Session Facilitator: Ekaete Umoh
Day 2 of our Advocacy Training was nothing short of transformational. The session, led by the powerful and seasoned disability rights advocate Ekaete Umoh, Chairperson – FACICP, challenged us to confront deeply rooted cultural perceptions of disability and to rebuild our understanding from a rights-based lens.
The session began with a powerful cultural reflection exercise. Participants examined how disability is described in their native languages — Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Tandali, and others.
From terms equating disability with:
“madness”
“problem”
“sickness”
“cannot walk”
“cannot talk”
“blind” as insult
to even sarcastic “positive” labels that were revealed to be patronising rather than empowering.
Across languages, one common denominator emerged:
Stereotype. Stigma. Discrimination.
Madam Ekaete guided participants to see that while these words may feel culturally normal, they are socially constructed labels that confine, diminish, and dehumanise.
The Shredding Exercise: A Defining Moment
In one of the most symbolic activities of the day, participants wrote down these harmful labels and were instructed to shred them.
As the papers tore, so did the symbolic grip of stigma.
Her voice rang clearly through the room:
“If we all agree that this is so horrible, it’s bad, we don’t want to continue with this — never again.”
And later, reinforcing the deeper truth:
“Disability is a construct. It’s something that is abstract.”
This was a critical shift. Disability is not something you can “touch” or “see” as a defect. What we often see are societal barriers — not personal limitations.
From Cultural Perception to Disability Models
Madam Ekaete then took us deeper into understanding the evolution of disability discourse:
– Medical Model – Disability as an individual defect to be fixed.
– Charity Model – Disability as an object of pity.
– Social Model – Society as the barrier.
– Human Rights Model – Persons with disabilities as rights holders.
She emphasised that advocacy without grounding in these models weakens our voice. If we speak apologetically, we reinforce charity. If we speak from knowledge, we reinforce rights.
Her challenge to us as advocates:
Speak from strength.
Advocate from knowledge.
Reframe the narrative.
Key Takeaways from Day 2
Language shapes perception.
Culture can reinforce stigma — unless challenged.
Disability is not inability; it is interaction with barriers.
Advocacy must be grounded in the Human Rights Model.
Inclusion requires intentional unlearning.
Day 2 was not just a lecture.
It was a mindset reset.
As advocates, we left with shredded stereotypes in our hands and renewed conviction in our voices.
The work continues — but now, with clarity.
