Women with Disabilities' Inclusion in Disability and Women Protection Policies: Case Study of Jordan

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the inclusion versus exclusion of women with disabilities in disability policies from one side and the GBV protection policies from the other, while shedding light on what‘s being done in Jordan. The country has recently created several new policies, structures and legislations in order to establish equality between its citizens, such as protecting women‘s rights or promoting the rights of persons with disability. In this thesis, the rights of women with disabilities are studied under two lenses, gender and disability, arguing that this category of vulnerable people are suffering from a double discrimination placing them in a dark spot when it comes to laws and policies that concern their rights as women and as persons with disabilities. The thesis makes three central points regarding the situation of women with disabilities. First, explaining their fragile status in society and the stigma they are continuously subjected to, and presenting how the advances in terms of women‟s and people with disabilities‟ rights have not effectively succeeded in tackling their specific needs and struggles, taking the example of the country of Jordan. The second section gives elements to analyse the policy making and implementation through the example of disability policies; While the third and last section is addressing the relevance of Jordan‟s state policies and structures in providing them the appropriate support through a multi-stakeholders‟ qualitative study mainly probing how governmental agencies and disabled people organisations work and collaborate to tackle the subject on the ground.