ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
The Malaysian government has developed significant disability provision, policies and legislations since the period of colonialism, but disabled people still encounter major barriers in education and training. Although disability is argued to have some relation to gender and culture, significant research involving Malaysian disabled women in terms of education and training is very limited. This paper therefore sets to explore the lived experiences of Malaysian disabled women in education and training. This study used a full qualitative research approach in which the data was collected from in-depth interviews with 33 Malaysian women with physical (mobility) impairment. 17 Malays, 8 Chinese and 8 Indian women were interviewed twice in Peninsular Malaysia within the period of six months. The majority of women came from low-income and rural families. Findings suggested that structural and attitudinal barriers were found to be the main barriers for many women to access education and training. Hence, their situation was aggravated by complex interactions between individual, familial, sociocultural and gender factors.
Aizan, S. A., Najwa Afiqa, R., & Md. Akhir, N. (2020). The cultural representation of disabled women in Malaysia. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(04), 4140-4153.
Chan, M., and Zoellick, R. B. (2011). Preface. In: WHO. World report on disability. Geneva: World Health Organization, xi.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2011). Population distribution and basic demographic characteristic report 2010. http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/index.php?option=com_content&id=1215
Grech, S. (2009). Disability, poverty and development: Critical reflections on the majority world debate. Disability & Society, 24(6), 771-784.
Hasnah T., Hanafi, M. Y., Mokhtar, M. T., & Norasuzaini, S. (2009). Sokongan dan Halangan yang dihadapi Pelajar-Pelajar Kurang Upaya di Sebuah Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Di Malaysia. ASEAN Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 1(2), 18-29.
Ito, N. (2010). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Perspectives of Development Assistance: A Case Study of Thai Disability Policy. Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, 21(1), 43-58.
Kuno, K. (2007). Does Community Based Rehabilitation Really Work? Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and Participation of Disabled People. ISM Research Monograph Series No. 5. Kuala Lumpur: Social Institute Malaysia.
Lang, R. (2001). The Development and Critique of the Social Model of Disability.
NGO Shadow Report Group. (2005). NGO Shadow Report on the Initial and Second Periodic Report of the Government of Malaysia: Reviewing the Government’s Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Kuala Lumpur: NCWO and WAO.
Ong, L. C., Lim, Y. N., & Sofiah, A. (2002). Malaysian children with Spina Bifida: relationship between functional outcome and level of lesion. Singapore Medical Journal, 43(1), 12-17.
Possi, M. K. (2018). Gender and education of people with disabilities in Tanzania. Utafiti Journal, 3(2).
Rao, I. (2010). Equity to women with disabilities in India accessed 14 September 2011, from http://www.cbrnetworksouthasia.org.in/uncrpd_equity.php?id=16
Schuller, I. (2010). The way women experience disabilities and especially disabilities related to leprosy in rural areas in south Sulawesi, Indonesia. Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal, 21(1), 60-70.
Tiwari, A., Das, A., & Sharma, M. (2015). Inclusive education a “rhetoric” or “reality”? Teachers' perspectives and beliefs. Teaching and Teacher Education, 52, 128-136.
United Nations. (2006). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. doi:10.1145/2566968
WHO. (2011). World report on disability. Geneva: World Health Organization.
In-Text Citation: (Amin et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Amin, A. S., Kasim, A. C., Khairuddin, K. F., Cusairi, R. M., & Nor, M. I. H. M. (2021). Structural and Attitudinal Barriers in Education and Training: The Lived Experiences of Disabled Women. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(3), 26–35.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode