As an impact scaling project, Busy Bee is initiating the ‘Lighting Up Lives’ project with support from The Earth. Through this crowdfunding initiative, Busy Bee will be able to ensure that the 10 women with disability get 3 days of candle making training, sets of candle mold, 13kg of beeswax, the rest of all necessary accessories, and a 100% purchase guarantee to be able to make BDT 5000 profit to continue their entrepreneurial journey. And this journey will continue through engaging these women into Busy Bee’s direct value chain.

Why:

The rights of women with disabilities (WWD) are one of the most ignored issues in Bangladesh. They are more vulnerable members of society than men as the number of female cases of disability is higher than that of their male counterparts. According to recent government statistics, 7.59 percent of the total women population in the country is physically and intellectually challenged. Women with disabilities are deprived of rights and privileges because of the existing social attitude and negative perception towards them. Disabled women are often seen as a burden, especially in rural areas hence in most cases, they are not only abandoned by their families but by society as a whole. In families, they do not participate in the decision-making process, even in social gatherings. A large number of disabled populations including women with disabilities have limited access to education and employment. More often, there is inadequate access to health services from the state for them.

Furthermore, discrimination is often compounded for women on the grounds of gender, age, and minority status. Gender-related violence is a cause and consequence of disability and gender-related acts of violence lead to mental, physical, and psycho-social disability. Due to poor socio-economic conditions, disabled women are the worst most sufferers and there are not enough measures taken to address their vulnerable conditions and recognize them as part of society. This lack of access led to exclusion from social and economic activities, in fact depriving their rights and privileges because of the existing social attitude and negative perception towards them.