Citizenship and political participation

In many countries, governance systems are not inclusive, meaning women and men with disabilities are often excluded from participating on an equal basis. In many cases, they are even denied the right to vote.

We support people with disabilities to participate in decision-making processes at all levels: globally, nationally and locally. We advocate for public policies to be more inclusive for people with disabilities, and work in partnership with disability organisations to ensure people with disabilities can make their voices heard.

Inclusive elections

We’re promoting inclusive elections in Cameroon and Senegal. We want to ensure people can enter polling booths and cast their votes independently, have political parties represent disability issues and encourage people with disabilities to participate as candidates. We also want voters to be provided with accessible information, such as party manifestos, so they can vote. In Cameroon, our work has helped to increase in the number of people with disabilities who are registered to vote, from 8,000 in 2011 to 40,000 in 2022.

In Pakistan, we worked with the government to make Parliament House accessible for people with disabilities. Watch our video to find out more about our work