WEBVTT - Equal Too: How We Change the Law 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.840 There's a young boys was cut up from our surgery. 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:07.400 Prosthetic picts burgery telling me I'm normal, But normal would 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:11.440 they never really menacing? They are always painting discriminated what 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:15.240 the world around the world, there are laws that protect 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:19.319 disabled people from discriminations, but in this episode we'll be 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:25.360 talking about why some current legislations may not enable, empower, liberate, 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:31.000 or protect disabled people as much as they should. I'm 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:35.839 Sophie Morgan. This is equal to episode two, How we 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:40.560 change the law? What can we do to push equality 0:00:40.800 --> 0:00:44.960 for for people with disabilities? In high school, the only 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:50.120 thing that we could do was was to see I 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.800 think it's about having you know, fairness of opportunity is 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.600 a really big part of it, and I do think 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.720 disabled people have to take some responsibility. Last camp being 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:02.800 taken in a way and it's it's permanent in for 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:32.200 the great reasons m oh your Market said, the persons 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:34.960 have beloved the blood to hit the g Today, over 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.480 one point to billion people around the world are living 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:42.080 with a disability. We make up fifteen percent of the 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:46.560 global population, and yet despite many countries establishing laws to 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:51.000 protect our rights, no disabled person is immune to discrimination. 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.480 Last year, across thirty six police forces in England and Wales, 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:58.360 more than seven thousand, three hundred disability hate crimes were reported, 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:02.600 but only one point six percent resulted in perpetrators being charged. 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:08.960 Disability discrimination, often called able is um, comes in many forms, 0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:12.359 from not providing a wheelchair ramp or an interpreter and 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.600 a press briefing two point six millions spent on the 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:20.079 new press room, yet still no interpreter, to more extreme 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.000 breaches in human rights, such as the practice of shackling 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:28.320 or forced sterilization. All around the world, disabled people depend 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.240 on laws to safeguard our rights. In the UK we 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.040 have the Equalities Act. In the US there's the a 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.560 d A. In Colombia there's Law sixteen eighteen, and in 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:43.280 Australia there's the Disability Discrimination Act. In some countries, these 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:47.760 acts took disabled activists years of blood, sweat and tears 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.560 to bring in. I highly recommend watching the OSCAR nominated 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.600 documentary cryp Camp to get an idea of how hard 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:57.520 fought the A d A was in the US. But 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:00.320 even when there are laws in place. When Ris searching 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:02.960 for this podcast, we came to find that more often 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:07.160 than not, it falls upon disabled people themselves to enforce 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:11.680 those laws or in some cases outright change them. Yes, 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:15.840 he goes again, going for the double in Even Paralympic 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:20.160 legends like usas Tatiana McFadden, who can currently be seen 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.240 on television screens all around the world as she competes 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:30.160 in Tokyo. Even Tatiana experiences discriminations. But mcfanna while she's 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:33.519 on the hunt for six golds now and that's the 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:37.000 first of all. Growing up in the US, Tatiana began 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:40.400 wheelchair racing at the age of eight. At fifteen, she 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:43.520 competed in her first Paralympics in Athens in two thousand 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:47.560 and four, bringing home to gold medals. But when she 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:51.320 returned home to Illinois and started high school, Tatiana found 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:55.280 even Paralympic champions would not be treated equally to non 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.960 disabled high schoolers coming in into high school. I'll I'm 0:03:59.360 --> 0:04:03.080 one end to to do track. That's the that's a 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.720 club that I wanted to do. Her school said she 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:09.200 was not allowed to participate in high school sports due 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:13.720 to her wheelchair being a safety hazard and creating an 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:17.760 unfair advantage. I didn't want to do anything else that 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:19.920 I didn't want to do Chazz. I didn't want to 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:22.080 do be in the theater. I just wanted to do 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:29.919 high school track. And my my first year, um, you know, 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.880 I didn't think how how tough it was going to be. 