Women Enabled advocates and educates for the human rights of all women and girls, with an emphasis on women and girls with disabilities, and works tirelessly to include women and girls with disabilities in international resolutions, policies and programs addressing women's human rights and development.

The organization's logo is the woman symbol ♀ with the letters 'WE' inside of the circle.

News & Events

• April 17, 2013 Read Stephanie Ortoleva's post on the US International Council on Disability blog on her work at CSW57 and violence against women with disabilities. Click here.
• April 17, 2013 Voice of America interviews Stephanie Ortoleva on Betty Freidan's "Feminine Mystique" and her views of the feminist movement. Click here for article with video.
• April 15, 2013 At the Opening Meeting of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities' 9th Session, Maria Soledad Cisternas Reyes was elected by an overwhelming majority as the new Chair of the Committee. She is the first woman to Chair the Committee. Women Enabled, Inc. stands ready to assist, especially in the Committee's work to advance the rights of women and girls with disabilities! We also thank outgoing Chair Ron McCallum for his years of excellent service.
• April 14, 2013 We are pleased to announce that on Wednesday, April 17, the public sessions of the CRPD Committee's 9th session will be broadcast live on the web at www.treatybodywebcast.org  From 12 -1pm (Geneva time): First half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities. From 3 - 6pm (Geneva time): Second half day of general discussion on women and girls with disabilities. Convert Geneva time to your own time zone at www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html. International sign interpretation of the public discussions will also be webcast live. The recordings will be archived after the close of the session on the same website.
• April 10, 2013 We've updated our CSW57 coverage to include audio, video, additional statements and a slide presentation. View now.
• April 9, 2013 Women Enabled has reviewed the Concluding Observations prepared by the CRPD Committee for the six countries for which the CRPD Committee has issued Concluding Observations to determine the extent to which issues of concern to women and girls with disabilities were addressed. We have determined that more comprehensive coverage of issues of concern to women and girls with disabilities must be included in this process. See the CRPD page for our analysis and recommendations as well as the CRPD Committee's List of Issues posed to each country and the CRPD Committee's Concluding Observations.

• March 20, 2013 An advance unedited copy of the CSW57 Agreed Conclusions has now appeared on the UN Women Website. Please visit our CSW57 page for details on this and all of Women Enabled's CSW57 news and commentary.

• March 2013 Read a new article by Stephanie Ortoleva (President, Women Enabled) in The Diplomatic Courier March - April 2013 issue. Read article
  
  About the article: Every year around International Women's Day, hundreds of women and allies from around the world gather in New York for the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Unfortunately, not all women are as welcome as others. For many years, women with disabilities who want to engage at CSW—women who want their experiences respected, their contributions valued, and most of all, their rights reflected in the resolutions and Final Conclusions—have struggled with this experience. Despite the implications for millions of women and girls with disabilities and their families, issues concerning them receive only limited coverage, if any, in influential official research and other preparations for CSW. There is scant inclusion in side events, other than those few organized by women with disabilities themselves. CSW can contribute to a more inclusive and effective awareness of discrimination against all women by welcoming women with disabilities to the table. The article discusses the nature, scope, causes and consequences of violence against women and girls with disabilities and outlines the strategies used by women with disabilities to ensure inclusion in the discussions and outcomes of CSW57, where the priority theme is violence against women.

For archived news, please visit our news page.

Women Enabled Issues

• Access to Justice
• Advocacy Strategies for Human Rights Using International Mechanisms
• Body Image and Stereotyping
• Convention Against Torture, the CAT Committee and Torture-Related Issues
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: CEDAW Committee
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: CRPD Committee
• Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights
• Feminist Disability Analysis
• International Development
• Legal Capacity
• Rural and Indigenous Peoples
• Health, Including Sexual and Reproductive Health
• Education and Employment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
• Transportation
• United Nations Documents on Human Rights of Women and of Persons with Disabilities
• UN Women
• Violence Against Women
• War and Post Conflict