RI Global: Office of Communications
Contact: Adrian Brune, +1 347-759-9501
On 12 March, during the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59), Rehabilitation International (RI) will hold a parallel event entitled “Women with Disabilities: 20 Years After Beijing.”
This CSW59 side event will bring together leading RI experts in various topics related to health, rehabilitation, and the rights of women with disabilities, in an effort to highlight the cross-cutting nature of many of these issues and advocate for change on a global scale.
Speakers will include former RI President Anne Hawker of New Zealand, RI Africa Vice President Ekaete Umoh of Nigeria, RI Education Commission Vice Chair Dr. Barbara LeRoy of the United States, RI Task Force on Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction member Dr. Asha Hans of India, and RI Secretary General Venus Ilagan of the Philippines.
“These speakers bring years of expertise on the specific issues facing women with disabilities around the world,” said RI President Jan Monsbakkken, who will moderate the event. “From inclusive education to disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction, this event will explain the critical importance of including disability perspectives in discussions about women’s rights.”
Topics discussed will include education and the status of women with disabilities, disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction and the Beijing Declaration, poverty and disability, global perspectives on the challenges faced by women with disabilities, and more.
“Since its founding in 1922, RI has spearheaded projects targeting women with disabilities and shown the world that inclusion efforts must recognize the particular challenges faced by various groups,” said Ilagan. “The week of CSW is a time to recognize the continuing challenges faced by women with disabilities and the ways in which we can work together to mitigate them.”
This will be the third consecutive year RI has organized a CSW side event, and the rights of women with disabilities will be a continuing focus of the organization in the years ahead.
The event is open to the public and will take place at the United Nations Church Center (777 1st Ave., New York), 10th floor, on March 12 at 6:15pm. Download the event flyer here.
RI Global: Founded in 1922, Rehabilitation International (RI Global) is a worldwide network promoting the rights and inclusions of persons with disabilities (PwDs) through advocacy, habilitation and rehabilitation to achieve an inclusive world in which all people can enjoy full human rights.
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