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:38.919 And I I was denied a uniform, and I was 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:45.920 denied to run alongside of of the of the able 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:51.479 bodied runners. And so I thought, you know what, what 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:56.840 can we do to push equality for for people a 0:04:56.920 --> 0:05:01.760 disabilities in high school? And the only thing that we 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:06.120 could do was was to sue. When we went against 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:09.120 the state of Maryland. We won and that took four 0:05:09.200 --> 0:05:14.320 years in college, it became federal when we worked with 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:19.680 Tatiana's lawsuit, which requires schools to provide equal opportunities for 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:23.240 students with disabilities, was passed in two thousand and eight. 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:27.839 It is now known as Tatiana's Law. Thinking about going 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:31.280 through that lawsuit, and I thought of my sister Hannah immediately. 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:36.320 She was also a Paralympic athlete, and I wanted and 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:40.200 wanted her to have the best experience possible. And people 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:45.520 following after that, and now that it's it's federal and 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:50.039 it's nationwide, you know, it's it's called the Tatiana's Law, 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:55.680 and it's it's so cool going going through that as 0:05:55.720 --> 0:06:01.160 a high schooler and it was extremely hard, and yeah 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:06.400 it was it was really tough. Um, but it last 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.880 camp being taken away and it's it's permanent in for 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:13.320 the right reason. So what does this story teach us? 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.040 It may have resulted in a positive and a lasting outcome, 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.719 but isn't it shocking to think that equality of opportunity 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:23.760 in sport may not have been possible for disabled children 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.800 in the US had this Paralympic athlete not used every 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:30.280 ounce of the resilience and determination we see her demonstrate 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:33.719 on the track to make this happen. And why is 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.360 it that the race for equality also has to be 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:40.760 a battle? We all have human rights, so when those 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.800 rights aren't being granted, what then? The U n c 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:47.400 RPD talks about how countries should make sure that people 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:51.240 with disabilities have the same rights as others. In two 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:55.279 thousand and six, the United Nations adopted an international treaty 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:58.600 to protect the rights of people with disabilities. It's called 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:01.720 the Convention on the Right of People with Disabilities or 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:05.839 the crp D. Its goal is to wipe out all 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:10.480 forms of disability discrimination enabling disabled people to live independently, 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:15.280 ensuring an inclusive education system, and offering protections from all 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:20.200 forms of exploitation, violence and abuse. But it might shock 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:23.800 you to learn that many countries have not yet ratified 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:29.840 this convention, including the US. Deborah McFadden is a founding 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:34.640 member of Athletics for All oh and she's also Tatiana's mom. 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:38.080 Here she explains why the crp D matters. So it's 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:41.840 very important that the U N ratifies the Convention on 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:46.560 the Rights of People with Disabilities. We are a blessed 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:50.240 country to have so many wonderful laws, such as the 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:55.760 Americans with Disability Zack Tribal four two idea. But what 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.320 we're saying is to the world, we can do it 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.640 our own way, and we're not being an example to 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.320 those countries that have asked us to be an example 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:08.680 of what it's like to protect the rights of all 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:13.160 people with disabilities. It's a policy statement, it's a leadership issue. 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:16.160 We still have a long way to go in this country. 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:17.880 But if they don't have to do it, why should 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:21.600 we do it. It's an operational document. It's something to 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.920 say that these are the standards that we need to 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.520 have for people with disabilities around the world, and we 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.560 need to be a leader in that to say all 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.760 people have rights and protections, and the US isn't alone. 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:39.079 There are many other countries yet to ratify the convention. 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:42.480 In a later episode, will be asking whether the l 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:46.800 A Paralympic Games might be the tipping point that encourages 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:49.560 the US to take that step, and if so, what 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:54.280 that might mean. Disabled people's organizations around the world agree 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:56.720 that in order for change to be made, we need 0:08:57.080 --> 0:09:01.160 strong leadership with disabled people themselves is leading the charge. 