Haya Al-Ashmouri: A Yemeni Woman Challenges Darkness and Lights the Path for 2000 Blind Women

SadaNews - The success story of 31-year-old Yemeni Haya Al-Ashmouri is not limited to her personal level; this success has turned into a lifeline and hope for nearly 2000 blind women across various Yemeni governorates, as she monitors their conditions and supports their needs through her diligent work at the "Al-Amān Association for the Care of Women with Visual Impairments".

Haya recalls the beginnings of her vision loss with a calm acceptance of fate, stating in an interview with "Al-Jazeera": "Losing my sight is undoubtedly difficult, but I have always believed that losing sight does not mean losing the world or hope".

Haya transformed this belief into fuel for her educational journey; with support from her family and the Al-Amān Association, the young Yemeni woman achieved a remarkable accomplishment by ranking sixth nationwide in the high school stage. She did not stop there; she graduated from university with a degree in International Business Management and is currently preparing to obtain her master’s degree from the University of Science and Technology in the capital, Sana'a.

Haya's journey was not paved with roses; alongside the challenge of her disability, she faced societal and logistical obstacles that can be summarized in two points: society's dual perspective, which Haya describes as swinging between "excessive pity" that reinforces disability and "devaluation" that deprives the blind of opportunity and merit, as well as logistical challenges that include the scarcity of audiobooks for graduate students, the absence of suitable infrastructure, and a transportation crisis that restricts the mobility of blind women to access training and work.

Despite this, Haya firmly asserts: "I have always believed that I must reach my goal, even if difficulties stand in my way; I must overcome them".

Today, Haya surpasses her personal ambitions to lead change as the monitoring and evaluation officer at the "Al-Amān Association for the Care of Women with Visual Impairments", where her efforts and the activities of the association focus on continuously following up with more than 2000 Yemeni blind women via phone and digital means to assess their needs.

Among the most prominent services provided by the association is educational and rehabilitation support through teaching the "Braille" method, providing accessible curricula and audiobooks, as well as offering training programs that help blind women become self-reliant and integrate into society. In the digital space, Haya is active on social media platforms defending the rights of people with disabilities and rectifying the stereotypes surrounding them.

On the occasion of the International Day of Audiovisual Disability, which falls today (June 27), Haya Al-Ashmouri sends an inspiring message to all those going through a similar experience: "Disability is never the end of the road; rather, it is the beginning of a path filled with dreams, ambitions, and goals. This challenge gives its bearers a stronger motivation to succeed because we possess the will".

Source: Al-Jazeera