The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities has called for urgent action to strengthen access to justice and protection for women and girls with disabilities in Nigeria.
CCD makes the demand while commemorating the 2026 International Women’s Day celebrations. The 2026 International Women’s Day is themed “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.”
In a statement signed by Godwin Unumeri, Acting Director of CCD, the organization said it stands in solidarity with women and girls with disabilities whose rights continue to be overlooked, denied, or inadequately protected.
According to the group, access to justice is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of equality and dignity, yet in many societies, including Nigeria, women and girls, especially those with disabilities, continue to face systemic discrimination.
CCD noted that this discrimination is rooted in harmful social norms, discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and inaccessible justice systems that deny women and girls with disabilities the opportunity to live free from violence, participate fully in society, and seek justice on an equal basis with others.
The organization emphasized that women and girls with disabilities experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination on the basis of gender and disability in critical areas of life such as education, employment, healthcare, family life, and access to justice.
CCD identified several barriers facing women and girls with disabilities, including discriminatory family, labor, and healthcare laws, limited access to education increasing vulnerability to poverty and abuse, and harmful practices including child marriage and forced dependency.
Other barriers include exclusion from leadership, political participation, and decision-making spaces, high levels of gender-based violence with little access to survivor-centered justice, inaccessible courts, police stations, and legal procedures, and lack of affordable and accessible legal aid.
“Ensuring rights means legally protected access to education, work, healthcare, and participation in public life. Ensuring justice means fair, unbiased, and accessible justice systems that protect survivors and punish abuse,” the statement read.
CCD added that “ensuring action means dismantling discriminatory laws, harmful practices, and structural barriers that continue to exclude women and girls with disabilities”.
The organization warned that justice systems that are biased, inaccessible, or dismissive of the experiences of women and girls with disabilities deepen inequality and reinforce impunity.
“For justice to be meaningful, it must be inclusive, accessible, and centered on the needs and rights of survivors,” CCD said.
The Centre called for the reform and elimination of discriminatory laws, policies, and practices that disadvantage women and girls with disabilities, and inclusive and equitable justice systems that provide reasonable accommodation, accessible procedures, and survivor-centered services.
Other demands include “stronger protection and prevention measures to end gender-based violence in all its forms, affordable, accessible, and disability-inclusive legal aid services, and increased representation and participation of women with disabilities in leadership, governance, and justice institutions”.
CCD also called for public education and awareness to challenge harmful social norms and stereotypes that perpetuate discrimination.
“True equality cannot be achieved when women and girls with disabilities are excluded from justice, denied protection, or silenced by systems meant to uphold their rights,” the organization said.
The Centre emphasized that ensuring rights, justice and action for all women and girls with disabilities requires collective responsibility, political will, and deliberate action.
CCD joined UN Women and the United Nations in urging all relevant stakeholders including families, civil society organizations, development partners, government at all levels, private sector, and the media to demand and defend the rights of women and girls with disabilities.
“When justice works for women and girls with disabilities, it works better for everyone,” the organization concluded.
The statement referenced Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law, emphasizing that this principle must apply fully and equally to women and girls with disabilities.