‘The Children Can’t be Wrong’
For World Autism Awareness Day, DJP Fellow Naufal Asy-Syaddad explores what it's like to be autistic in Indonesia in 2023. His hopes include "marrying a woman who accepts my disability."
Filmmaker: Naufal Asy-Syaddad
Naufal Asy-Syaddad is a disability rights activist with autism and chairperson of Yogasmara Foundation's youth group. Read more about Naufal Asy-Syaddad
Deputy Mayor Kauma
Fazira Kauma toppled political barriers in Uganda when she became the first woman and the first blind citizen to be appointed deputy mayor in Jinja. She says disability representation in politics is key.
Filmmaker: Christine Oliver Dhikusooka
Christine Oliver Dhikusooka is executive director of One Voice Heard 4 Disability Uganda (OVH4DU), which advocates for the rights of women with disabilities in Uganda. Read more about Christine Oliver Dhikusooka
‘We Are Born Perfect’
Rina Prasarini has a message for disabled women: "Don't give up. Keep fighting." In 'We Are Born Perfect,' DJP Fellow Retta Maha interviews the entrepreneur, disability rights activist, and single mother of two.
Filmmaker: Mahretta Maha
Mahretta Maha is a disability rights activist living with blindness. She is a program officer at the Association for Disability Access Elections (PPUAD) for the National Coalition of Organizations with Disabilities. Read more about Mahretta Maha
News From the Global Frontlines of Disability Justice
‘A View From Somewhere’
DJP staff, partners, and fellows reflect on two years of “taking back the narrative” on disability. “Through the DJP, I was able to advance my advocacy level … for women with disabilities, most especially people with DeafBlindness,” says disability rights activist Oluwabukolami Omolara Badmus, an inaugural DJP fellow from Nigeria.
I Voted
DJP Fellow Benedicta Oyèdayọ̀ Oyèwọlé chronicles the challenges she and other Nigerians with disabilities faced voting in her country’s February elections, from faraway polling places to no assistive materials like magnifying glasses. She urges more inclusion in the House of Assembly and gubernatorial elections on March 18.
More Than A Name
Lidia Lebang, a mental health advocate and author, says she is more than her name: “I am a woman – a gender often seen in Indonesia’s patriarchal society as a second, or inferior, gender. I come from a working-class family. I live with bipolar disorder, which makes me a person with a disability. These are parts of my identity that make me who I am now.”
Toward Equitable Health Care
Rwandans with disabilities face significant barriers to accessing health care. For those with short stature, this includes hospital beds and reception windows that are too high. “Sometimes we are served after others or choose to stay home,” says one advocate for more inclusive services and infrastructure.
‘I Never Imagined I Could Do This’
Dissatisfied by the way local news portrays people with disabilities, DJP Fellow Sri Sukarni is determined to use her new video skills to share issues important to her community. At the top of her agenda is the lack of accessible public service buildings. “This is what I want to convey to the media, to the government,” she says.
‘You Can’t Legislate Attitudes’
When DJP Fellow Benedicta Oyèdayọ̀ Oyèwọlé was a child, a pastor laid hands on her to “cast out the demons” and blamed her disability on witches. Today, Oyèwọlé is working as an advocate for Nigerians with disabilities to end discrimination: “It’s people’s attitudes that need to be transformed. You can’t legislate attitudes.”