Ola Abu Alghaib

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Ola Abu Alghaib is a disability rights activist focusing on guaranteeing full integration in society for women with disabilities in the Middle East.[1][2]

When she was 14 years old she underwent surgery, but the operation resulted in Ola losing the ability to walk or move her right hand.[3] During college, she advocated for her right to an accessible campus and her advocacy efforts earned her a position on the campus construction committee. The administration assigned Ola to work with their engineers to adapt the university campus to meet the needs of the disabled.[1] Ola obtained her master's degree from Birzeit University at Ramallah in 2003.

In 2006, she founded Stars of Hope Society, an organization working to address the needs of women with disabilities and support them in realizing their rights. She is currently the Director of Global Influencing and Research at Leonard Cheshire, an organization supporting people with disabilities to achieve their goals and live life at their very best.[4]

Her responsibilities at Leonard Cheshire included policy analysis, program design, management and evaluation, creation of advocatcy strategies in addition to research. Her research was done with the World Bank, UN agencies (including WHO, ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF, NGOs) along with many other disability agencies.[5]

Her work has included advocacy for governments to adopt the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[6] She has worked to mobilize women with disabilities in Palestine by providing them with necessary skills in addition to counseling, medical, and rehabilitation services. Ola developed a national advocacy campaign that highlights discrimination against disabled women and demonstrates their potential.[1]

She has held significant roles in various policy initiatives, including vice chairing the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) and representing IDDC on the Policy Board of the United Nations Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD); a board member at the Global Disability Innovation Hub; board member of Disability Rights Fund; and core group member at the Together 2030 agenda.[5]

In August 2019 she was appointed Manager of the Technical Secretariat of the UN Partnership of Persons with Disabilities at UNDP. After being appointed, she was featured in the Gender Equality Top 100 list of most influential people.[7]

Publications[]

  • "Every child counts: understanding the needs and perspectives of children with disabilities in the State of Palestine". UNICEF. December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  • "Paralympic Games: Should the bidding criteria change? | Leonard Cheshire Disability". Leonardcheshire.org. 8 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-03-27.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Ola Abú Al Ghaib". Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  2. ^ "United States International Council on Disabilities - Women with Disabilities: Rights in the Middle East". www.usicd.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
  3. ^ Health, Giorgia Dalla Libera M. for Swedish Organization for Global (2019-05-02). "Ola Abu Alghaib: an activist for women with disabilities". Girls' Globe. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  4. ^ "Our international work". Leonard Cheshire. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  5. ^ a b "Ola Abu Alghaib". World Bank Blogs. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  6. ^ "Disability Monitor Initiative Middle East" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
  7. ^ "Ola Abu Al Ghaib". Athena40. Retrieved 2021-06-20.


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