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:05.040 Nothing about us without us, as they say. In the 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:08.920 first episode, we spoke with former British paralympian damed Tanny 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:13.000 gray Thompson, and here she is again explaining why she 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.600 got into politics. I think it's about having you know, 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.600 fairness of opportunity is a really big part of it, 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:23.240 and I do think disabled people have to take some responsibility. 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:25.640 You know, we can't just sit around and wait for 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:27.800 it to be done to us or for us. Because 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.320 I haven't got time to sit and rely on anybody else. 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:32.960 So that's probably why I kind of had this set 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:34.480 of urgency about a lot of stuff that I do. 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:36.160 So I haven't got time to sit and wait for 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:38.360 somebody to say, oh, here you go. I think some 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:42.320 of like that powerful political voice of disabled people's also 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.679 been lost a little bit over the years. There are 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:50.600 still organizations of disabled people, but in terms of the 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.840 Equality Act, disability just ends up being a feel a 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:56.280 bit lost. I don't really know where we are, but 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:59.640 you know where we're still fighting for basic access to 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.040 get into a building, or to get into you know, 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.800 high court, you know, you know, just those things. We 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.360 shouldn't be fighting for some of those really really basic things. 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:11.280 So I do think disabled people need to kind of 0:10:11.440 --> 0:10:13.880 you know, it needs to be more than you know, 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.520 I'm part of a group of you know, quite strong 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.080 disabled people, but it needs to be more disabled people 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.000 asking more things, because otherwise they look at me and 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:23.559 while I got it to her again and just ignored it. 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:24.760 So one of the things I tried to do is 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:27.600 really important. It's just get more disabled people to talk 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:29.480 about these things and to give them an opportunity and 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:37.560 support to be an alternate voice. What Canada Senate is 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.040 about to get a little bit fuller. The federal government 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:43.240 announcing the appointment of seven new people to the Red 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:47.400 Chamber in Canada in two thousand and sixteen, fourteen time 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.840 gold medalist Paralympian Chantell Petty Clerk also made the switch 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:55.960 from record breaker to lawmaker. Moving into politics as a 0:10:55.960 --> 0:11:00.960 Canadian Senator was a bit of a strange moment because 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.559 I did not plan for it and uh and and 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:08.160 to me, I was exactly at that time, after being 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:12.600 Chef de mission for Rio, after coaching for London, to 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.320 to to choose you know what will this second part 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.720 of my life be. Do I want to stay in sport, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:22.840 do I want to do something different? So, but you know, 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:28.160 it is such an amazing privilege and responsibility to say 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.520 I can be in Parliament, I can try to be 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:35.079 the voice of not only persons with disability, but the 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.560 voice using her position of influencing government. Chantel has been 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:42.479 able to make a monumental impact on a very controversial 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:46.760 but life changing matter for disabled people, the assisted Dying Bills. 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:50.160 One of the very first impact that I had was 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:55.079 also one that was very um difficult in in intense 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.360 uh and it was only a few months after I 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:03.480 was a pointed in the Senate of Canada where we 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:07.640 had to deal with a very very important bill on 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.800 medical assistance in dying it was very of course, I mean, 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:16.040 you know, it is so delicate and so important and 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:19.120 and at the same time so hard. It's so so 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.040 difficult to just even think and talk about it. This 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:28.440 really talks to persons and some individuals with a disability 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:33.479 in interable pain who want to make their choice for themselves. 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.520 And so so I was a sponsor of that bill 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:41.520 and trying to be the voice of those individuals who 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.439 wanted to have the right to make that choice for them, 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.800 and of course, uh, it was very tough for me. 