Disability rights advocates says women with disabilities could gain stronger protection from discrimination and exclusion if Malawi moves faster to domesticate the African Disability Protocol (ADP).
Sightsavers Programme Officer Naomi Kalua made the call in Blantyre during a strategy workshop organised in collaboration with the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA).
The workshop brought together disability rights advocates to push for the immediate integration of the protocol into Malawi’s national legal framework.
Kalua said women with disabilities often face discrimination from two directions, gender bias and disability stigma, leaving them exposed to abuse and exclusion.
“We need to move beyond commitments on paper and ensure that the African Disability Protocol becomes part of our national legal framework,” Kalua said.
She said domestication would help protect vulnerable citizens from systemic abuse, harmful cultural beliefs and deliberate exclusion.
Kalua said stronger legal protections were particularly important for women with disabilities, who can face barriers when accessing justice, public services and opportunities.
Mercy Gusto of the Disabled Women and Orphans Organisation said localising the treaty was critical to breaking barriers that continue to make women with disabilities vulnerable.
Gusto said women with disabilities must be at the centre of efforts to implement the protocol rather than being treated as passive beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, FEDOMA Executive Director Simon Munde has called on disability rights organisations and other advocacy leaders to identify specific legal changes needed to incorporate the protocol into Malawi’s laws.
Munde said the process should ensure that the experiences and concerns of people with disabilities at community level are reflected in national legislation.
“We need to identify the gaps in our laws and make the necessary changes so that the voices of people with disabilities, especially women, are not left out of the legal framework,” Munde said.
The African Disability Protocol is intended to strengthen the protection of the rights of people with disabilities across African Union member states, including addressing discrimination, harmful practices and barriers to participation in society.
The advocates are now calling for policymakers to move from commitments to concrete legal action so that the protections contained in the protocol can be applied within Malawi’s national system.
