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Disabled sisterhood
By Anthony Thanasayan, 12 Aug 1999
Used with permission from Star Publications (M) Berhad
A UNITED Nations-sponsored workshop for disabled women, held recently in Penang, recorded a number of firsts in our country.
According to its proponents, the Women With Disabilities Workshop, the first of its kind to be held here, managed to draw about 30 participants a cross-section of the disabled population--namely the blind, the deaf and the physically disabled--which was unprecedented.
Also this is the first time that a programme of this nature was organised by local women for locals with disabilities.
Teow Cheng Poo, who is blind and holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the Universiti Malaya, was organising chairperson of the workshop.
Said Teow, "The important thing was that we got to know each other and ou r disabilities better at the workshop. And as a result we began to see our struggles and needs--personal or otherwise--more clearly."
The workshop helped disabled women have a better idea of the limited resources available to them in crucial areas such as education, career an d training, she added. Disabled participants were also taught how to make their present home disabled friendly in a session which was expertly conducted by Taiwanese-born Shen Chiu Hsiang from Penang who uses a wheelchair.
The workshop was sponsored by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission in the Asia Pacific (ESCAP) region as part of the 1993-2002 Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons Declaration.
The declaration focuses on the importance of including the disabled in al l mainstream development programmes and projects of society.
According to ESCAP's Bangkok representative San Yuenwah who is able bodied, the workshop was part of an ESCAP project to field test guidelines on training the disabled so that they can in turn train other handicapped people to help bring about a more accessible environment for themselves.
"After Bangalore and Pattaya, Penang is the third city to participate in the ESCAP project," said San.
In her opening remarks San underscored the need to address three main disabled women's issues: The current gender imbalance in the disability movement; The absence of explicit reference to the inclusion of disabled women in mainstream policies and programmes for women; and The absence of girls with disabilities from policies and programmes for a ll children, as well as those focusing on the girl-child.
The workshop was supported by disabled organisations in and outside Penang as well as various non-disabled local non-governmental organisations.
Datuk Khee Phaik Cheen, the State Executive Councillor for Women's Affairs and Development and Tourism, who officiated the event said public places such as entry points into the state, hotels and tourist spots in Penang must be made more disabled friendly.
These places must be equipped with ramps, special signage, pavements and disabled friendly toilets, she added.
Such facilities, according to Datuk Khee, are not only beneficial to the disabled but also to the elderly, the convalescent, people who have suffered mild stroke, expectant mothers, etc.
The workshop commenced with a brief get-to-know-you-programme conducted by blind Aini Noorazlin Yeow which got the participants all warmed up for th e session.
Soon after disabled women participants shared their personal experiences and stories and got involved in discussions.
"I was especially encouraged not only by the strong presence of disabled women at the workshop but also by the leadership qualities exhibited by some participants," said physically disabled Universiti Malaya lecturer Naziaty Yaacob.
But some participants felt that the workshop could have been better. A disabled participant who declined to be named said the subject of self-esteem and sexuality, for example, although sounded promising at first, lacked depth and real focus and at times even seemed rather rushed in the end.
However, a "Heart To Heart" session which called for participants to share their personal experiences was well received by many.
Although some disabled women were happy that they were given a chance by the able-bodied to organise the workshop proper, there were odd occasions when certain decisions and schedules were changed at the last minute without their consultation.
Many of the participants gave the thumbs up for the hotel staff whom they thought were extremely helpful and obliging. However, some blind individuals felt that one or two sighted helpers tended to mollycoddle them; they insisted on following them around the hotel, for example, during a building assessment assignment despite being told by the blind that they would prefer to do the project on their own.
The presence of a few non-disabled male helpers and staff at the disabled women's workshop at times made some feel uneasy.
"Some of us found it hard to open up during intimate group discussions with them around," said one participant. Perhaps this sensitivity issue needs to be addressed by organisers of similar functions.
In the final analysis nonetheless, the workshop organisers should be commended for coming up with a timely disabled women's workshop especially with the millennium around the corner. It was undoubtedly a rare opportunity for women with varying disabilities to meet and discover themselves and become self-empowered in the process.
Best of all, Sustainable Penang Initiative Project (the group which helped organise the workshop) representative Khor Hung Teik said there'll soon be an organisation called Women With Disabilities as it is in the process of being registered.
According to Khor, a group of about 20 women had their first meeting at the Caring Society Complex in Penang last month.
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