Kolkata, Nov 2 (IANS) Participants from South Asian countries will deliberate on how to secure the rights of physically challenged women in mainstream society at a round table in Kolkata Tuesday.
“Representatives from South Asian nations - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives - will participate in the round table discussion. They will share their experiences on the obstacles they face in their everyday lives in the form of gender discrimination and social inequalities,” Association for Women with Disabilities (AWWD) director Kuhu Das said.

“The AWWD took up an ambitious project, Creating Spaces for Women with Disabilities, in 2007 with international partners like Healthlink Worldwide and collaborated with like-minded organisations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” she said.

The programme, funded by Great Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), was designed for the physically challenged women from across the South Asian region to help them win equal rights and fight against discrimination.

She said: “Over 200 women with disabilities have been trained in leadership skills across south Asia in the past three years.

“We’re expecting that this platform would open up opportunities for a dialogue on issues concerning the disabled women and girls.”

Das said participants have been invited from across a broad spectrum of government, social service, development and funding agencies.