ŞÎNYAR BAYÎZ

Sulaymaniyah – Şadan Mehmud, who has a physical disability in her leg, has worked for 23 years. She has worked as a sewing teacher at the Hana Institute for 10 years by teaching women with disabilities how to sew. Stating that she loves her job, Şadan Mehmud said, “I feel stronger when I see people who want to learn. I teach women how to sew every day for about four hours. I care about women trying to make a living without being dependent on anyone else.”

“Workplace should be built for the people with disabilities”

Noting that the state should build workplaces for all citizens, particularly for the people with disabilities, Şadan Mehmûd continued to talk as follows: “The people with disabilities don’t have an official document to work. For this reason, many are now unemployed. In the past, the people with disabilities didn’t want to go out because they were prevented from doing what they wanted to do. Then, they had opportunities to work but their families didn’t allow them to work. But now, there is an increased awareness in society about the people with disabilities. Individuals and communities need to be conscious and act with the awareness of their responsibilities, not to offend the disabled.”

“Their families should support them”

Underlining that the families should support their children and if there is a person with disability in the family, they should support them more, Şadan Mehmûd said, “When I was in the third year of high school, I had to leave school due to challenges I faced. But my father supported me and I became a sewing teacher. Now, I have four children. I always worked and I will keep working.”