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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities, Bethesda, Maryland
DATE:		June 16, 1997

I've haven't seen so much power in one place since Beijing -- no, make that Hairou.

Because, the greatest learning experiences at the Beijing Conference and the NGO Forum didn't happen during speeches. They never do. They happen during conversations. They happen when women of different cultures and backgrounds share experiences and information. And, that is why we are here.

Those of you who went to the NGO Forum in Hairou will remember where that Women with Disabilities tent was originally located. It was at the very far end. In the middle of this big field. Exactly what it shouldn't have been: hidden.

There were no wooden planks. No curb cuts. Not to mention the mud created by the rain. It was exactly what it shouldn't have been: totally inaccessible.

But, then something very important happened. Women from all over the world stood together and said enough is enough. And do you know what? Because of all of us, they moved that tent to the very front -- and made it more accessible.

I tell this story for two reasons: I tell it because even at a conference dedicated to women's rights, it shows the extra mile that women with disabilities often have to travel to get basic fairness. And I tell this story because it shows that this fight will only be won when it is everyone's fight -- men and women, nondisabled and disabled.

Because, issues affecting women with disabilities are not just disability issues. They're not just women's issues. They are challenges for every single person on this planet -- every single person. And none of us can give up until we meet them.

As we made clear in China almost two years ago: Nations are only strong when women are strong. And women are only strong when all women are strong. When all women are healthy.

Because when women with disabilities are denied access to fundamental rights and fundamental health care, including reproductive care -- we need international action.

When landmines, domestic abuse, genital mutilation, and other forms of violence continue to tear at the lives of women around the globe -- we need international action.

And when prejudice, ignorance, and other barriers stop women with disabilities from getting the nutrition, physical activity and other tools they need to live full and healthy lives -- we need international action.

In this country, it's been seven years since we passed the historic Americans with Disabilities Act. I, like many of you, am proud of the distance we've come since then -- but angered and energized by how far we still have to go.

I'm proud that we're using the court of law to vigorously enforce the ADA -- and demand that every door of opportunity be kicked opened and kept opened. I'm proud that we have an Interagency Council on Women -- which is ensuring that we turn the Platform For Action into a reality for all women. All women.

I'm proud that we've published the first ever national survey of people with disabilities -- and that we're funding scientific research to better address the unique health needs of women with disabilities. I'm proud that we're fighting to ensure that disabled women who can work are able to work -- and still keep their vital health benefits.

I'm proud that we're working to integrate the unique challenges faced by women with disabilities into all of our health policies -- from preventing teen pregnancy to promoting physical activity.

And, I'm proud, that we have not let our actions stop at the border. Whether it's happening to our daughters here or anywhere else in the world, we will continue to make it clear that genital mutilation is a violation of our humanity; that rape as a weapon of war is a crime against humanity; and that the trafficking of women and children for prostitution and slavery is simply inhumane.

And we will never forget that despite these victories, victory itself still eludes our grasp. Many Americans were reminded of that just last week.

It seems that the toy maker, Mattel, came out with an historic new doll. Like every other Barbie Doll, Share-a-Smile Becky, was absolutely beautiful and flawless. Only, instead of standing, she happened to be sitting in a hot-pink wheelchair.

Great progress, right? Well, as many of you know, there was one big problem. And it took a young girl with a disability to alert the company to it.

The problem was that this new doll with a wheelchair couldn't fit into the elevator of the $100 dollar Barbie Dream House. In other words, while Becky could visit some other places -- namely the much cheaper, one-room, doorless Traveling Surprise House -- she had no access to the gem of the Barbie world, the Dream House.

As the local high school student who noticed this defect put it, "This is what we live with every day."

Clearly a case of good intentions gone awry. But, it is much more than that. It tells us that if every woman with disabilities is going to have access to good health and good health care -- we need more than a little change here and there.

We need a fundamental change in attitude, in policy, and in policy makers. A change of the mind and the heart.

We must dream and work for the day when issues affecting women with disabilities are not placed in a little box off to the side. A day when research on women with disabilities is a part of all research. And when health care for women with disabilities is a part of all health care.

We must dream and work for the day when women with disabilities are not seen a one monolithic group -- but rather as individuals whose experiences are shaped by their own culture and country, race and religion.

I dream of a day when people from around the world finally understand that having a disability is not the same as being sick; that women with disabilities are often very healthy. But, like all women, they need to stay healthy. And so we must promote good health and prevent secondary disabilities by helping all women to avoid tobacco and injuries -- and to get proper nutrition, physical activity, and reproductive care.

Let us imagine the day when there are no longer barriers keeping women with disabilities from getting what all people deserve: health, education, family, independence, and love.

Let us fight to ensure that all health care professionals -- whether they're in small clinics or large hospitals -- are accessible to women with disabilities, knowledgeable about them and responsive to them.

And, let us promise that women the world over will have access to the tools they need to live fulfilling lives -- from the most basic health to the most state-of-the-art technology.

But, if that is going to happen, there is something else we must do. Because every day in communities here and abroad, issues affecting women with disabilities are being debated. The deals are being brokered. And the decisions are being signed, sealed, and delivered. But, too often, there is something very important missing: the voices of women with disabilities. As we said very clearly in Hairou: This must change.

We must dream and work for the day when disabled policy makers are the rule -- not the exception. A day when the decision making tables of every nation will be filled with leaders like Florence Nayiga of Uganda, Maria Rantho of South Africa, Judy Heumann and Susan Daniels of the United States -- filled with leaders like all of you. And a day when women with disabilities are making policy decisions at every level. About every issue -- not just disability issues.

We don't have all the answers -- but must have the will to find them. And just like in Hairou, we are here to learn from you. To learn from each other. And to take back to our respective countries more than good friends and good ideas -- we must take back a blueprint for victory. And we will. We will.

But, only if we join together -- all of us. Only if we reach out to men and to nondisabled people -- because this fight cannot -- and should not be won without them.

Only if we do as you have always done, push forward, despite the setbacks, despite the obstacles.

And, only if we heed the words of Hellen Keller, who said, "One can never creep, when one feels the impulse to soar."

With you leading the fight, I know we will soar -- soar right to justice and on to victory.

Thank you.