A candid discussion on race, gender & disability.

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To mark International Women’s Day and in honour of six years of MIMCO’s partnership with Our Watch, we’re bringing you a series of candid conversations on gender equality.

We sat down with human rights activist, Khadija Gbla, and Deaf Australia ambassador and public speaker, Drisana Levitzke-Gray who have dedicated their lives to fighting for a more equal world—and believe it’s up to all of us to challenge disrespect when we see it.

Watch the video or read the full interview with Khadija and Drisana below

Do you think a woman of colour, a woman with a disability or a member of the LGBTIQP+ community may experience greater discrimination?

Drisana: As a deaf woman I am definitely discriminated against, and it can have many layers. Sometimes it's not very obvious. It's rarely because someone is saying, ‘Oh, this is because you're a woman’ or ‘It's because you're deaf’. It's often a combination of all of those things. However, just because it happens doesn't mean we need to accept it.

Khadija: The way oppression impacts our lives can look so different for each and every individual.

Has there ever been a time when you have been told you weren't able to do something because of your gender?

Drisana: So many times. I've often been told that I can't do things or haven't been included because I'm deaf. But when I was quite young, I think it also had something to do with being a young person and being a female.

I remember when I was studying at university for my bachelor’s degree—I was in a particular course and the teacher wasn't sure if I was able to complete that course because of my English proficiency. So, I had to sit down [with them] and try to explain that it's all okay, I'm fluent in English, that's why I've been admitted to university.

That was very difficult. But I'm a very proud young, deaf woman, and no one should be telling anyone that they can't because of all of those intersectionality layers that we've discussed.

Have you ever noticed or experienced differences in how you were treated because of your gender?

Khadija: Absolutely. As a black woman with a disability, those things intersect all the time, and I'm not always clear which part of those identities has actually been discriminated against. We should be inclusive of all the other intersecting forms of oppression that women face—not just gender, but racism and ableism and transphobia and homophobia.

Violence against women is often not physical. Can you name some examples of non-physical forms of abuse?

Khadija: Absolutely. In my line of work in the domestic and family violence space, I have always had a problem with the fact that everyone assumes the only valid form of violence against women and girls is the physical one. Research shows that non-physical forms of violence are, in fact, very detrimental to the health and wellbeing of women and their children. And the fact that it can't be seen on the outside is actually what adds to the isolation.

Non-physical forms of violence include emotional abuse—the words somebody uses to put you down, to degrade you, to make sure you feel insecure.

Then we have psychological abuse, and this is where we see the gaslighting… ‘Oh, I didn't say that. You mustn't misinterpret my words.’ And sexual abuse, which can be both physical and non-physical.

We also have spiritual abuse, which doesn't get talked about a lot; where [your religion is] used against you, used to control you and manipulate you.

And we also have technological abuse, which is now such a rampant thing given how we use social media and how connected we are online. Every day we see new forms of this behaviour being perpetuated.

Drisana: It's important to know that there isn't just one thing, and often it might not just be one thing that's occurring.

Khadija: We are seeing a surge of violent, abusive partners using more non-physical forms of violence against their partners, knowing very well they may not be taken seriously.

This is why we must do so much more education. We must continuously raise awareness so that we do not miss an opportunity to empower women and their children and girls across all levels of our society. There’s still so much work to be done in this space, absolutely.

Find out more about MIMCO’s partnership with Our Watch.