Amplifying Intersectionality!

Nadi, Fiji

This week women with disabilities from across the Pacific will be actively lobbying for greater integration of gender equality and women’s rights at the 7th Pacific Disability Conference:

"This is an opportunity for you to raise your voices and heard" said Lanieta Tuimabu President of Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation (FDPF)

Thanks to the Shifting the Power Coalition #PowerShift mechanism supported by the The Asia Foundation, FDPF is convening a preparatory women’s network meeting to prepare their recommendations for the Conference outcomes at the disaster risk reduction and climate change actions.

The preparatory meeting is also an opportunity for regional networking with members from other Pacific Islands. VDPA Vanuatu -Vanuatu Disability Promotion & Advocacy Association represents the PDF on the Coalition’s steering committee.

And the expectations of the participants are focused on 3 key areas linking the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (ICRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

1. Support and Sustain Leadership of Women with Disabilities including by dedicated resources for the Pacific Disability Forum Women with Disability Network activities at regional and national level

2. Make resources available for women with disabilities at local and national level through flexible feminist funding models, eg the Shifting the Power Coalition and Pacific Island Feminist Alliance for Climate Justice 

The Shifting the Power Coalition partnership with Pacific Disability Forum since 2016 has seen the establishment of a Gender and Disability experts network in collaboration with the PDF Women with Disability Network.