The Parliament of the Canary Islands hosted this Wednesday a plenary session in which 70 women with disabilities from all the islands became deputies for a day to present their reality and promote inclusion and the defense of their rights.
The session was chaired by the President of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Astrid Pérez, who highlighted the work of these women in the active defense of equality and non-discrimination, “this hemicycle gives voice to women who fight against the barriers imposed by our society, you are an example of strength and determination, today I want to tell you that you are not alone on this path.”
Astrid Pérez, recalled in her speech the work carried out in Parliament for equality and inclusion, alluding to the subtitle and interpreter system launched in March 2024 and which has allowed the approximately 55,000 people with hearing problems on the islands to follow parliamentary activity.
In the hemicycle, eight women with disabilities from each of the islands were able to take the floor to express their concerns and demands so that they can be heard by the rulers and by the population in general. Estefanía Amoedo from Fuerteventura expressed in the hemicycle the difficulties in finding a job with a disability, “the 2% quota must be required in companies with more than 50 workers,” she indicated, Magdalena Rodríguez from Lanzarote stated that “companies are afraid to hire people with disabilities.”
During the session, the first Canarian Manifesto of Women with Disabilities was presented and unanimously approved. The document includes some requests ranging from equality in work in the field, work-life balance and more protection against gender violence.
The session was attended by Dulce María Gutiérrez González, Director of Disability of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ana Brito Brito, Director of the Canarian Institute of Equality of the Government of the Canary Islands and Carmen Laucirica Gabriel, President of CERMI Canarias.
The event was organized by the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities in the Islands (CERMI Canarias), made up of a large number of associations and entities in the field of disability, with the collaboration of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, the General Directorate of Disability of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Canarian Institute of Equality.
