Ladies and gentlemen, lend me your ears!

Hello and welcome to my new blog.

By way of introduction, I am Yvette Wiid. I am a 20-something woman, on the first rung of a very long ladder towards becoming a (hopefully) respected legal academic. I have a Bachelor's and Master's degree in law, and I am am currently writing a PhD thesis on disability, law and related issues, which will form the main subject matter of this blog. I also lecture at a respected university in the Western Cape, South Africa.


Pleased to make your acquaintance.

For my first post, I feel it is important, nay, necessary, to look at a few key concepts in the world of disability and disabled persons. (Note, disabled persons, not disabled people - 'persons' is more personable!)

1. Disability: Umm. Well. Tricky one, this. There is no set definition of disability, not in South African law, anyway. There are a number of concepts and ideas about what a disability is, but to be frank, nobody really knows. Which is why I've chosen to write a thesis about it :)

2. Accessibility: One of the major problems facing persons with disabilities is that they simply struggle to get to where they need to be - physically, professionally and otherwise. Accessibility is arguably one of the most important issues that need to be addressed by governments, cities and countries around the world in order to ensure that persons with disabilities are fully integrated into non-disabled society.


3. Universal design: Linked to the concept of accessibility, universal design refers to the notion that cities need to be developed and constructed in such a way that disabled persons are able (see what I did there?) to move around freely and, in so doing, become independent, fully participating members of the broader society.


I believe that's it for Disability Studies 101. On a more personal note, I am currently writing the third chapter of my thesis. I find it to be suspiciously easy going. Id the hard stuff going to hit me all at once? Or am I just fooling myself into believing I can cope with the workload I've set myself? Perhaps I shall experience another year sans the festive season!

Thanks for taking the time to read my few words. I do hope that you will join me in learning about disability and the challenges faced by persons with disabilities. Hey, you never know - one of the future posts on this blog could bring about the change that is so desperately needed.

Until we read again.
Y