By Loveth Asogwa Obiora,
Deaf Women Aloud Initiative (DWAI) on Wednesday 16th – Thursday 17th in Abuja engaged in a 2-day Capacity Building and Sensitization workshop for Deaf Women and Girls in FCT. The training is part of the activities of a project being implemented by DWAI and funded by Disability Rights Fund (DRF).
The Executive Director, DWAI, Hellen Beyioku-Alase while speaking to The Qualitative Magazine (TQM) said that the capacity building is to train Deaf women and girls on sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) because a lot of Deaf women do not have knowledge about their health, pregnancy and even childbirth and also train them on the current disability law that has been enacted, and information on their sexual health. Lack of information have caused them untimely death for deaf women and their babies due to their inability to have access to SHRH. The capacity building will help them to know what to do and what not to do. The training is to enlighten them on what to do during pregnancies, childbirth and even in spacing their babies. the usefulness of this information is to know more about their health and the rights they have in accessing this reproductive health rights.
Further speaking, she said that the training is for Deaf women and Girls in four Area Councils in the FCT, Kuje, Gwagwalada, AMAC and Kwali and after the trainings, DWAI would be targeting a policy to be developed in the respective Area Councils on SRHR for Deaf women and girls.
“Their take home is the knowledge of their rights and demanding for them when and where it is necessary, knowing that they have right to a sign language interpreter. Even in the issue of family planning, their capacity is been built, they do not need to have a negative perception about it, and finally when they go home, they can now share and educate their family, friends, and even community at large on what they have learnt” she added.
Mr. Theophilus Odaudu, Program officer, DRF, in his goodwill message appreciated DWAI for implementing this capacity building and sensitization workshop for Deaf women and girls. He said that the issue of access to health care for Deaf women and girls is a difficult one, that is why DRF is interesting in building the capacity of Deaf women and girls, engage them in advance learning, the benefits in having quality access to health care services and he is hoping that by the end of this capacity building, the deaf women and girls will have the knowledge to access health care services.
Mr. Suleiman Abdulmumuni Ujah, a facilitator gave an overview of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), its provision on the rights to access Health care: provision of sign language interpreters in health care, confidentiality of sign language interpreters to Deaf women and girls when accessing health care.
Comrade Olubunmi Lawan took the participants through maternal, newborn and adolescent health: she said that the goal of the topic was to improve the health and well being of Deaf women, their Children, Adolescent and Families, because of the vulnerability of Deaf women and girls in the society and also the issue of Gender-Based Violence.
Mrs. Victoria David facilitated on the access to safe family and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) needs of Deaf women: sexuality, ante-natal care, labour/child birth, post-natal care family planning/child spacing etc.
Barr. Catharine Edeh engaged participants in understanding the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (prohibition) Act 2018: the content was to simplify the law for better understanding for easy access.
At the end of the capacity building of Deaf women and girls, the participants had a better understanding the issues of Deaf women and girls with disability in the society and how they can assess SRHR.
Some pictures of the workshop
