The diversity-equality riddle: Interrogating disability, motherhood, citizenship and rights

This dissertation explores the mothering experiences of women with disabilities in contemporary Portugal, and examines the law and policy context which shapes and constrains their lives. Using the norms of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability as benchmarks, selected law and policy are critically assessed to determine whether they protect and advance social justice for disabled women, particularly those who are or contemplate mothering. This analysis highlights the gaps and contradictions in approaches to disability and gender, which presently characterize Portuguese society. Data collected through in-depth interviews with 21 disabled mothers provide further insight into women's experiences, and illuminate the place and meaning of mothering in their lives. These data document mothers' stories of struggle and resistance as they navigate disabling structures, institutions, and practices to realize their human rights.;Despite the visible shift in recent years to an approach that increasingly frames disability as a human rights issue, an intersectional perspective, which considers the mutual implications of disability, gender, and motherhood, is still largely absent from the legal and policy frameworks of the Portuguese state, and mostly neglected in the political agenda of the disability movement as well. Hence, substantive equality for women with disabilities in Portugal, especially those who are or contemplate mothering, remains an elusive goal.;In light of this void, this dissertation begins to articulate an alternative politics of equality and diversity that may redress the current marginalization of mothers with disabilities. It is suggested that claims around redistribution, recognition, and representation (Fraser 1995, 2000, 2005a, 2005b) must be considered along with a transversal politics of accommodation, in order to better promote social justice for mothers (and others) with disabilities---in Portugal and beyond.;This study shows that mothering with a disability is both the same and different: to a large extent, the accounts gathered from mothers in this research replicate what is documented in the literature on mothering; nevertheless, in significant ways, their narratives expose the unique forms of discrimination and oppression that enfold disabled women's lives, at the crossroads of gender, motherhood, and disability.