Today accessibility is an important and well known factor in the construction of new houses and locations. This development is furthermore shaped by regulations and laws set by government. Nevertheless, accessibility is also a subject that isn’t always as prioritized as other issues which puts it at a disadvantage. With this essay I researched and analyzed how accessibility is created in public buildings. I’ve done this by interviewing seven different people that in one way or another works in the building sector or gets affected by the shaping of places. Three observations have also been performed by me in order to research how various locations are constructed. I’ve found that there is an overall will to make all places accessible for all people. However accessibility is foremost constructed after the normate and after the beliefs of it’s functions. Accessibility for other types of bodies and minds become deviant and seen as an extra cost. This results in a distorted view of what accessibility can mean and limits the possibilitys of accessibility.

This thesis is a thematic content analysis, looking at how compulsory able-bodiedness affects Zimbabwean disabled women’s ability to practice their reproductive- and sexual rights. Zimbabwe is an optimal case to apply this study in, due to its contradictory legislation and high amounts of human rights violations. This study is therefore based in feminist disability studies with the aim to fill the research gap in acknowledging the consequences compulsory able-bodiedness can have on disabled citizens if found in governmental policy. By analysing interviews conducted with 39 different disabled women aged 18-65 through the theoretical framework of compulsory able-bodiedness and Othering, this thesis contributes with suggestions of how these social structures are affecting the respondents’ everyday lives. The theoretical framework is operationalized into themes and criterias which are then applied to analyse the conducted interviews. This thesis shows that there is a discrepancy between government policy and the practical experiences of the respondents. The respondents experienced a lack of accessibility to reproductive healthcare, to the law, and to sex education – which are all rights ensured by government policy. Identified consequences included: discouragement in seeking health treatment, discouragement in reporting crimes, and receiving false sex education information from secondhand sources. This study therefore concludes that the Othering of the respondents consequently prohibits them from practicing their reproductive and sexual rights.