Ann Ojugo is the chairperson of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Edo State. Although confined to a wheelchair from the age of six as a result of Polio, She has, however shattered the glass ceiling to earn a Bachelor Degree in Public Administration from Ambrose University, Ekpoma , Edo State and also undergone certificate courses in Disability Management and Prevention in and outside Nigeria. She spoke with FRANCIS OGBUAGU on her difficult journey had through life Excerpts…
What are the challenges faced by your organisation?
The challenges we face at the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) Edo State are enormous, the major one is lack of funds, when you are leading an organisation like JONAPWD, you need to have money to take care of the members and run the administrative aspect of the organisation. Unfortunately, we don’t have the funds to run the organisation, as it is the organisation of people living with disabilities. Most of those in JONAPWD are not working, so we depend on our N100.00 monthly contribution by our members. So with the paucity of funds, when our members have problems, you will find out that we may not do much, just like some of our members had accident some time ago, but we didn’t have enough money to assist them. So fund is number one, then the second one is that many of our members are not working as a result of that they cannot take care of themselves (That is their personal needs). But whatever it is, we thank God.
Does that mean that the larger society dont aid ypur organisation?
In the larger society what we face is discrimination and exclusion on our day to day activities. Some of us have been victimised that if you go to our places of work, people still use some foul languages, even some of our bosses still see us as disable people that should be taken care of and not as people that have something to offer to the society. These are some of the big challenges we face. But for me I believe that I can do it, just give me an enabling environment where we can thrive. When I say environment, I mean making buildings and places like markets, schools, churches and other public places accessible for people like me who are using wheelchair. But you can see that we are still having barriers all over the places. For instance, we could not deliver our speech here in the conference centre because we cannot access the room. These barriers are all over the place. Even those of us who sell in the market, people don’t even buy from them. There is this cultural norms and belief that disabilities is something extra ordinary, or that the person is responsible for his or her problems.
During your briefing you said that women with disability suffer discrimination in marriage, how can this be?
This is the worst form of discrimination we go through. I am following up a video of a sister who is accusing a Prophet of stealing her baby. We are following carefully to know if it is true or otherwise. The people who made the video where asking her to tell them about her husband and we discovered that she had four children for a man who never loved her, but was only coming to relax with her and maybe in the process, she had those babies and she is happy at least she has gotten children, but is that marriage? If you see women with disabilities with children, it is either by luck or by chance. Check those of them that are happily married. Those are successful women who have made a lot of sacrifices to make the marriage work. These women had gone to school, and have good jobs. Men don’t just come to marry women with disabilities. Even when they really want to marry the women, the man’s family will say no, I didn’t give birth to a disabled woman and wouldn’t want one by marriage. Some men even when they make up their mind you see some friends telling them; ae you sure this woman can give birth? And things like that. Even some people ask us silly questions like do you feel like a woman? But as I sit down here now, I only have challenges with my legs, I don’t have challenges with other parts of my body. It is the same way God designed other women’s bodies He made me. So it is ridiculous to ask me, do you feel like other women, can you give birth? So when you see a woman with disability in marriage, it is just by chance, most of the marriages are not borne out of love. Can you imagine a woman going into marriage with a man who never loves her? You can imagine a woman with disability, who has no job, becoming pregnant and the man abandoned her without care. When the child is born, he will eat and will grow up to go to school, most times you see these children in the streets begging and Wheeling their mothers begging for arms. So it is all about dex and not altruistic love? So emotional torture is the highest discrimination women with disabilities pass through. People are bias against women living with disabilities. I asked you people how many of you can marry a woman with disabilities, and nobody said yes. Even as beautiful as I am, I know some men may want to have a fling, but nobody will have the courage to marry her. I am saying it because I am a woman with disabilities, I have gone through this torture as a young girl, in the university, during my NYSC programme and even at the work place. I have suffered molestation. We see all these when we go for our women meetings. Most of the men abandoned those ladies when they impregnate them. There was a case of a sister in Igueben Local Government Area, who just passed on. She was blind and was living alone and a man was coming to sleep with her and in the process she became pregnant, but unknown to her, the man got abortion pills for her. It was days after she died that her neighbours began to perceive offensive odour from her room and on a check it was found out that she has died. After an autopsy was carried out it was discovered that she was pregnant and that she took abortion pills which killed her. I am sure she was not aware that the drug given to her was to abort the baby. The reason is that no woman with disabilities will ever think of going to get abortion pills, rather she would be happy that despite her condition she has gotten someone that will take care of her in old age. Even men with disabilities don’t like marrying women with disabilities. Though, I don’t encourage men with disabilities to marry women in the same condition, because it is going to be double tragedy, but in sharing of offices and property men always have upper hand.
On a personal note, have you suffered any sort of sexual harassment?
Oh, for sure. I have suffered so much of sexual harassment, and that is why I am so bitter when it comes to issues bordering on sexual assault. I don’t want any of my women to go through what I have gone through . I was actually ‘disvirgined’ through rape by a boy who lived then with a Catholic priest and I dared not say it out.
He was living with our priest then and I went to tell the priest, the priest was mad at the boy and said what?
How can you do that? He summoned the boy and his parents and they came with other people, who said I was telling a lie, that the boy did not do that. But fortunately when the boy was running away, he left one of his sandals and I brought it to the priest and told them that the sandal belongs to John. When he wore it, it was perfectly his size and that was what saved me.
And some turned and were saying, she ought to be happy that she sees a man coming to sleep with her in this her condition. As a growing child then I have seen people who brought N20 and told me, if you agree and have sex with me, I will give you this money. May be it was God guiding me then and the fact that I never wanted to mar my education, I wanted to at least get to a level. Even today some people even come to me, others on social media platform like Facebook , people still send nude pictures and others.
