At a time when disabled Yemenis are seeking constitutional articles guaranteeing their rights, Othman Al-Selwi is struggling to bear the burden of these same people’s hopes and expectations at the National Dialogue Conference (NDC).
Himself disabled, Al-Selwi is one of only two representatives of disabled citizens at the NDC.
In his wheelchair and with assistance from Ali Mahyoub Mujammel, the Director of the Union of the Yemeni Physically Disabled, Al-Selwi arrives daily at Sana’a’s Movenpick Hotel in the hope that he can contribute to raising the living standards of Yemen’s disabled. He is a member of the Rights and Freedoms Working Group.
“The NDC represents the only opportunity for our issues to be addressed and to ensure that the new constitution will include clear articles guaranteeing our full rights, including 15% participation and representation - and even nominations for senior positions [in government institutions],” said Al-Selwi. “There is a hope that we will receive something from the NDC which provides for our rights.”
At the same time, Al-Selwi and Mujammel both stated that it was unfair that handicapped people, who they said accounted for 15% of Yemen’s population of around 25 million, were provided with only two representatives at the NDC.
“We submitted a list of twenty disabled representatives, and the number was narrowed to only one - myself,” he said.
Amal Al-Basha, current NDC member and former spokeswoman for the NDC Technical Committee, said final decisions on the number of representatives of societal segments came directly from Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
On Saturday, Al-Selwi read aloud his notes on the State-Building Working Group’s report on its activities during the NDC’s first session. He claimed that the disabled were effectively ignored when it came to items and recommendations in the working group’s first session reports.
“Sometimes I realize that the working groups don’t pay attention to our issues; for example, when I try to put the spotlight on one of them, a different discussion or topic will arise,” said Al-Selwi.