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.560 It was also a very tough conversation in Canada because, 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:56.440 as in many countries in the world, UH, persons with 0:12:56.480 --> 0:13:01.040 disability still have a lot of vulnerability, which is strange 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:04.400 because when you're a paralympian, you're like this, champions of 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:08.920 persons with disability, and sometimes you have sponsors, you have visibility, 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.840 people recognize you on the streets. So it was very 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:17.679 very eye opening for me to come from being this 0:13:18.040 --> 0:13:24.760 multi medalist, very able and strong and independent, to have 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:30.640 the voices of other persons with disabilities, with other challenges 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:35.080 and vulnerabilities, and being able to also say there is 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:39.000 not one person with a disability, there are thousands and 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:44.040 millions of them, and each have different voices, different choices, 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:48.560 different strength, different vulnerability. But each and every one of 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:53.040 them and me should have uh the right to choose 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.520 how they want to live their life and and maybe 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:59.600 how they want to end it. In Parliament, Chantel used 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:04.200 her to advocate for all disabled people. But you don't 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.920 need to be a politician to change your world. The 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:12.640 mayor of Lima, Peru, is confronting disability challenges head on, 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:17.440 and earlier this week, he discovered just how challenging life 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.240 in a wheelchair can be when he nearly fell out 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:24.160 of his chair. Pilaja Reggie is a wheelchair badminton champion 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:28.560 from Peru. She wanted the lawmakers of Lima, the capital 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:31.840 city of Peru, to understand the difficulties that she had 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:36.960 navigating the streets in her wheelchair, so she challenged Lima's mayor, 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:42.920 Jorge Muns to try it for himself. I found it 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:47.400 difficult when going out shopping, going to the pharmacy, basically everything. 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.000 Many times I have run into palls and garbage cans, 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.720 things like that. Or I found that the rant was 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:57.160 too steep and difficult to go up and down, So 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.920 that is when I recorded a video and posted the 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:04.600 on Twitter and Facebook saying that we're not invisible, and 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.160 I challenged the mayor to try and pass through some 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:12.120 of these streets. At the beginning, the challenge was to 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:16.320 try using the wheelchair for a day. After that, the 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:21.200 mayor went viral all over the social networks and the 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.120 next day the mayor was already in the wheelchair and 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:26.520 I told him which routes I had to travel along. 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.800 They implemented the regulations so that they could build ramps 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:36.240 all over Lima. They've now built around three thousand accessible ramps. 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.360 There are now regulated standards for how ramps should be 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.640 built and how there should be a ramp on every corner. 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:47.080 Thanks to the Games, there has also been an improvement 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:51.720 in the social sense society wide. It can be seen 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:55.360 that there is much more respect. As in the past 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:58.320 people used to park their cars on the actual ramps. 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:09.920 Now you are more careful about that. Okay, so we've 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.840 heard how paralympians have made an impact on the law, 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.960 but what about disabled people who aren't Paralympians. I've faced 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:23.120 so much discrimination in the United States, racism, sexism, and 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:27.320 the worst able ism. Harbon Germer, who is deaf blind 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:31.200 has become one of the most prominent disabled activists in 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:35.440 the world. President Obama even recognized her work when he 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:38.600 named her a White House Champion of Change. So fed 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:42.200 up with ableism that I wanted to make a career 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:45.720 out of finding it, Harbon has used her position to 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.760 change the law. One of the things I was proud 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:53.080 of is to help increase reading access for blind readers. 