Exploring Challenges of Women with Disabilities in Accessing Higher Education

Abstract

The review paper explores the difficulties that women with disabilities face in accessing higher education in India. There is an urgent need to identify and overcome the significant barriers faced by women with disabilities in accessing higher education. According to research, students with disabilities are less likely to complete their university degrees, and there are fewer women with disabilities enrolled in higher education. This article identifies the causes of the low participation rate of female students with disabilities in higher education. Due to their colour, age, language, society, culture, and religion, as well as their impairment, women with disabilities frequently face tremendous obstacles of injustice and prejudice. Higher education institutions frequently exclude and devalue women with disabilities. It has been proven that women with disabilities are capable of having the same success as those who are not disabled. For women who have disabilities, the risk of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse is three times higher. The most significant ones among the many that contribute to the mistreatment, discrimination, and exclusion of women in or from higher education in India are poverty, sexual abuse, rigid policy, indifferent reactions, limited learning resources, a lack of technology, untrained faculty, negative peer and staff attitudes, inaccessible library and infrastructure, inadequate transport options, a lack of accessible housing, and others.

Keywords: Women with disabilities, higher education, accessibility, challenges, overcoming strategies