Okeoghene Jane Akpaeva is a social activist who had meningitis at the verge of being enrolled into secondary school and she lost her sight. She is one of the participants trained by Women Initiative for Leadership Strategy & Innovation in Africa (Women Africa) under the project on Improving Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Family Planning Services for Women and Girls with Disabilities in Health Facilities in FCT. A project funded by Pathfinder International through the Advance Family Planning Project. Oke Oghnene heads a non-governmental organization founded by her to promote the rights of vulnerable groups with emphasis on persons with disabilities. Her project “Inclusive Talent” focuses on the many potentials of persons with disabilities in the creative industry and sensitizes the public on the poor perception about persons with disabilities.
Jane is staunch member of the Nigerian Association of the Blind (NAB), a graduate of Sociology and one of the strong advocates for the rights of young women with disabilities in Nigeria.
The Qualitative Magazine (TQM) got Jane to speak on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in Nigeria with focus on the challenges faced by women with disabilities in accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) services and Family Planning Services in health facilities as well as her personal experiences as a woman with disability.
TQM: What do you know about SRH?
To my own understanding, it is the entire health wellbeing and freedom of a woman in regard to her sex life and reproduction.
TQM: Do you know your rights in respect to SRH?
Yes, I do, as a woman with disability; I have freedom to my body and free to take any decision about my body. Again, I should have access to healthcare services be it family planning, maternal care and so on. Barriers such as communication, attitudinal and physical should be removed for me to have access to health care services without stress. There are also disability friendly services and preferences that should be considered when it comes to persons with disabilities. Like every other human being, persons with disabilities need sexual and reproductive health information too, that is suitable to their nature of disability. Family planning programs and methods is not a one size fits all and so should be tailored to a person with disability particular need with the right awareness so they can make informed choices.
TQM: What are your personal experiences when it comes to SRHR?
Most times, people are not aware that as a woman with disability, you should also have right to SRH. This kind of thinking has caused a lot of exclusion such as lack of inaccessible facilities at the health centres, SRH information not on braille and software that should be used are not known by Health Care providers.
“People normally think that as a blind woman, you don’t need information on SRH”
TQM: What has been your challenges in accessing SRHR?
I don’t want to personalize the question; PWDs face challenges based on the peculiarities of their different forms of disability. For example, if a deaf woman wants to access healthcare services, and there is no sign language interpreter. She will face communication challenge. She maybe going through serious health challenges but she will not be able to communicate. At times, it maybe issues of pregnancy and she may not be able to get the right information during antenatal which may be disastrous at the long run. A woman with physical disability who wants to have access to healthcare services will have to face the challenges of no ramps, rifts etc. She has to be carried up and down the hospital. A blind woman will have to face attitudinal issue from health practitioners, if you are alone, they would not be comfortable and they will be asking you “Are You alone?” and if you are with an aide, they will prefer to ask your aide about your health as if you don’t exist or you can’t speak for yourself because you are a blind woman.
TQM: Are you aware of government interventions towards addressing these challenges?
Yes, government is doing something though not enough but the process is ongoing and there are a lot of advocacy on the matter. To be specific, in the FCT, some government hospitals has been equipped with ramps and they are gradually addressing the issue of information for the blind and some health practitioners has gotten training on sign language interpretation.
TQM: In your opinion, what is the effort so far from health care service providers towards women with disabilities?
There has been some improvement based on what it used to be. A lot of them have received training on disability inclusion and SRHR and a lot of them have been applying what they learnt.
TQM: What are the gaps you identified in the health care service delivery?
One of the gaps now is the attitude of some health care service providers towards persons with disabilities; many of them are yet to internalize that fact that PWDs have rights especially right to access SRH.
TQM: How well do WWDs have access to Maternal Care in our hospitals?