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:57.920 There was an online library and blind readers were struggling 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.320 to access books in the library, so we asked the 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:05.480 company to make their books accessible. They ignored us, and 0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:09.439 we use the Americans with Disabilities Act to compel them, 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:15.080 and after the lawsuit, they agreed to work with the 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.560 Natural Ofederation of the Blind to make their library accessible 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:23.199 for blind readers. Harbon shows us that activism works and 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:27.480 she's not alone. Today. Despite the access and attitudinal barriers 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:31.119 that disabled people face, all around the world, activists with 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.959 disabilities are pushing for changes to the laws that directly 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:40.440 impact their lives. In India, Mana see Joshi, a young 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:43.679 para badminton player, is campaigning to reduce the cost of 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:47.800 prosthetic limbs. Or in Nigeria, rassak Adaquia, who lost his 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.520 sight in a car accident as a young adult is 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:56.399 helping Nigerians get into employment. Others are more political. In Greece, 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:00.240 Stelius Kim poor Opolis began his career as a psychiatryist, 0:18:00.520 --> 0:18:02.600 but in two thousand and nineteen became a member of 0:18:02.640 --> 0:18:07.439 European Parliament working to help disabled people live independently. And 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:13.000 in another activist Eleanor Lalou became France's first counselor with 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:16.960 Down syndrome. Advocates are even making a difference at an 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:21.600 international scale. Daphne free Us is a Mexican American campaigner 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:25.720 with cerebral palsy who helps disabled people participate in climate action. 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.879 And Eugene Mustafa is a Kurdish Syrian refugee who in 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:33.080 two thousand and nineteen became the first person to address 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.280 the UN Security Council from a wheelchair and is now 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:40.840 a global advocate for refugee children with disabilities. Sharing these 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:44.720 examples with you is exhilarating. They are just a handful 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:48.680 of stories, but all of these people represent countless more 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:52.280 disabled individuals who are working to take control of the 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:58.320 narrative and shift the dial. Often we see disabled people 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:01.919 working in isolation, focusing on the issues that matter to 0:19:01.960 --> 0:19:04.560 them in the countries where they live, and rightly so, 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:10.359 but it's time we joined together. You're such an inspiration, 0:19:11.119 --> 0:19:19.720 so great you remind me for you break. Recently, a 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:24.119 global campaign called We the Fifteen has launched time to 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.439 coordinate with the Tokyo Games to raise awareness of the 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:32.240 fact that we remain the most underrepresented an undeserved group 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:37.200 on the planet. The International Paralympic Committee, the International Disability Alliance, 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:40.960 the United Nations and UNESCO have all come together to 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.840 amplify the cause because we all recognize that now is 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:49.560 the time to remove inequality and inactivity. We spoke with 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:52.119 one of the founders of the We the Fifteen campaign, 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:56.200 Eddie and Dopeu, who is an award winning, internationally acclaimed 0:19:56.240 --> 0:20:00.640 activist and humanitarian from South Africa. One of the things 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:03.400 that Eddie is known for is his engagement with young 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:07.720 activists to pressure lawmakers around the world to provide improved 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:12.520 educational opportunities to use with disabilities. Eddie explains how he 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:15.920 goes about advocating for change. You know, Sophie, I think 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:18.320 at the end of the day, it is so critical 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:25.360 that we have an intersectional approach to to disability, right 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:29.560 that you know, of course, we know that we are 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:33.440 not a monolithic group. Right, of course we know that. 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:40.720 But I think sometimes advocacy requires what is often called 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:45.600 strategic essentialism, where we sort of stripped down our complexity 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:49.919 in order to advocate for change in terms of legal 0:20:50.080 --> 0:20:55.240 rights or legislation. And so the temptation to flatten the 0:20:55.320 --> 0:21:02.280 disability experience in the name of advocating for recognition and 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:06.439 and and and fundamental rights and freedoms, that often means 0:21:06.520 --> 0:21:10.000 that we do so we do that stripping back at 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:15.440 the expense of intersectionality, right, at the expense of a 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:19.040 profound recognition that we are never just one thing, right, 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:23.040 Because I think, how do we think about disability and gender? 