Gender and disability : a revision of the rights of the Palestinian physically disabled women

Abstract

Human dignity and equality are fundamental norms of human rights. Each individual has an inestimable value. This includes those people / persons with disabilities, who must not be valued solely on their appearance or on their contributions to their communities and societies, but also on their inherent self-worth among other merits, since dignity as a value for disabled people has been a crucial factor from a human rights' perspective. In some cases, they are totally ignored, sidelined or even discarded, just like ordinary dispensable things. Thus, distinctions between persons, stemming from factors that are arbitrary from a moral point of view, such as race, gender, age or disability, should not far outweigh the value of human dignity inherent to every human being. The motivation behind choosing this topic for my dissertation lies in the fact that human rights violations are taking place everywhere and against everyone. Moreover, they are sometimes imposed on a particular group, merely because they are not like others. The Palestinian disabled women represent a clear example of this daily violation, simply because they are women on the one hand and disabled on the other. This state of affairs opens the door for everyone who has power to deprive them of their basic rights, mainly the right to life and dignity. For all these reasons and for being a woman myself I was motivated to examine the causes and the cultural background in the Palestinian society for treating disabled women as ones who have no rights to education, health care, employment, marriage and more importantly to living her life. What is grief-stricken is the entire absence of any legal or humanitarian legislations that would work towards maintaining their right to live as human beings who need love and recognition.