In immigrant Muslim families, persons with disabilities are often stigmatized, considered a source of shame, a financial burden, or even a curse upon family. Stigmatization affects women more: even when they themselves are not disabled, women are considered the primary caregivers of family members with disabilities, a role that can limit women’s access to education, healthcare, and employment, and leave them ostracized from the community.

This purpose of this digital archive is to provide a safe space for different stakeholders to interact, and a data source for researchers and health professionals. The site will eventually consist of three parts: 1) a community-generated, project team-led collection of testimonies; 2) a discussion board connecting disabled women or families who have a disabled member to each other and to available resources; and 3) a space for blogs, modeling a multi-disciplinary reflection on cultural constructions of disability, immigration, and Islam. Information gathering and exchange, liaising, and reflection will be also organized offline.

For more information or questions/concerns, feel free to contact us here or email us at info@amwrri.org and eothman@amwrri.org