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:26.119 How do we think about disability and sexuality? How do 0:21:26.200 --> 0:21:29.000 we think about disability and race? And then how do 0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:33.440 we think about disability across geography? Right? And and that 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:37.960 is the magic of the lived experience of disability is 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:44.080 that it is we we are we, we are disabled, 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:48.199 and we are so many other things simultaneously, right, And 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:51.760 I think, you know what the movement, what what needs 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:55.760 to happen, I think is is that that texture to 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:58.280 our lives and now they've the experience. That's what needs 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:03.159 to be put at the forefront. Right. The questions that 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:06.879 Eddie asked need to be carefully considered. They need to 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:09.320 be asked of one another, and we need to think 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:13.639 about our answers. This subject requires us all to ask 0:22:13.760 --> 0:22:18.040 questions of ourselves and our understanding of what disability, justice 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:24.000 and equality means. Eddie Tatiana Chantel are all disabled people 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:28.879 making change for disabled people, which is vital when it 0:22:28.880 --> 0:22:33.600 comes to representing the many different lived experiences of disabled people. 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:38.200 As Eddie says, we are not a monolith. But no 0:22:38.200 --> 0:22:41.879 matter how successful these change agents might be in their field, 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:49.399 they too encounter discrimination. So I was in Manhattan, downtown Manhattan, UM, 0:22:49.400 --> 0:22:52.800 showing up at this you know, really fancy building for 0:22:52.840 --> 0:22:56.840 a meeting. And I make my way to the entrance 0:22:57.000 --> 0:23:01.520 of the building and I'm all dressed up, looking absolutely 0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:06.520 fabulous with my channel glasses, and UM. I arrived at 0:23:06.600 --> 0:23:11.720 the building and UM, the person at the door, the 0:23:13.560 --> 0:23:17.120 keeper of the building, sort of looked at me and said, UM, 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:20.400 can I help you? And they said, no, I'm fine, 0:23:20.440 --> 0:23:24.200 I'm just here for a meeting. UM. And he said 0:23:24.240 --> 0:23:28.720 to me, oh, the doctor's rooms aren't here. The doctor's 0:23:28.800 --> 0:23:33.680 rooms are across the street, and I was like, I'm 0:23:33.720 --> 0:23:37.800 not here to see a doctor, but you know he 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:40.840 he automatical. And and this was, you know, five minutes 0:23:40.920 --> 0:23:45.760 before I had to be psychologically ready for you know, 0:23:45.840 --> 0:23:49.320 a really important meeting. That's quite significant, right, And so 0:23:49.720 --> 0:23:52.639 that was the moment where I was just like, oh wow, okay, Like, 0:23:52.760 --> 0:23:55.800 you know, no matter no matter how successful I think 0:23:55.840 --> 0:24:00.400 I am, no matter how UM accomplished that. And this 0:24:00.480 --> 0:24:06.200 is the thing, Sophie, is that you know, success does 0:24:06.280 --> 0:24:10.280 not inoculate us against able ism. And what about the 0:24:10.359 --> 0:24:14.200 toll that this has on disabled activists? His hobbin again. 0:24:14.440 --> 0:24:17.080 So the way a lot of these laws are structured, 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:21.280 they put the burden on disabled people to remove the barriers. 0:24:22.000 --> 0:24:25.359 That is a lot of work, a lot of time, 0:24:25.600 --> 0:24:29.359 a lot of emotional and physical energy. It's very exhausting 0:24:29.440 --> 0:24:34.040 and it's not fair. The burden should be on the institutions, 0:24:35.200 --> 0:24:39.000 the institutions who have the power to remove the barriers, 0:24:39.119 --> 0:24:43.000 rather than forcing disabled people to file complaints and do 0:24:43.119 --> 0:24:48.440 the work of removing all the barriers. I do struggle 0:24:48.560 --> 0:24:54.080 with advocacy fatigue. It's really hard, and having a community 0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:58.000 of people who understand me. Is really crucial because if 0:24:58.040 --> 0:25:01.640 I'm too tired to advocate for a barrier, someone could 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:05.600 stop in. I was going to ride a ferris wheel 0:25:05.960 --> 0:25:09.320 in a new city I was visiting. I was visiting Atlanta, 0:25:09.560 --> 0:25:13.280 Georgia a few years ago, and the person at the 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:16.560 ferris wheel said she can't come in no dogs. I 0:25:16.640 --> 0:25:20.480 had my guide dog, and my friend stepped in and said, 0:25:20.560 --> 0:25:22.760 this is a service dog under the Amery Goods of 0:25:22.840 --> 0:25:26.399 Disabilities Act. The dog gets to travel with her and 0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:29.159 the person gave in and let us write the ferris wheel. 0:25:30.040 --> 0:25:34.280 So it helps to have a community to help shoulder 0:25:34.400 --> 0:25:39.040 the burden of advocacy, and when you're too tired, someone 0:25:39.080 --> 0:25:48.280 else can step in and help. So how do we 0:25:48.359 --> 0:25:51.400 fight for our rights going forward? Do we need more 0:25:51.480 --> 0:25:54.720 than the law? Laws help move our culture in the 0:25:54.880 --> 0:25:58.919 direction it should go. Laws are created when there's a 0:25:58.960 --> 0:26:03.280 systemic problem and you need litigation to help fix in. 0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:08.000 So it's important to have last It's not the only tour. 0:26:08.560 --> 0:26:12.320 It's a very important tour, but it goes along other 0:26:13.000 --> 0:26:19.320 It goes alongside other tours such as stories and leadership 0:26:20.119 --> 0:26:24.040 and having great examples and guides and how to do 0:26:24.080 --> 0:26:28.120 the right thing. I spoke to leading disability activists, actress 0:26:28.200 --> 0:26:32.160 Jamila Jamil and co producer of this podcast, said Burke, 0:26:32.720 --> 0:26:36.440 to see what we feel is needed to galvanize people 0:26:36.560 --> 0:26:40.399 to accelerate change. I mean, I think it begins with 0:26:40.560 --> 0:26:44.480 non disabled people showing them up. That's where I think 0:26:44.520 --> 0:26:47.439 it begins. In the same way that the most traction 0:26:47.520 --> 0:26:50.120 we've ever seen for Black Lives Matter is when everyone 0:26:50.240 --> 0:26:53.960 got involved, and that's what made the noise so loud. 0:26:54.000 --> 0:26:58.560 But finally, huge corporations and the government and the police 0:26:58.640 --> 0:27:01.239 even in some states where able to take notice of 0:27:01.280 --> 0:27:04.719 this incredibly important and vital movement that's been going for 0:27:04.720 --> 0:27:07.000 seven or eight years. I think more maybe even now 0:27:07.880 --> 0:27:11.000 I've lost track of time because of the pandemic. But 0:27:11.200 --> 0:27:14.359 I think it just means all of us together. And 0:27:14.440 --> 0:27:16.160 as I said, I think a lot of people who 0:27:16.160 --> 0:27:18.719 have now hopefully realized that disability can come into your 0:27:18.760 --> 0:27:24.480