Corporeality

7/25/2019 Corporeality

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Chapter 1- nature and form of violence, frequency of violence, places where it occurs, human

trafficking

A report published by the World Health rgani!ation reveals that 1"# of the world$s

population i%e% close to one billion people in the world face some kind of a disability%

&articularly speaking, women and girls constitute '' # of the total disabled population% (he

appalling number of women and girls with disability has been growing every year with the

advent of new diseases% Women and girls with disability are sub)ect to violence more

frequently than women and girls without disability% *eeping this fact in mind it becomes very

important to assess the various forms of violence faced by women and girl with disability

along with the enumeration of the various perpetrators of the said violence%

+quality among all is an underlining idea of every country$s constitution in the modern

world% +very state polity runs on the basic understanding that every citi!en should be treated

alike and the )udiciary confers a right to every citi!en to be treated as equals in the eyes of

law% However the discrimination faced everyday by the women and girls with disability

reflects a reality which is in stark contrast with the equality promised by the state and the

)udiciary% A report of $s .pecial /apporteur concludes that women are discriminated in

multitude form everyday in the society and factors like race, se0ual orientation, economic

strength and age play a huge role in deciding the gravity of the violence that follows%

isabled women when confronted with the society faces double discrimination as they being

disabled acts as another important factor in aggravating the violence faced by them% Women

with disability are sub)ect to numerous forms of violence in everyday life like physical,

psychological and se0ual abuse, detention, improper health care, forced sterili!ation, isolation

and forced psychiatric treatment% Alongside this, women with disability are sub)ect to

domestic violence and other gender linked abuses twice as much as women without disability%

2or instance women belonging to a minority community like a specific linguistic group may

often face difficulty in understanding the rights conferred to them by law thereby accepting

the violence purported to them without seeking any legal remedy which they are entitled to%

Women with disability belonging to rural areas also are vulnerable to face more violence than

the women with disability in other areas% (he reason which can be associated to the same can

be that the women in rural areas are also ill informed about the rights they are entitled to3

hence, they are prevented from accessing the legal system which can grant them with suitable

remedy% Women with disability in the rural areas also face discrimination in the shape of

negligible access to health care, no independent means of livelihood and inaccessibility to the



legal system% (he above mentioned violence stems from the fact that lack of education and

awareness about their rights and obligations has made them a constant ob)ect of the powerful

forces e0isting in the society% 4oreover, mothers with disability go through a much more

aggravated form of violence than the others% 2orced sterili!ation of disabled women and

termination of pregnancies in the case of women with disability seem to be a normal practise%

5asing on the premise that mothers with disability cannot take care of the young ones,

parents, spouse or other concerned members often lead to these practises citing the reason

that it is in furtherance of their good health% However, the misconceived notion doesn$t find

any medical )ustification and there are other ways to take care of the young ones as well% (he

paternalistic approach adopted citing the reason of their betterment seems to be coming from

the biases and stereotypes e0isting in the society% 5eing a mother with disability, she often

fails to fall in the dominant accepted definition of a feminine thereby removing scope for any

alternate mode to remedy the same% (he above description of the violence faced by the

women with disability highlights the fact that women with disability are seldom recogni!ed

as humans and are always neglected in the hands of the society%

(he perpetrators of the above mentioned are often characteri!ed by the people present in the

homes of the women with disability, the community of the women with disability at large, the

state itself and the institutions placed in the surroundings of the disabled% Women withdisabilities at their home are sub)ected to violence by their own parents, spouse, children and

caretakers% Women with disability are considered to be less eligible for marriage than the

non-disabled counterparts% Hence, if they get married they seldom find a stable marriage

characteri!ed by frequent domestic violence incidents% nce, the marriage falls apart, the

women with disability are left with no legal remedy owing to the inaccessibility of the legal

system for them% (he fact that women with disability are more prone to domestic violence

than other women hints at the fact that the dominant discourse which shapes the ideas and

beliefs of the society leaves them in an e0tremely dangerous situation as they do not have any

legal remedy for the in)ustice caused% Added to this, women with disability continue living

with the abusive husband because of lack of adequate employment opportunities for them

which can make the financially independent% Alongside domestic violence, very often it can

be noted that the relationship shared by the other members with the disabled do not seem to

be that of love and affection but of detest and disrespect% (he family members often inflict

physical violence to them through wilful neglect in providing them with the requisite amount



of care need for them% (he members in some cases beat the women with disability, confine

her to isolation and may withhold food and other nourishment required by her%

Community of the women with disability at large also contributes in furthering the violence

to them% Women with disability in many cases are sub)ect to rape and se0ual violence at home

workplace, streets, schools, and even at special institutions specifically meant for them as

discusses above the society forcefully sterili!e and terminate the pregnancy of the women

with disability% (he biases and pre)udices of the community at large towards the women with

disability in the garb of protecting their interest has been a significant cause in purporting

violence to them%

(he state purports violence towards the women with disability by forcefully sending them to

correctional institutions without their consent% (hey even are given forced medication and

shock treatment which are obviously not agreed upon by the women with disability% (he

institutions where they are placed in become a place for their further abuse% (hey are

physically, mentally and se0ually abused in the institutions and as their evidence cannot be

admissible in a court of law, it remains completely unnoticed by the state% .pecifically in the

prisons the women with disability are often put in the same facilities as the enabled ones their

by completely ignoring their special requirement and needs which is essential for their

survival% (he legal system of the day is also shaped by the dominant discourse of the society,

hence, the laws made by the parliament makes the women with disability invisible thereby

completely removing their identity and personhood% 4oreover the )udges in the courts

subscribing to the dominant discourse around women with disability often seem to pass

)udgments against them like taking away the custody rights of the child citing the )ustification

that the father will be a better parent as the mother is with disabilities% 6ery often the state run

institutions lack additional facilitates required by them which can make the place accessible%

.tate run school, colleges, libraries, courtrooms, and many other institutions can be seen in

lacking of escalators, ramps or lack of books and other te0ts in 5raille which could make the

places actually accessible to the women with disabilities%

Chapter 7- 8nternational Conventions dealing on disability, 8ndian isability 9aw- &W Act

: others, 9ook at the new &W draft too%

Chapter ;- the social model

Chapter "- Conclusion

Corporeality

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