Ana Maisuradze, 34, a mother with a disability from Tbilisi.

Ana has earned a Bachelor's degree in Banking and a Master’s degree in Criminal Law. In both cases she was awarded a state grant. She has worked in a bookstore for five years. She has participated in a literary competition “Insomnia”. Ana spends most of her time taking care of her child, but sometimes she still manages to spend her free time with friends, playing board games and reading books.

„It is not easy to be a mother with a disability in Georgia, as the environment is extremely ill-adapted. In my case, an additional problem is that I find it difficult to lift weights. Despite my status of a person with disability, I always knew I would definitely have children. Medea really brought so much joy into our family.

My plan to have a child was a very serious decision in terms of getting out of the comfort zone. I had a well-arranged life, I loved my job, I love board games very much… Now I can no longer go where I want to if I do not have someone to leave her with, my sleep is disrupted; by the way, I had a very good pregnancy, I did not suffer much from pregnancy-induced problems. I felt a little discomfort towards the end, as I found it more difficult to walk. After the childbirth, of course, everything is much more difficult, but she is a very lovely child and I never regret my decision. What’s more, I want to have another child. I do not want [Medea] to be an only child. 

I am financially completely dependent on my husband, because the pension I receive is only GEL 140, and what I can buy with this money is some food and diapers for Medea, and it is even not enough sometimes as baby formula is quite expensive. We were in Berlin for a month and he helped me a lot there at the weekends. I could not breastfeed my baby, because of my poor milk supply. I breastfed her for about 2 months and then we entirely switched to formula.

Too many campaigns, on social media or elsewhere, use a slogan “disabilities do not exist”, which is actually a big lie. When I walk into a building and find a staircase without railing, I cannot climb that stairs; and this proves that disabilities do exist. 

Expectations that the society has for persons with disabilities, that they should stay at home, should not have a family, should not get an education, should not work, etc. are wrong. (a text about Ana's education can be inserted). The fact that I gave birth to a child does not mean that I did something beyond my abilities, because it was not beyond my abilities, i.e. my problem has nothing to do with my reproductive health, hence it was not an act of heroism or something special on my part.

I am not very young, I was born in the 80s and I know families who did not let [their children with disabilities] go out and would hide them. It was not the case in my family. [My parents] always did their best to help me socialize with people. My parents did their best to make sure I did not feel disabled. 

You do not have to rely on society, it is mainly aimed at restricting you, preventing you from doing something, turning you into a member of a stigmatized group and telling you that you cannot do this and cannot do that.

The most important thing that I think helps a person - or a person with a disability - to do the things they want to do is self-confidence. One should not pay attention to what other people say."

The six UN agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, UN Women, OHCHR) have been jointly implementing the programme “Transforming Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities” with the support provided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Fund, since the beginning of 2020.

The purpose of the programme is to take appropriate measures to eliminate the key factors leading to the social exclusion of persons with disabilities in society, support the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and promote the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Within the framework of the programme, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) worked closely with the governmental and non-governmental sectors, international and local experts, as well as with the UN agencies participating in the project. 

- Within the framework of the joint programme, laws and programmes related to the sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights of persons with disabilities were analysed and assessed, recommendations were developed in order to harmonize them with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has supported the updating and development of relevant strategies and action plans and integration of issues concerning violence against women with disabilities and their reproductive health and rights in the policy documents. 

- The effort has included facilitation of the refinement and development of the guiding documents the sexual and reproductive health services and identification and response to violence. 

- Within the framework of the programme, the focus has been on strengthening the participatory advocacy platforms aiming at the protection of the rights of women and young persons with disabilities and on capacitation of women with disabilities on the issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender based violence.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), other participating UN agencies and donor organizations.