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The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities are beginning to emerge in the global south. This exploratory article documents and examines how the critical impacts of COVID-19 further restrict the mobility of persons with disabilities as they negotiate their survival through government and health restrictions. It draws on preliminary insights from two case studies of women with disabilities from different ethnic backgrounds, whose experiences are situated within a broader set of implications for persons with disabilities facing COVID-19. Specific challenges were the lack of access to essential services, the aggravated impact of the inability to work, obtain aid packages, and access to education and information. These experiences were heightened by their position as disabled, gendered, rural, low-income individuals who are at greater risk because of structural exclusion. They face a higher rate of poverty and exclusion that undermines government public health protections aimed at reducing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. They require, therefore, additional and more targeted forms of assistance. Our preliminary findings are located within a broader legal framework in order to open up the possibilities for advocacy on systemic change and real social inclusion that can have lasting effects on the everyday lives of persons with disabilities.The article argues that government responses to protect and uphold the dignity of the People, as stipulated in the Constitution, must include specific provisions for persons with disability to ensure their legal mobilization and advance universal disability rights.

This article draws on grounded qualitative research with rural Tamil women who acquired a disability during the civil war in Sri Lanka and conceptualizes an intersectionality-peace framework. Three main themes were developed from the interviews: narratives of conflict, survival outcomes of social assistance and mobilization of cross-ethnic relationships. With the support of a local women's disability advocacy organization, Tamil women with disabilities were enabled to overcome social stigma and claim a positive identity as women with disabilities. The organization's focus on realizing disability rights created new opportunities for these highly marginalized rural women. The women were also supported to form cross-ethnic relationships with women who similarly faced multiple oppressions. These relationships transformed the women into 'agents of peace', using their newfound disability identity to foster cross-ethnic dialogue and create safe spaces in the post-conflict context.

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