As a blind lady, I need some level of privacy when accessing maternal health services but the health care providers always prefer to talk to my aide, they are not comfortable talking to me when I am alone. To this extent, they have to understand that it is the right of women with disabilities (WWDs) to access maternal health services. Deaf Women face a lot of challenges due to communication barrier in accessing maternal health. For example, a deaf woman lost her child and her life because she couldn’t hear and understand the nurses when she was asked to push at Labour room.
Blind women go through a lot of stigma in accessing maternal health; there are always talks like who got you pregnant, how is she going to take care of her child? She can’t see the child, she can’t be able to take care of the Child. There is a lot of negative attitude towards blind women to the extent that some of them don’t to go to the hospital again.
TQM: Do you know about the Advance Family Planning Project?
Yes, I do. It is an advocacy initiative that aims to increase the financial investment, political commitment and visibility needed to ensure access to quality, voluntary family planning (FP). We need the government to increase the financial commitments for providing reproductive health and family planning services for persons with disabilities. We must have access to family planning to understand what is good for us in child bearing control as Women with Disabilities. It should be made available for PWDs and they should be allowed to make their choices.
TQM: How has it been for WWDs accessing Contraceptive?
It is not really easy for PWDs because of the motion that WWDs are not having sex or should not border having sex. She cannot walk, she cannot hear, she doesn’t need condom because she is asexual so no need for her to have sex.
TQM: Let’s Go Personal a little, what is life like as a person with disability?
It has not been easy, there are a lot to the barriers that has made life very difficult but it has not been impossible.
At times, I do forget that I am a person with disability because of the care and support that I have been receiving from my family. Family is very important, their support and care will bring good socialization for your well-being as a person with disability. There is a total inclusion in my family; I have even forgotten that I am a person with disability going by the way they are supporting me. Families should support and encourage PWDs, it will go a long way to make them better persons.
In the days of my primary and secondary school, I had good friends, they were very inclusive so I didn’t feel like someone that has a disability, but in the University, I noticed exclusion going by the way the lecturers were not taking into cognizant of blind students in their decision taking. For example, a lecturer would enter a lecture room and call for test unannounced, meanwhile I am not with my typing machine and when I raise concern, they would promise to do something about it which they would eventually do nothing about it. The practice affected my grade.
I had ugly experience on taking the public transportation to school. I can remember one fateful day that I and my closest friend were to enter school bus after lectures and students were rushing because we have limited buses, my friend who is assisting me, made it inside the bus but I couldn’t, she was shouting and crying that I was left behind, nobody cared, I later joined the last bus where I had to sit on a guy’s leg to make it home that day. It was a terrible experience. No preferential treatment to me as a person with disability.
TQM: What are offensive words that have been directed to you?
Somebody once asked me about my eyes ” where is your eyes, what did you do with your eyes, where did your eyes go”. I do hear offensive words every day, I do feel bad about them but I have always managed my anger and smile at them.
TQM: PWDs go through a lot of challenges while seeking for job opportunity, did you experience that?
It is disheartening what PWDs face while seeking for job, I have had my own share of ugly experience, I have been applying but they are always showing me attitude that you are not wanted. I got tired at some point and I stopped applying.
TQM: Are you in a relationship, if yes, how is it going?
Yes, I am and it is doing fine. The way you carry yourself and not going for less because you are a person with disability determines the kind of relationship you will have.
TQM: Let’s talk a little about Gender Based Violence (GBV), What solution do you proffer for government to safeguard Women With Disabilities?
Government should do more in the implementation of the policies and laws on gender and disability. Policies addressing issues of women with disabilities such as National Policy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Persons with Disabilities with emphasis on Women and Girls and Laws such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP Act), National Disability Act should be fully implemented.
TQM: Thank You very much, Do you have any parting words?
I want to use this opportunity to implore health care providers and practitioners to change their attitude and perception about WWDs and understand that WWDs have rights like their counterparts without disabilities to access health care services including family planning, maternal care etc and these rights must be upheld because disability rights are human rights.
