7/25/2019 Corporeality
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/corporeality 1/3
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
7/25/2019 Corporeality
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/corporeality 2/3
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
7/25/2019 Corporeality
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/corporeality 3/3
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
Top Related