by Uvini Panditha
This report explores the everyday realities of women with disabilities (WWDs) in Sri Lanka, drawing on testimonies from focus group discussions conducted in Colombo, Kandy, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, and Vavuniya. Their accounts reveal a persistent struggle for dignity, equality, and recognition. Despite state programmes intended to provide welfare and training, women with disabilities continue to face barriers across nearly every sphere of life, from education, employment, healthcare to vocational training. Inaccessible infrastructure, exclusionary eligibility criteria, and entrenched discrimination aggravate these challenges, pushing WWDs to the margins of society.
Building on the shadow report submitted to the CEDAW Committee in early 2025, this expanded version calls for urgent reforms to ensure that women with disabilities are not treated as dependents or exceptions, but as equal citizens entitled to autonomy, opportunity, and full participation in public life.

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