Abstract
Two household surveys completed with qualitative interviews were carried out in 2013 and 2014 in Morocco and Tunisia, two countries which ratified the United Nations convention of the rights of persons with disabilities and actively engaged in innovative policies to promote those rights. The two surveys look at inequalities among persons with disabilities in terms of capabilities, i.e. real opportunities a person has to live the life she values. Based on the capability approach of Amartya Sen, analysis presented in this study show an important gap in terms of education, employment and health related quality of life – a somehow more narrow perspective on wellbeing than the one proposed by Sen, but nevertheless interesting to compare two populations – for persons with disabilities compared to the rest of the population in both countries. If the situation seems improved for the new generation compared to their parents’ generation, access to education – which is a right for children with disabilities in Morocco and Tunisia – is far from being secured in both countries. Similarly, access to employment of persons with disabilities remains uncertain, in more precarious jobs and for lower wages than the rest of the working age population. Social exclusion that persons with disabilities face – as shown in the case of education and employment – have a considerable cost in terms of health related quality of life estimated to be the equivalent of a reduction of 20 and 18 years, respectively in Morocco and Tunisia, of the average life expectancy of persons in good health and without a disability. The recent policy against discrimination and for the promotion of the rights of the persons with disabilities are going in the right direction but a strong political will is required for them to become long term. Civil society has an important role to play to keep the current momentum.
Published Version
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