of women, a platform of organizations working on the rights of women and women with disabilities in Georgia has been established. It unifies around 30 organizations throughout the country with the purpose of supporting the promotion of the rights of women with disabilities and alleviating the barriers and challenges that they face. The initiative is implemented by the NGOs “Partnership for Human Rights” and “Women and Reality” with the support of UN Women and in cooperation with UNFPA.
The first working meeting of the platform representatives was held from 8 to 11 September 2020. The participants shared experiences and initiated coalition work to achieve common goals and objective. Participants were further trained on theories of intersectionality, sexual and reproductive health and violence against women and girls with disabilities, and available services, among other topics.
Tamar Macharashvili, Head of NGO “Women and Reality” remarked, “Today we are all together, and it is very exciting for me. The creation of this platform will allow women with disabilities to make our voices more active and to make the rights of women with disabilities an integral part of women’s rights agenda. I hope that this initiative will support the creation of a strong team that will work jointly for change and will achieve important results.”
“The inclusiveness of the platform will make its work more effective. Interesting issues that I plan to start to work on were revealed during the meeting,” noted Khatuna Khazhomia, Manager of the Sexual Education Component at the NGO “Tanadgoma”. The Head of the Georgian Down Syndrome Association, Lia Tabatadze, said that the platform should become a space where any woman will be supported, protected and acknowledged: “I think that new women leaders will be revealed with the help of the platform and that they will successfully lead this movement.”
The platform is open to all supporters of women with disabilities. The initiative is carried out within the framework of the UN Joint Programme “Transforming Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Georgia” - a joint innitiative implemented by six UN agencies - UN Women, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, OHCHR and WHO in Georgia.