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Obama's ups and downs
One year into his presidency, the jury’s still out on Barack Obama, says Oregon-based journalist Dan Lawton, though hopes remain high for a better deal for disabled Americans
Mixed fortunes of war
Recently given an international human rights award for her work on the rights of disabled people, Rima Canawati is Programme Director of the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation. She tells Disability Now how the Arab/Israeli conflict affects and shapes the lives of disabled people in the Palestinian Territories
Bhopal - a disastrous legacy
On the night of 2 December 1984, some 3,000 sleeping residents were to die in the central Indian city of Bhopal in what was the worst industrial accident in the world ever. In time that staggering figure was to rise to an horrific 30,000 dead. Rajwinder Sahota looks back over the 25 years and counts the still rising cost of the disaster
Zambian positive attitudes
While being deaf and HIV-positive can be a frustrating and isolating experience, Susan Mshoka believes that’s not to say you can’t live a positive life
Korea's invisible people
Disabled student Hyeon-bok reflects on his own life as a disabled person in South Korea and on the low visibility of disabled people in the wider community
Fighting for our lives - Canada's chill wind of euthanasia
While disabled people across Canada are campaigning for better access, more support and greater inclusion, their lawmakers appear to be more concerned with making it easier for disabled people to choose death. Activists from Canadians with Disabilities here set out their case
West African ascent
Nigerian activist Cosmas Okoli tells how he’s encouraging disabled people to start fighting the attitudes to impairment, electoral fraud and inaccessibility that have delayed the development of equal rights
Eymar's Nicaraguan world
The story of Eynar Alexander Mendoza Vásquez’s life as a disabled person in Nicaragua has echoes all over the world and yet remains essentially his own
From Russia with rights
Susanna Isajanyan, director of a new Armenian NGO, tells how her experience of life in Russia inspired her campaign for equal rights and better access for disabled people throughout the Caucasus
Home and Away
When Aussie journalist Lee Kumatat was pondering whether to leave her native Sydney, she didn’t question the truth about the different attitudes she was told she might encounter
Our man in Bucharest
Ambassadors typically conceal themselves and their views behind the diplomatic mask. But HM Ambassador to Romania, Robin Barnett, decided to challenge some of the views in his host country by using his status both as a diplomat and a disabled person
Prague spring II - The revoution's still velvet
If you’re disabled in Eastern Europe, move to Prague, says Radek Musílek. The city has made huge advances since the end of Communism
A Swedish model
Swedish journalist Finn Helmann looks back on the tensions and arguments which led to the emergence of independent living in his country over the past 25 years and the questions it raises for today
Living under Moscow rules
Russia’s more than 14 million people with disabilities experience inadequate and inferior education, community isolation, and low self-esteem says Natalya Prisetskaya with Denise Roza
Baghdad nightmares
Salam Talib had to flee Iraq after an attempt on his life. But, he says, he was determined not to give up on his fellow disabled Iraqis
Great expectations
The election of Barack Obama as America’s next president has unleashed a wave of optimism. In the hours after his election, disabled activist Alan Holdsworth wrote of his hopes that President Obama could transform the lives of disabled Americans
Beijing: the Paralympic legacy
China has won praise for the way it hosted the Olympics and Paralympics. Now, four disabled people who attended the Paralympics tell us whether they truly herald a new era for disability rights in China
New laws will make history
Disabled Afghans’ human rights have been ignored for three decades, but there are signs of hope, says Sami ul Haq Sami
Olympic feast could be sweet or sour
Hosting the Olympics and Paralympics has prompted China to take real steps towards improving the lives of disabled people, but it still has a long way to go in improving its attitude to equality, says Shi Guangyu
New Nepal builds new hope
For centuries, Nepal has ignored disabled people. Activist Shudarson Subedi hopes rights can be built in from the ground up in the world’s newest democracy
India's long road to equality
There are at least 70 million disabled people in India, many living in poverty. But Javed Abidi says the country is making great strides towards equality
Pakistan's ray of hope
As a child, disabled campaigner Ghulam Nabi Nizamani had to crawl over broken glass to get around. He’s now trying to persuade the government in Pakistan to set up a disability ministry to address such basic needs as wheelchair provision
ADAPT's long climb towards equality
On 1 May, the US campaigning organisation ADAPT celebrates its 25th birthday. Activist and singer-songwriter Alan Holdsworth, aka Johnny Crescendo, founder of the UK’s Disabled People’s Direct Action Network and an ADAPT member since 1993, describes ADAPT’s huge influence on the rights movement
A ticket to write
Journalist Linn Martinussen has had to fight the system in Norway to establish a career in journalism
On a roll to the Oval Office
The presidential race isn’t just Republicans vs Democrats. lndependent candidate Frank Moore wants to become the first disabled president since Roosevelt
No tickets to work
The United States has a reputation for leading the rest of the world when it comes to disability rights, but the reality is somewhat different, says Robin Wenz
Care Kenyan-style
Despite widespread poverty, Kenyan society manages to find ways to support disabled people to live independently, says Juliet Barnes
China’s rocky road to rights
83 million disabled people may appear to have rights, but Stephen Hallett says repression lurks just beneath the surface.