Contesting disabling conditions of life in the Global South: disability activists' and service providers' experiences in Guyana

This article addresses an important gap in our understanding of issues of impairment and disability, namely challenges facing disabled activists and service providers in the majority world context of the developing nation of Guyana. The article argues that developing a southern standpoint on impairm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Disability & society 2015-01, Vol.30 (1), p.1-14
Main Author: Chouinard, Vera
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activism
Activists
Capitalism
Constraints
Context
Cultural barriers
Cultural identity
Delivery Systems
Developing countries
Disability
disability activism and service provision
Disability Studies
Distributive Justice
Financial Services
Foreign Aid
Global South
Guyana
Human Rights
Identity
impairment
Internalization
Majorities
Physically Handicapped
Political majority
Political Participation
Politics
Quality of Life
Services
Visibility
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Description
Summary:This article addresses an important gap in our understanding of issues of impairment and disability, namely challenges facing disabled activists and service providers in the majority world context of the developing nation of Guyana. The article argues that developing a southern standpoint on impairment, disability, disability activism and service provision requires a reframing of disability issues as matters of distributive justice and not only human rights. Challenges facing disability activists and service providers in Guyana included trying to combat internalized ableism, financial and cultural barriers to political engagement and visibility, tensions in claiming or rejecting disabled identities and difficulties in accessing foreign aid funding for disability initiatives. The article concludes by stressing the importance of rethinking how we do disability studies so that it allows critical analysis of the dynamics of a global capitalist corporeal class order in the context of the majority world.
ISSN:0968-7599
1360-0508
DOI:10.1080/09687599.2014.986565