Deaf Women’s Participation, Movements, and Rights: Learning from the Experiences of Deaf Women in Japan
Temas
Detalles
The transformation of the deaf community in Japan during the late 20th century is one of the most rapid and profound social changes in the community’s history. Over time, government institutions have adopted resolutions and policies on several issues such as education, labor, and access to information. These events enabled the establishment of the first university for deaf and hard of hearing people, National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology (NTUT) in 1987. NTUT recently conducted a unique project, the “Deaf Studies Project,” which included producing a video; disseminating educational materials; raising awareness of deaf community issues at local, regional, and national levels; collecting deaf people’s life histories; and documenting and analyzing successful and failed deaf movements for promoting deaf people’s empowerment. However, little has been done to document the situation of deaf women in Japan. Generally, deaf women around the world struggle with barriers related to social class, culture, legal rights, labor force participation, family structure, and power. Recently, deaf women may access a variety of services, such as education, employment, childcare, health care, and mental health services. However, little is known about their experiences as deaf women.