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‘You Can’t Legislate Attitudes’
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DJP Fellow Benedicta Oyèdayọ̀ Oyèwọlé Talks about the Deterioration of Rights for Queer and Disabled Nigerians
November 14, 2022
ABUJA, Nigeria – In the mid-2000s, when she was a six-year-old girl attending Catholic primary school in West Africa, Benedicta Oyèdayọ̀ Oyèwọlé had one goal in mind: survival. Born with cerebral palsy in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan, one of the country’s most populous areas, Oyèwọlé and her leg braces, the result of numerous surgeries to improve her mobility, were seen as a threat to the health of other children.
“I had a classmate whose mother came to fight with my teacher for putting her daughter beside a disabled child, like [my condition] was an infectious disease, something she could contract,” says Oyèwọlé. Now a diversity and inclusion expert with the Women’s Health and Equal Rights Initiative (W.H.E.R.) in Abuja, she describes her school as a place of discrimination and fear; her academic performance faltered as she became increasingly disengaged. “I would stay back in my classroom and just cry all through the day,” she says.
Becoming a Disability Rights Advocate
Two decades later, her childhood experiences have galvanized Oyèwọlé, one of four siblings, into work as a disability rights advocate and current fellow with the Disability Justice Project. In her native Nigeria, access to public spaces and basic healthcare for persons with disabilities remains a pressing social concern. By 2018, nearly 15 percent of an estimated 195 million Nigerian citizens were living with a disability, according to data from the World Health Organization. Additionally, a 2020 report by the World Bank found that the number of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, a group disproportionately prone to poverty and societal exclusion, increased as civil unrest involving armed insurgencies and natural disasters engulfed the region.
And then there’s the role of religious extremism. Some nights, around three in the morning, Oyèwọlé would carefully climb up one of Ibadan’s nearby mountaintops, which had been converted into prayer spaces, and pray for new legs. There, she would encounter a pastor who laid hands on her to “cast out the demons.” He blamed her disability on witches.
“Inclusive policies are either nonexistent, weak, or inadequately implemented,” reads the World Bank report. “There is an urgent need to improve the current socioeconomic situation of persons with disabilities in Nigeria.”
In January 2019, following nearly a decade of sustained efforts by activists, Nigeria enacted a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability and subsequently established the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD). But according to Oyèwọlé, disability organizations have instigated greater change than anti-discrimination laws, as these laws are not often implemented or enforced. “Some programs have put the burden of equal acceptance on persons with disabilities … while it’s the society’s values that need to be clarified,” says Oyèwọlé. “It’s people’s attitudes that need to be transformed. You can’t legislate attitudes.”
Navigating Draconian Laws As a Queer, Disabled Woman
Beyond living with a disability, Oyèwọlé’s life is complicated by another aspect of her identity—she is a queer woman. Living as an LGBTQI+ person in Nigeria means cautiously navigating a patchwork of draconian laws; in addition to a nationwide ban on same-sex marriage, ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, in 2014, imposed a 14-year prison sentence for LGBTQI+ people caught in so-called “amorous relationships.” In July, three gay Nigerian men were sentenced to death by stoning, prompting an outcry from the nation’s LGBTQI+ activists.
Perhaps the most vicious punishment faced by LGBTQI+ people in Nigeria is the practice of corrective rape, where a queer woman is forced into sex with men to “correct” her sexual orientation. This barbaric practice is not unique to Nigeria. A 2022 article in the William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice discusses the corrective rape of Black lesbians in South Africa and references similar crimes in Jamaica, India, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, and the United States.
If I’m looking at where I’m staying and I’m wondering if I’m outed as a queer person or a lesbian woman, I could probably be killed and nobody would be arrested.
Benedicta Oyèdayọ̀ Oyèwọlé
Oyèwọlé says that Nigerian laws oppressing LGBTQI+ persons “empower” members of the public to murder and sexually assault queer women. “If I’m looking at where I’m staying and I’m wondering if I’m outed as a queer person or a lesbian woman, I could probably be killed and nobody would be arrested,” she says. “The reality of queer people in Nigeria is very pathetic and sad.”
