Sylff News

Hisayo Katsui, a Sylff fellow from the University of Helsinki (2002) has published a book titled Human Rights and International Cooperation: Human Rights-Based Approach and Lived Experiences of Ugandan Women with Disabilities.

Human Rights and International Cooperation: Human Rights-Based Approach and Lived Experiences of Ugandan Women with Disabilities

She is currently a research and development manager at the Abilis Foundation in Helsinki, a development fund founded by people with disabilities in Finland in 1998. Its mandate is to support the activities leading to the empowerment of disabled persons in the developing countries of the Global South.

The focus of her book is Uganda, a Southern country that has a progressive Constitution, which is often cited as a “human rights charter.” Uganda was one of the first countries to acknowledge sign language as the official language for deaf people in its Constitution in 1995, together with the Slovak Republic and Finland.

Furthermore, Uganda has an affirmative action quota system, with five members of Parliament representing persons with disabilities—an outstanding achievement of the disability movement. These are the factors that persuaded Katsui to choose Uganda as her case country.

Believing that information useful for the disability movement should be provided freely, the book is not meant for profit making. It can be downloaded, chapter by chapter, from the link below.

Disability Rights in Uganda - Research Blog