Nomination forms for the WBU Honorary Life Membership and Louis Braille Medal awards have been forwarded to members. They are also available on the website or from the WBU office. The deadline for submission of Awards nominations is June 18th, The Resolutions Committee will shortly begin its work to formulate resolutions for consideration by the Assembly. They will welcome any input from our members with respect to recommendations you have for resolutions. It makes the work of the Resolutions Committee much easier if you can submit your proposed resolutions in advance of the Assembly so that the committee can begin its work. For your convenience, resolutions approved at previous Assemblies are available on the WBU website in the General Assembly section. As with other Assemblies, we like to remember those members who have played a significant role within the WBU or at the regional or national level and who have passed away during the quadrennial. Please send information about such persons whom should be recognized to the WBU office by June 30th so that we have time to compile this for presentation at the Assembly. We hope that this information is helpful to you and you can expect to hear more from us in the coming months as we finalize documents and plans for the upcoming Assembly. WBU AND WORLD BRAILLE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS WBU wants to remind our members and friends of the scholarships we offer, many of which have applications due at the end of May. WBU and the world Braille Foundation offer the following scholarships: The Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship: is available to blind women in developing countries attending college or university in their own country with blind women from least developed countries and low middle income countries (as defined in the WBU Composite membership classification list) will be given priority. This scholarship may be available for up to five years maximum but it is not guaranteed for more than one year. Recipients must be at least 16 years of age and need their WBU National member to submit a letter
as youth are thought to be inexperienced and less educated than our elders. Some suffer because they have a disability. We as persons with a disability are thought to be incompetent, pathetic and incapable of living a fulfilling life. What about the people who have the misfortune of being all three of these things? Where do we stand? Women with disabilities are twice as likely as men to experience discrimination and stigmatization on account of their disability and gender. This fact is officially recognized by Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Article calls for adopting measures that safeguard women’s empowerment and enjoyment of all their rights and freedoms, such as access to education, employment, and health care. Employment discrimination, for example, is one of the major issues. The participation of women with disabilities in the labor market is undervalued due to a social bias that undermines the significance of women’s social and professional lives. Vulnerability in the labour market can take many forms. In some cases, the type of work in which women with disabilities are involved in is either unrelated to their careers and experience, and/or it is poorly paid, and their willingness to accept these conditions reflects their need and their own perception of limited social support. If young women with disabilities do not learn to stand on their own while they are young, the weight of life’s challenges will grow as they age. The United Nations estimates that 75% of women with disabilities are unemployed and that those who are employed often earn less than their male counterparts and non-disabled women. Discrimination against women with disabilities is not simply a women’s issue or a disability issue, but rather a broader social issue that touches on all life spheres. Being at the intersection of various forms of discrimination, women with disabilities are more vulnerable to marginalization and social exclusion, and often have limited access to services, economic opportunities and political representation in comparison to others. Despite the significance of the issue and the suffering it involves, it receives so little attention that our next advocacy campaign would be calling for equality in discrimination.