Maselina Iuta

Samoa

Human rights of persons with disabilities

Maselina Iuta (she/her) is one of the founders of Deaf Association of Samoa, an organisation which advocates for the development of inclusive opportunities, policies and legislation for Deaf and hearing-impaired persons in Samoa – and also the only organisation governed and led by persons who are Deaf.

Through the Association, and working with the Deaf community in Samoa, Maselina provides a range of Deaf-led human rights education initiatives and advocates for participation of Deaf and hearing-impaired persons in all aspects of society.

She also works a lot with Deaf people in rural areas to identify ways to address the specific barriers they experience, and advocates at community and national level for the realisation of their rights as guided by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Maselina is the regional winner for the 2020 Commonwealth Youth Award and is one of five winners from around the world.

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“We are not all born with equal access, and it can be difficult to advocate for ourselves if we don’t know what our rights are.”

Discussion questions

Maselina acknowledges that, as a deaf child, she felt very isolated growing up. Why may persons with disabilities feel isolated?

What specific human rights challenges do persons with disabilities face in your school, community or country, and what can be done to overcome these challenges? How can human rights education help?

According to Maselina, understanding that persons with disabilities have human rights as any other people was a decisive moment in her life. What benefits do you see in having all people, including persons with disabilities, learning about human rights?

Maselina is considered as a role model for persons with disability in Samoa and beyond. Why is it important for groups in situations of vulnerability, such as persons with disabilities, to have such leading figures?