Making Feminism Accessible
At its 1998 General Assembly, the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal was mandated to make itself accessible for women living with disabilities. This is reflected in objective 7.3 of the Table's bylaws. It contributes to the visibility and promotion of the rights of women experiencing multiple forms of oppression, including lesbians, women living with a disability, women from cultural communities, Black women and Indigenous women. At the same General Assembly, it was resolved that the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal should develop a concerted 5-year plan to adapt its activities for women's groups that have specific needs, thereby increasing the accessibility of the Table's activities. As part of this resolution, the Table requested the development of the document that you are currently reading. The purpose of this manual is to help the Table and its member groups determine what they need to become more accessible, thereby encouraging the participation and visibility of women living with disabilities and the promotion of their rights. The author of this manual wanted to expand this mandate to include similarities between the women's movement and the movement for people living with disabilities, to help women's groups make the connection between the lived experiences of women in general and those of women living with disabilities.
This document includes tasks to be carried out during different activities to ensure that the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal and its members are welcoming and accessible to women with any kind of disability, allowing women living with disabilities to be more comfortable joining the Table's member groups and working with them.