International Development Journalism Competition: The challenges faced by disabled girls in the Solomon Islands
Rose lives on a remote island in Makira province, part of the archipelagic South Pacific island nation Solomon Islands. She is the fourth of five children, and her parents estimate that she is aged 11. Rose had an accident when she was a baby that left her sight severely impaired, and lack of access to health care means her sight worsened over the years. She is now completely blind. There is one primary school on the island, but there are no resources for blind pupils, and Rose has never attended school.
"Rose stays and helps us in the home," explains Rose's father, Peter. "We can't afford to pay for her to go to school because we have four other children, and you need to be able to see to learn anyway."
Like many Pacific Island nations, traditional Solomon Islands society operates in close knit, mostly patriarchal communities, where the 'unfortunate' are cared for by community members. This creates an environment of charity towards those with disabilities, and while this can be positive, it is a subtle form of discrimination. This kind of attitude promotes pity for disabled individuals, and strips them of fundamental human rights – like pride, dignity, and the opportunity to shape their own lives.
Pacific customs mixed with religions such as Christianity can often be exclusionary, despite preaching tolerance and respect as core values. Literal preaching from Deuteronomy in the Old Testament depicts disability as a curse from God. Combined with customary beliefs that disability is punishment for a family's wrongdoing, this results in many people being ashamed of and fearing people with disabilities.
"Rose plays with her brothers and sisters," Peter says of Rose's social life "It's a big burden for whoever takes her outside because she has to be watched all the time, so she just plays near the house. Sometimes the other children don't understand that it's not her fault, so they play tricks on her because they know she can't see. It's better to keep her away from that."
Solomon Islands is a Melanesian country, and in most Melanesian cultures men control the decision making and governance mechanisms in the villages – girls and women are excluded. The idea that disabled girls and women could participate in community or country scale decision making that is vital to improving their lives is unlikely to be fulfilled.
Disabled girls face discrimination in various forms. Not only because of their gender, but also because of their disability, and yet again because they are children. This is known as intersectional discrimination. However, when policies and frameworks are drawn up by governments and aid donors, this isn't usually considered and issues are addressed separately - Gender. Disability. Children. Those from more than one marginalised group, who arguably need the most attention, are forgotten. For example, the draft 2011-2014 corporate plan from one ministry in Solomon Islands neglected to mentioned disabled children as a minority group that need protecting in one of its core aims, yet did mention age, gender, religion, ethnicity and cultural background.
"Disability is still just a buzzword in our country," remarks Savina Nongebatu, President of the country's only disability nongovernmental organisation, People with Disabilities Solomon Islands (PWDSI). "It's just 'disability' across the board ... most people aren't even really aware of what it means to be physically disabled. There is still a long way to go before 'invisible' disabilities, like learning difficulties, can be addressed."
Lack of access to education is an issue for children in many developing countries. In rural communities like Rose's, children often walk for several hours to school. For girls with physical disabilities, this is not possible. Many schools require fees, so sending your child to school is an investment. Prejudice against women and disabled people in Solomon Islands prevent future employment opportunities, so sending your disabled girl to school simply doesn't make financial sense for most parents. As a result, according to a 2009 UNDP study only 18% of disabled girls attend school in Solomon Islands, compared to 37% of non-disabled girls.
For girls living with disabilities in developing countries however, there are other dangers.
"How can I run away?" exclaims Savina, as she gestures to her wheelchair. "How can I run away if someone is hitting me?"
A 2009 survey conducted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community reveals Solomon Islands has one of the highest gender based violence rates in the world, with 68% of girls and women experiencing physical or sexual abuse by partners or family members. In a society where females are already treated as second class citizens with little respect for their basic human rights, what chance do further marginalised and vulnerable groups have of claiming and enjoying the rights that they are born with?
So why doesn't the international aid community ensure that issues of intersectional discrimination and the various types of disabilities get equal inclusion in government policies?
"Donors work with governments" explains Savina. "Solomon Islands' Government doesn't have any clear policies in place to improve the lives of people with disabilities. It's just not a priority. PWDSI funding has to come directly from international donors; we get no funding from the government."
Therefore while donors can implement complex issues in their plans, in a country where the government fails to acknowledge nearly 3% of the population, just getting the word 'disability' into parliament would be an achievement.
However, if governments in developing countries are not prioritising disability issues, neither is the international community. The Millennium Development Goals cover issues like eradicating extreme poverty, fighting disease epidemics and promoting gender equality – but do not include goals for improving the lives of people with disabilities.
"We are always helping organisations like UNDP and UNICEF to write reports and give recommendations, but it never amounts to anything," says an exasperated Savina. "Policies need to specify that problems faced by disabled girls are different, and must actively include girls in mainstream systems, such as schools."
"Sometimes when we're doing advocacy work, people with disabilities will ask questions like 'but do I have the same right to vote?'" explains Savina. "Advocacy is our main priority. People need to be made aware of what disability is, how it happens, what it means, and that it's not something to be ashamed of. We need people with disabilities to be visible. We need girls with disabilities doing advocacy work, and showing other girls that they have the same rights and freedoms as everybody else."
Perhaps then girls like Rose, along with the thousands of other disabled people in the country, won't have to be invisible any more.
This feature was written for the Guardian International Development Journalism competition before 13 June 2011.