59742
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Cooper, Margaret
Description
Agent TypePersonPlace of BirthSt Kilda, MelbourneActivities & OccupationsDisability Rights ActivistsGenderFemaleHistoryMargaret Cooper OAM was born in St Kilda Melbourne in 1943. Her life was dedicated to advancing the human rights of people with disability, particularly women and girls. Excluded from any form of schooling as a small girl, Margaret was eventually ‘allowed’ to attend the Yooralla Special School. It took a four hour round trip to get there and back, but even at such a young age, Margaret knew how empowering an education could be. She excelled at school, but her academic excellence was not recognised or celebrated in the same way as that of her siblings and other children, who attended mainstream schools. Her experience of inequity at school set her on an advocacy journey that lasted her lifetime. She went on to gain tertiary qualifications as a social worker, and following her retirement, she undertook a PhD, authoring her seminal thesis ‘The Australian Disability Rights Movement’. Margaret was heavily involved in disability and women’s activism throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, a time when the political and legislative framework was evolving and there was a shared sense that things were starting to change. A key activity in which she took part was state planning for the International Year of the Disabled Person (IYDP) in 1981. She was on the state committee, representing VCOSS and was on a number of other committees planning and organising events for the IYDP.
It was also during IYDP in 1981, that Disabled People’s International (DPI) held its first World Assembly in Singapore. Thirteen Australians participated and returned to Australia to set up an Australian branch of DPI. Two years later, DPI Australia (DPIA) was established, and from the outset, was dominated by disabled men. Only 3 of the 11 members of its governance structure were women, and there was no mention of women or gender in DPIA goals and objectives. Key women members of DPIA, of which Margaret was one, were frustrated and disappointed at their unequal participation and poor treatment within DPIA. So in 1985 they decided to establish their own women’s network within DPIA, known as the National Women’s Network (DPIA). Her involvement and work with National Women's Network (DPIA) and other committees during the 1980s led to the formation of the Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) in 1992 and Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) in 1995. In recent years she spent her time following the development of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the Telstra Disability forum. Margaret Cooper died in November 2018.
Sources: The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia https://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0117b.htm
Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) http://wwda.org.au/vale-margaret-cooper-oam/
It was also during IYDP in 1981, that Disabled People’s International (DPI) held its first World Assembly in Singapore. Thirteen Australians participated and returned to Australia to set up an Australian branch of DPI. Two years later, DPI Australia (DPIA) was established, and from the outset, was dominated by disabled men. Only 3 of the 11 members of its governance structure were women, and there was no mention of women or gender in DPIA goals and objectives. Key women members of DPIA, of which Margaret was one, were frustrated and disappointed at their unequal participation and poor treatment within DPIA. So in 1985 they decided to establish their own women’s network within DPIA, known as the National Women’s Network (DPIA). Her involvement and work with National Women's Network (DPIA) and other committees during the 1980s led to the formation of the Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) in 1992 and Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) in 1995. In recent years she spent her time following the development of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the Telstra Disability forum. Margaret Cooper died in November 2018.
Sources: The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia https://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0117b.htm
Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) http://wwda.org.au/vale-margaret-cooper-oam/
Dates
Date1943-2018
Names
TitleDr.Given NameMargaretFamily NameCooperSuffixOAM
Cooper, Margaret (1943-2018). University of Melbourne Archives, accessed 18/03/2026, https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/59742