The Executive Secretary National Commission for Persons Disabilities, Mr. James David Lalu has charged persons with disabilities to demand for their rights and complete inclusion in all facet of the economy as stipulated by the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
Mr. Lalu stated his during the 13th Annual General Meeting organized by the Deaf Women Association of Nigeria, in Abuja, with the theme “Breaking the Bias: Ending Exclusion of Deaf Women to Accessible Services.
The ES who was represented at the Director, Social Integration, NCPWD, Mr. Lawrence Idemudia explained that no country can claim complete inclusion when over 10 percent of the country population (PWDs) are excluded from governance, access to health, education, justice and other accessible services.
In her welcome address, the National President, Deaf Women Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Hellen Beyioku Alase challenged deaf women to demand for their rights in all accessible services. She states that one of the objectives of the Association is to advocate for and build in deaf women the will to demand for their rights to health, education, sexual and reproductive health and justice.
“there is need to develop the advocacy skills of deaf women in Nigeria so that they can collectively achieve the goal of inclusive health services. There is also the need to educate stakeholders, especially health care providers on the subject of deaf inclusion.
“deaf women also need inclusive environment in political participation so they can be part of decision-making process. These and more will be our focal point in years to come.”
Mrs. Ajase explained that deaf women suffer more gender base violence. This is more painful for deaf women as they cannot easy access justice and redress due to lack of accessibility to sign language interpreters in judicial and law enforcement sectors.