When 32-year-old Mary Jonah, who uses a wheelchair, went to a hospital in Kano, she waited for hours to see a doctor. Tired, she fell asleep while waiting for her turn.
When she woke up, everyone had gone home. The nurses had attended to everyone else and left her behind.
“No one called me or even told me my turn had come,” she said quietly. “They just ignored me like I wasn’t there.”
Mary noticed the hospital had no sign language interpreter, no notice board for deaf people, and no ramps for wheelchair users. “It’s like they don’t expect people like us to need health care,” she said sadly.
Mary is not the only one facing this kind of treatment. Many women and girls with disabilities in Nigeria say they are looked down on, mocked, or ignored in hospitals , especially when they go for pregnancy or family planning care.
One woman told Mary, “I stopped going to the clinic when I’m pregnant. The nurses laugh and ask, ‘You too? You get pregnant? You dey do that kind thing?’ They forget we’re human too.”
Mary says such words hurt deeply. “We already struggle with our disabilities,” she said. “When health workers make us feel like we don’t deserve love or family, it breaks our spirit.”
Sometimes, doctors also assume wrongly about their needs. “When I go for reproductive health, they think I came for physiotherapy. They don’t even ask why I’m there,” Mary said.
Once, when she asked to see a gynaecologist, the consultant refused, saying she didn’t need one. “I had to fight for myself right there. It’s my body, and I know what I need,” she said firmly.
Health experts say sexual and reproductive health means more than pregnancy care. It includes family planning, treatment of infections, protection from violence, and the right to choose when or if to have children.
In 2018, the government launched a policy saying women and girls with disabilities have the same rights to health care as everyone else. It promised to make hospitals friendly to all, with ramps, interpreters, and trained staff.
But years later, little has changed.
According to Grace Obi, a programme officer at the Disability Support Network, “Many deaf women don’t go to hospitals because there’s no interpreter. Blind women don’t get health information in Braille. Women with albinism are left out too.”
“There are no ramps, no adjustable beds, nothing,” she added.
Janet Mark, another woman who uses a wheelchair, said the insults often start with the questions. “They ask, ‘Who got you pregnant?’ or ‘You too dey do that kind thing?’ They never ask other women that.”
She said many health workers ignore them or attend to others first. “We are women too. We have the right to marry, have children, and be loved. Why treat us differently?”
Blessing James, who is physically challenged, says her biggest struggle is poor hospital design. “There’s no ramp at the clinic near me. Someone must lift me up the stairs every time.”
Even though she personally hasn’t faced insults, she knows others who have. “Just because I’m treated well doesn’t mean everyone is,” she said. “We have laws that protect us, but people don’t obey them. The problem is not the law, it’s that nobody enforces it.”
Nigeria’s disability law says all public buildings should be made accessible within five years and that discrimination against persons with disabilities is a crime. But that deadline has passed, and most hospitals remain unchanged.
The 2018 national policy promised inclusive care, trained health workers, and involvement of disability groups. But experts say the promises are still on paper, not in practice.
As the government reviews the policy, activists hope it will lead to real change, not just words.
Dr. Lydia Okafor, a gender and inclusion specialist, shared a sad story. She recalled a woman named Ruth, who uses crutches and went to a clinic in pain. The nurse mocked her, saying, “Who even got you pregnant?”
Ruth left the hospital crying and never went back, even though she needed medical help.
Dr. Lydia said stories like this are common. “Many women with disabilities stay away from hospitals not because they don’t care, but because of the shame and mockery they face,” she said.
“The result is dangerous, late treatment, health problems, and even death. This discrimination doesn’t just hurt feelings. It destroys lives.”
Advocates say what women with disabilities need most is respect, empathy, and access.
They are urging the government to fully enforce disability laws in all hospitals, train health workers to treat people with disabilities with respect and understanding, and ensure that healthcare facilities are equipped with ramps, interpreters, and clear communication systems to make medical services truly accessible to everyone.
As Mary put it: “We don’t want pity. We just want care, the same care everyone else gets.”