Malian Disability Rights Advocates Demand Action on Inclusion and Equal Opportunities
In a powerful appeal to national authorities, the Malian Association of Jurists with Disabilities (AMJH) has called for urgent measures to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities, framing the issue as critical to social peace and national development.
A Call for Recognition and Respect
The association held an awareness-raising press conference on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at the National Judicial Training Institute. AMJH President Moussa Kono Lelinta delivered a compelling address, stating that while rights exist on paper, they require genuine promotion to become meaningful.
“Our rights are not well recognized, yet they must be genuinely promoted to become factors of social peace and collective fulfillment when fully realized,” Lelinta declared. “This could positively impact our daily lives. To achieve this, we must move beyond the stereotypes, prejudices, and clichés that victimize us.”
Systemic Barriers and Professional Stagnation
The conference, themed “Emerging Challenges in Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Persons with Visual Disabilities,” highlighted systemic discrimination facing the community. Lelinta detailed how qualified individuals with disabilities frequently face barriers to advancement despite their capabilities.
“We rarely receive study abroad scholarships, despite often having excellent academic performance,” he noted. “The same applies to career advancement. It’s not uncommon to see persons with disabilities remaining in the same position for 10, 15, or 20 years.”
The president further lamented that prejudice often blocks economic opportunities. “Our projects don’t get funded due to prejudices and stereotypes. People think we’re incapable,” he said, highlighting how misconceptions create practical barriers to participation in Mali’s development.
Progress Made, But Implementation Lags
Speaker Mohamed El Moctar Mahamar acknowledged some governmental efforts, including increasing quotas for persons with disabilities in civil service competitions and the recent dedication of an entire week to disability issues during the Month of Solidarity.
Mali has also enacted legal frameworks to support disability rights, having ratified “the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its optional protocol.” However, Mahamar emphasized that significant implementation gaps remain.
Bridging the Policy-Practice Divide
According to Mahamar, the crucial next step involves giving practical effect to these international and national instruments. “We must immediately give effect to these international and national instruments by implementing accessibility to public services,” he urged.
He specifically advocated for developing and generalizing Braille writing to facilitate knowledge access for persons with visual disabilities, noting that physical and informational accessibility remains a substantial barrier.
The Psychological Dimension of Inclusion
While calling on the state to expedite inclusion efforts, Mahamar also addressed the need for psychological shifts within the disability community itself.
“Persons with visual disabilities must first remove the disability from their minds and tell themselves: ‘I am a human being, and as such, I have rights, and I work to make these rights effective,'” he advised. “Because all of this is psychological.”
This dual approach—combining policy reform with changing societal attitudes—represents the comprehensive strategy advocates believe necessary to achieve meaningful inclusion.
Source: Original reporting by Ousmane Tangara