Gender and Disability: Women's Experiences in the Middle East

by Lina Abu-Habib

Women with disabilities face a double discrimination, both in terms of gender and also of their particular disability. This book examines the situation of women with various types of disability, in the Middle Eastern context. It provides a general overview of gender and disability and includes several case studies from the Lebanon, Yemen, and the occupied Palestinian Territories. Each case study features personal histories from disabled women and members of organizations for disabled people, to highlight particular issues concerning gender and disability.

Genres: Disability, Feminism

64 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short analysis of the intersectionality between gender and disability in the Middle-East. Told through case studies, this work demonstrates how gender discrimination leads to significant differences in ability to access support services and the subsequent critical need for gender-responsive services. It also highlights the ways in which disabled women are excluded from the women's movement, for example in the UN IV Conference in Beijing where the disabled tent was cited far away and difficult to find, and many disabled-specific events were located on upper floors with no lifts or ramps!

This is a clearly written analysis that was an interesting read. While it was written over 20 years ago, I can well imagine that things have not progressed as much as we might hope, but I hope that this text and the author's other work have at least led to more gender-responsive interventions within the development sector.