No Limits in the Lives of Women with Disabilities

Led by Yuho Asaka (Japan) and Janet Bernault (USA)

Sixty people, with and without disabilities, attended. They were from Finland, Sudan, Malaysia, South Africa, China, Lesotho, Mauritius, Lebanon, Yemen, Uganda, USA, Jamaica, and England. The focus was on what living together means for everyone in the world, no matter the skin color, religion, disability, or absence of disability. Yuho and Janet explained that the No Limits for Women project meant that there should be no limits on what we do and who we are in the world. They talked about how we get separated from each other. As children we always wanted to be close and we didn’t want to reject other children as friends because of their ethnic group or because they had a bad leg.

Four panelists, two of whom were from the No Limits for Women Delegates, shared their experiences. There was emotional work in front of the whole group with two women connecting with one another across a language difference. Participants exchanged listening time about their experiences of being disabled women or about the first time they heard about disability. Then each paired up with a person who spoke another language and spent one minute without speaking—to connect, touch, be close, and remember the commonality we have as human beings. Significant connections were made with each other during that time. 


Last modified: 2015-01-21 00:11:40+00