Beyond the Seizures: How Epilepsy Affects Nigerian Women
This week, we start in Nigeria, where women living with epilepsy share their struggles with stigma and isolation. Next, we travel to South Africa where surf therapy is helping children with disabilities build confidence. Finally, we stop in Trinidad and Tobago, where homosexuality is once again a crime.
But first, in Nigeria, politicians with albinism face deep discrimination, as many voters and political leaders judge them by their skin colour instead of their abilities. While some keep pushing forward, others step away from politics due to stigma and lack of support, even from their own community.
Read an excerpt here: 👇🏽
In Nigerian politics, “[Voters] feel we are not worth it…that an albino person cannot deliver anything”
As Nigeria’s 2023 general election drew close, with its attendant triplets of hype, hope and horror games, Abdullahi Ahmad, the African Democratic Congress candidate for the Zamfara State House of Assembly elections, felt positive about his chances of winning. He had done his homework to convince Maradun I state constituency’s eligible voters that he was the right man for the job. However, he would discover that most stakeholders of the voting process paid no heed to his capability and competence but only to the fact that he lives with albinism.
Initially, Ahmad did not know what the fuss was all about during the campaign until his request for security support was met with indifference. “[The police] in turn, denied [my team] access to enter certain areas,” he remembers. Ahmad was left to fend for himself in a state plagued by insecurity.
He alleges every facet of the electioneering process was used to frustrate and stigmatise him. “From securing our party’s ticket where my fellow aspirants had to say it to my face to mock me, to canvassing for votes, I heard whispers which later graduated to becoming loud noises that I should not win because I am with albinism.”
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Surf therapy for children with disabilities: how it’s changing lives in South Africa
Children with disabilities face significant challenges in South Africa. Firstly there are delayed diagnoses which can lead to complications. The high cost of healthcare and little financial support for their families can limit their access to healthcare services altogether.
There is also little access to rehabilitation services. Inadequate facilities and a shortage of trained personnel are just some of the obstacles.
I started thinking about ways to get over these obstacles when I noticed that people with disabilities weren’t well represented in my sport.
As a competitive surfer and instructor, I had always celebrated the ocean’s ability to inspire confidence and resilience.
Every day, the beach was alive with activity – surfers, families and ocean lovers. Yet among them, I rarely saw people with disabilities in the water.