If a woman is outed as queer, she is often shunned by her family and forbidden from furthering her education. In order to rent an apartment, Oyèwọlé has to bring a man as her “boyfriend” to approve. “Coming out as a disabled queer person in Nigeria felt like a joke,” she says, explaining how persons with disabilities are often desexualized by society and rejected by the LGBTQI+ community.
When asked about the most important work she is doing right now, Oyèwọlé references a year-long project for which her organization “mapped out” queer people with disabilities across all of Nigeria and spoke with this community about their needs. “We are really looking forward to getting funding [for programs] with this specific population … and to explore more intersections,” she says.
Ryan Di Corpo is a contributing writer with the Disability Justice Project. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, America, Boston College Magazine, Fordham News, and WCVB/Channel 5.
@2022 Disability Justice Project. All rights reserved.
News From the Global Frontlines of Disability Justice
Rwanda’s Marburg Crisis
As Rwanda confronts its first-ever Marburg virus outbreak, people with disabilities face heightened risks — not only from the virus but also from the lack of accessible health information. “Without proper accommodations, such as sign language interpreters, captions, Braille, or visual aids, the Deaf and DeafBlind community may miss crucial information about how to protect themselves, symptoms to watch for, or where to seek help in case of infection,” says Joseph Musabyimana, executive director of the Rwanda Organization of Persons with Deaf Blindness.
Capturing Vision Through Sound and Touch
Last summer, the DJP trained Indigenous activists with disabilities from the Pacific on the iPhone camera to create a documentary series on disability and climate change. With VoiceOver, the iPhone provides image descriptions for blind and low-vision filmmakers and offers other accessible features. “If you think about it, it doesn’t make sense for a blind person to use a camera,” says DJP filmmaker Ari Hazelman. “The iPhone gives you more avenues to tell your story in a more profound way as a blind person.”
Work for All
The We Can Work program equips young Rwandans with disabilities to navigate barriers to employment through education, vocational training, and soft skills development. By fostering inclusive workplaces and advocating for policy changes, the program aims to reduce poverty and promote economic independence. Participants like Alliance Ukwishaka are optimistic that the program will enable them to achieve their dreams and showcase their potential. The initiative is part of a larger effort to support 30 million disabled youth across seven African countries.
Global Recognition
Faaolo Utumapu-Utailesolo’s film “Dramatic Waves of Change” has been named a finalist in the Focus on Ability International Short Film Festival. The film, completed during a Disability Justice Project workshop in Samoa, highlights the impact of climate change on people with disabilities in Kiribati. Utumapu-Utailesolo, who is blind, used an iPhone with accessibility features to create the film. “Do not leave people with disabilities behind when [you] plan, implement, and monitor programs regarding climate change and disaster,” she says. Her achievement is a testament to the power of inclusive filmmaking.
Advancing Democracy
Rwanda has made significant progress in making its elections more accessible, highlighted by the July 15 general elections where notable accommodations were provided. This was a major step forward in disabled Rwandans’ quest for equal rights and participation. “You cannot imagine how happy I am, for I have voted by myself and privately as others do accessibly,” says Jean Marie Vianney Mukeshimana, who used a Braille voting slate for the first time. “Voting is a deeply emotional and meaningful experience for a person with any disability in Rwanda, reflecting a blend of pride, empowerment, and hope.”
Barriers to the Ballot
Despite legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act, barriers at the polls still hinder — and often prevent — people with disabilities from voting. New restrictive laws in some states, such as criminalizing assistance with voting, exacerbate these issues. Advocacy groups continue to fight for improved accessibility and increased voter turnout among disabled individuals, emphasizing the need for multiple voting options to accommodate diverse needs. ““Of course, we want to vote,” says Claire Stanley with the American Council of the Blind, “but if you can’t, you can’t.”