Title: Submission to CEDAW Committee: Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems

Contributors:

• The Inclusive Generation Equality Collective (IGEC)
• Women Enabled International (WEI)
• Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI)

This submission provides insights into the prevalent barriers obstructing the active participation of women and gender minorities with disabilities in decision-making systems. It focuses on human rights violations related to accessibility, legal capacity, institutionalization, poverty, and political education while referencing relevant human rights standards. Additionally, it sheds light on the unique challenges that women and gender-diverse people with disabilities encounter when seeking involvement in both the disability and feminist movements.

Furthermore, the submission introduces a best practice for enhancing the inclusion of feminists with disabilities in gender equality-related decision-making spaces: the Feminist Accessibility Protocol. This protocol comprises 13 disability-related commitments that encourage States, UN agencies, and feminist organizations to take concrete measures to advance gender equality on local, national, regional, and global scales.

The submission concludes by offering recommendations to States, informing the development of the upcoming General Recommendation. These recommendations are designed to promote equal and inclusive representation of women and gender minorities with disabilities in decision-making systems and to rectify the pervasive inequalities they face.