Invisible rights of people with disabilities

The estimated 5000 visually impaired persons currently living in Bosnia and Herzegovina experience discrimination in obtaining employment, making living with a disability even more difficult. Although the rights of disabled persons to equal treatment in the process of employment is guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities as well as the BiH Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, these rights are often not observed.

Does the system work?

“The system is not the issue, people are,” says Fata Nadarevic, President of the Cantonal Court in Bihac. “A disabled person is entitled to a certain number of points that puts them at an advantage over other candidates,” says Nadarevic. However, she stresses how some employers go to great lengths to circumvent the procedures because of preconceived ideas about what disabled people are capable of.

Last year, Judge Nadarevic took a stand and offered an internship to a blind person for the first time within the Cantonal Court. Despite Sandra Jasarevic Merdzanovic having had the highest marks of three top candidates, Nadarevic had to overcome pressure from her colleagues to sign the decision to employ Sandra. “It was hard to believe that legal professionals would act that way. I could not allow a breach of her basic human rights.”

Sandra discovered her passion for law in elementary school when she read about children’s rights. Later on, she became a member of the debate club at her school, after which she decided to pursue legal studies at undergraduate and graduate levels.

During her studies Sandra relied on modern technology, family members and colleagues to help her study.  “We don’t have specialized libraries so we get books that we need for school from the regular libraries and then adjust them to our needs,” says Sandra. 

So far, the OSCE Mission to BiH donated nearly 40,000 books to over 90 school and town libraries across BiH and made several donations in equipment to the Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired library necessary for digitizing its book supplies.

“People without disabilities should give a chance to the disabled to prove themselves, to show what they are capable of, and in return, we [people with disabilities] should give a chance to others to show how sensible they are. We should not make any judgments in advance,” says Sandra.

Leading by example

The OSCE Mission to BiH welcomed Nadarevic’s decision to set an example for other institutions, especially because of the Mission’s engagement in developing the law prohibiting discrimination and monitoring its implementation. The Mission donated a scanner compatible with screen reader software to the Court.

“With the right conditions now in place I believe that Sandra will be the most successful intern we have ever had,” says Nadarevic.

Social psychologist Mirela Mujagic describes how a lack of knowledge on how to work with people with disabilities as well as limitations to the infrastructure, prevent opportunities for socializing with disabled people. “People with disabilities who went through socialization processes both while growing up and in school should not experience any major adjustment issues to a work environment.”

Mujagic will monitor and document Sandra’s progress at the Cantonal Court in Bihac. “We will measure Sandra’s expectations, self-confidence, and responses to different types of obstacles encountered during her two-year tenure,” says Mujagic.

The results of this study will be shared with other public institutions, aiming to highlight the importance of supporting people with disabilities to find a job and choose a career.

Potential in all people

“The opportunities for people with disabilities are minimal. Sandra is a positive example many can learn from. Our job, and the job of our communities, is to educate everyone in the government about the potential of people with disabilities so they would be welcomed with open doors,” adds Mujagic.

Prospective employers are called upon to demonstrate that disabled persons are equal to everyone else. “The only difference between us is that people with disabilities need more effort to prevail,” adds Nadarevic. “Let us allow such individuals to realize their given rights to think, work, form their own families, and ultimately live a normal life.”