Disabled women in Lebanon still deprived from education and work

In collaboration with the Forum for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Lebanese Council of Disabled People, the National Association for the Rights of Disabled People in Lebanon (NARD) held last Thursday a national seminar entitled the ‘Role of the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) in Activating Law No. 220/2000 and Facts on Women with Disabilities in Lebanon Between the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Law 220/2000’. During the seminar, NARD President Dr. Nawaf Kabbara gave an analytical study examining “the reality of disabled persons in the country and the role of the above ministry in securing their rights following the endorsement by Parliament of said law and the adoption by the UN of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.” Kabbara made a number of recommendations, notably: increase the allocations for MoSA rights program to better cover the required technical assistance and equipment for all forms of handicaps; press MoSA for more support, particularly for early intervention, home care and special transport services; the implementation of the official 3% quota in the recruitment of handicapped persons in the public and private sectors and their integration in sports programs as well as their political and civil participation. For their part, Jahda Abu Khalil and Geryis Khury presented a comparative study on stipulations of both the above law and the convention on the rights of disabled persons. The study showed that the majority of handicapped women still are deprived from education and work and therefore from independent living, and from the ability to defy violence and exploitation. In conclusion, the study urged the integration of handicapped women in relevant legislations and the improvement of their general conditions. (Al Mustaqbal, May 24, 2016)