♫ upbeat music ♫
Arbi: Hi.
عالسلامة
I am Arbi Chouikh, a PhD candidate
and a disability rights advocate from Tunisia.
♫ music continues ♫
One of the disability issues here in Tunisia
is the lack of representation
of people with disabilities as decision makers.
(crowd yelling)
Just after the revolution of 2011,
Tunisians demanded a better future
with free and democratic elections.
♫ ♫ ♫
Our hope was that our rights and liberties
would be respected and people would be empowered
by new constitution.
♫ ♫ ♫
During the first legislative and presidential elections
in 2011 our main focus was to ensure
that we were able to access voting centers.
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In 2014, the work went beyond accessibility.
We called for more involvement.
Our strategy was to advocate for an article
to require at least one person with a disability
on each municipal election ballot.
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It was difficult for the Tunisian Parliament to accept that
but we argued that women and youth
had that affordance,
so they should also consider people with disabilities.
The measure was approved.
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Now that we have the legislative infrastructure,
we want to get people with disabilities engaged more
as local representatives
and as tomorrow's decision makers.
The municipal elections will be held
at the beginning of 2018.
As people with disabilities, we know our barriers
and our issues more than anyone else.
So we have a lot to do
to ensure that the Tunisians with disabilities
stay committed, engaged,
and included in the political process.
♫ ♫ ♫
Written and directed by Arbi Chouikh
Special thanks to
Hands Along the Nile Development Services,
U.S. Department of State Professional Fellows Program,
The Tunisian Organization for the Defense of Rights
of Persons with Disabilities,
The Tunisian Parliament,
Ayoub Afi,
and Tina Pinedo.
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