Turkish lawmaker aims to bring the disabled out of the shadows

Turkish lawmaker aims to bring the disabled out of the shadows
Safak Pavey has been credited with engaging disenfranched Turks, from women to the disabled, in politics. Courtesy of Safak Pavey
Turkish lawmaker aims to bring the disabled out of the shadows
Safak Pavey has been credited with engaging disenfranched Turks, from women to the disabled, in politics. Courtesy of Safak Pavey

Turkish lawmaker aims to bring the disabled out of the shadows

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Though rapidly modernizing, Turkey is behind in offering basic rights to its 8.5 million disabled citizens.

Şafak Pavey, who lost an arm and a leg in a train accident in Switzerland, is the first disabled woman elected to parliament. She explains why she left her job as secretary of the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and returned home to give voice to Turkey’s disabled.