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....cry out over scarcity of men for marriages
Women with disabilities on Tuesday urged political parties to embrace them and possibly offer a waiver for election nomination forms so as to have more disabled persons in elective positions and be part of the decision-making process in governance.
The physically challenged women equally decried the rising cases of discrimination in homes, workplaces and marriages, noting that women with disabilities find it difficult to get men to marry them due to their respective conditions.
The disabled persons, under the women's wing of Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) made the submission in a press briefing to mark the international women's day in Benin City.
Ann Ojugo, chairperson of the association, clamored for inclusion and representation of women with disabilities in government so that they can be part of the policy-making process in matters that affect them and the development of the country.
"Women and girls with disabilities continue to suffer social and cultural discrimination amid other structural and technical barriers placed on them by the society. If you take statistics, people with disabilities who are educated are more of the men than the women. People don't train women, and it is a double tragedy for us," Ojugo said.
She said: "I am so much interested in ensuring people with disabilities are included in political activities. I believe that if a person with disabilities is well known in the party and can deliver, the discrimination should not be there. Honestly speaking, we don't have the money to sponsor persons with disabilities.
"The government can sponsor persons with disabilities to make sure they get to where they are going to. It is high time persons with disabilities take part in politics. They should vote and be voted for.
"We want to enjoin women with disabilities to involve themselves in politics because very soon, we shall be having local government elections and we want women to take part. We want political parties to enrol women with disabilities in their party and give them elective positions either by electing them as local government chairmen, councilors, unit leaders."
Ojugo, however, claimed that they decided to celebrate the women's day on a later date different from the March 8 set aside to commemorate the international women's day because women with disabilities were sidelined from the activities scheduled during the period.
"The event was celebrated March 8 but most women in Nigeria who marked the day didn't remember to invite women with disabilities. You can hardly find women with disabilities among them. So, we decided to celebrate ours on another day. More so, we were also affected by lack of finance because we needed money to facilitate the transport of members from across the 18LGAs.
"Women were busy organising programs, while women with disabilities were not included. There are discrimination from all ramifications. Our challenges are enormous. Most women with disabilities live their whole life with the title of 'miss' even in their 50s, 60s, 80s because they are so discriminated that men don't think of marrying them. How many men can take the bold step to marry women with disabilities"? She asked.
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