Situation of women with disabilities in the community of Kyrgyzstan

1. Situation of women with disabilities in the community of Kyrgyzstan Independent Republican Association of Women with Disabilities in Kyrgyzstan Asipa Musaeva

2. Problems The women with disabilities are in a very hard situation under the current economic and political condition and crisis in Kyrgyzstan. Many women lost their jobs, chance to have education, their benefits and social privileges, which they were provided by the social fund and state assistance program. Suspension to take part in development of social programs and adoption of political decision causes the feeling of second-best, low self-assessment and social apathy. In such situation the women have to look for new social decision for themselves and creative means of self-help. In this connection capacity building of women with disabilities is inexorably increasing. Movement of women with disabilities now bears responsibility to solve legal, social and economic protection of women.

3. In Kyrgyzstan we face up problems very often when disabled women suffer from their husbands’ violence. Men drink alcohol and beat their wives. A) It means that disabled women suffer from physical violence. This mainly happens because of: • 1. she is disabled • 2. she cannot work • 3. she cannot earn for living • 4. she cannot do the housework • 5. she cannot have children • 6. she cannot bring up children

4. B) Moreover disabled women suffer from psychological violence: Husband cheats and sometimes takes another woman to his house, so he humiliates his wife . He insults his wife at his children, relatives and parents, by emphasizing her physical disabilities. C) Disabled women have less chance to find a partner to get married, to have children because of limited mobilities and liberties. D) About 90% of women suffer from sexual harassment more often than healthy women. Pregnant disabled women are made to get abortion without asking their agreement. E) As for disabled ladies, they seldom get support from their parents and relatives. These ladies cannot study at school , so they are isolated from society. For the last time 2 young girls committed suicide in Kyrgyzstan. The main problem is disabled women are not aware of law and their rights.Even if they turn to police, the police don’t believe the words, don’t listen to complaints. don’t respect opinion. These people don’t have get help or support from the government.

5. At the same time the movement of women with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan faces all the main dangers (internal and external): • - lack of state support, • - crisis situation in the economy and changes taking place in it, • - decline of social service which the women were relying on before • - insufficient financing of women programs by the international donors, • - economic dependence and poverty, • - isolation from the society, • - lack of awareness of activists about their civil rights and necessity to defend them where lack of awareness is connected with low level of knowledge about their rights and lack of ability to protect them. • Women with disabilities stay as before to be one of the socially vulnerable group of population of our country.

6. Recommendations 1. Expansion of the economic possibilities of the disabled women. 2. Making the system of the functional education for disabled women. 3. Exclude gender discrimination and expansion access to justice for the disabled women 4. Gender parity advancement in decision making and expansion of political participation for disabled women. 5. Monitoring and estimation of the performing the problems in National Activities Plan.

7. 6. Introducing special measures for the disabled women integration into economic activities. 7. Development and realization of measures to support disabled women’s enterprise. 8. Increasing the potential attorney and public bodies on their protection against gender discrimination and violence. 9. Reinforcement of parliamentary control over the execution national and international obligations on gender discrimination. 10. We recommend that National reports on execution Conventions of SIDO was reflected in law describing the rights of disabled women.