Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
In the heart of Ciudad Juárez, where university classrooms give shape to academic dreams, the story of Ana Lucía Almada, a student of the Visual Arts degree who has a motor disability and faces institutional barriers to continue her academic training, emerges.
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The Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez (UACJ) is considered a space for growth and development of thousands of professionals, but today, that same institution reveals a painful reality: the lack of accessibility for people with disabilities in the Institute of Architecture, Design and Art (IADA).
For this reason, this past Wednesday, the young woman filed a complaint before the State Human Rights Commission (CEDH) against the educational institution.
Ana Lucia, who moves with determination in her wheelchair, faces a challenge that goes beyond physical limits, as some of her classes are held in classrooms on the second floor of the IADA, which has become an obstacle to continuing her education.
However, this situation has also become a violation of her fundamental rights, especially the right to education, as Teresa Almada Mireles, Ana Lucia’s mother and director of the association Casa Promoción Juvenil, said.
She explained that they have delivered letters to the directors of the institute itself, to the coordinator of the career and also to the directors of the UACJ, in an attempt to make visible the reality faced by her daughter. However, she said that, so far, silence is the only response they have received.
Ana Lucia has faced difficulties to finish her first semester subjects. Not only because she is on a second floor, but also because she lacks mobility in one of her arms, which prevents her from holding some power tools that require mobility in both arms, an impossible task for her.
The complaint filed by Ana Lucia not only represents a defense (or demand) of her rights, as it is based on human rights violations, specifically those established in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but it is also significant for other students with disabilities who have faced similar situations to hers.
The also director of Casa Promoción Juvenil emphasized that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been ratified by Mexico, and recognizes the need for affirmative action and reasonable accommodation to ensure that persons with disabilities have full access to their rights, including access to education.
The mother of the young woman pointed out that the battle does not end with the filing of the complaint, as a conciliation will be convened and later work meetings will be held with those involved, with personnel from the State Human Rights Commission as intermediaries.
This with the hope of a palpable change focuses on the possibility of the UACJ taking concrete steps to improve accessibility on campus for people with disabilities.
In such a way that Ana Lucia Almada’s story is not only a denunciation, but an urgent call for reflection and action, as well as the pressing need to reform educational policies and practices to ensure equal opportunities.
In this regard, Yahir Hernandez, head of the preventive area of the State Human Rights Commission (CEDH) in Ciudad Juarez, explained that the complaints of people with disabilities have been mainly against government agencies and educational institutions.
He mentioned that the intention of denouncing this type of cases is to make visible the problems and that there are adjustments that derive from human reasoning, as well as accessibility must materialize to guarantee access to people with disabilities.
“One of the great challenges we have, at least in my experience, that we have been sharing with the public sector is precisely the educational issue. It is a challenge that is present, specifically because of the academic part of the programs, most of which are not harmonized with the possibility of being inclusive in terms of the teaching and learning process being meaningful based on the abilities of the person with disabilities,” he said.
He also mentioned that they are responsible for sensitivity, mobility and reasonable adjustments, as well as for socializing and materializing these terms, so that people with disabilities know that there is more access.
Meanwhile, the head of University Communication of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez (UACJ), Jesus Meza Vega, said that until December 14, 2023, the institution had no knowledge of the complaint filed with the State Human Rights Commission (CEDH).
“I inform you that it is a matter already known by the university, particularly by the Institute of Architecture, Design and Art, where follow-up has been given to meet the special requirements of the young woman. So much so that she has been able to cover and advance in a good part of her academic load, but any action that corresponds to address the complaint, when this is known formally will be addressed as required by the State Human Rights Commission,” he said.