Bringing feminist disability knowledge to Canada's global policies

Over the past thirty years, women with disabilities have been misfits in Canada's foreign and global policies and practices. Once largely invisible, they face continuing barriers to their access, inclusion, and participation in local, national, and international policy and decision-making arenas. Their “absent presence” is evident in the paradox that while disability and its intersections with gender remain unrecognized in the study of Canadian foreign policy, at the same time the practices of Canadian foreign policy continue to create and maintain disability. This article discusses three encounters in which women with disabilities used their knowledge and experience to work toward local and global changes. This has resulted in an increased presence in national and transnational activities, a greater recognition of both gender and disability in national policy and laws and international treaty bodies, and the creation of their own spaces. The presence and insightful contributions of women with disabilities demonstrate that their inclusion is essential to developing and implementing Canada's foreign and global policies.