Fatma Mustafa, a 24-year-old woman with a physical disability from Aswan, joined the EOSD-supported Community Participation Project organised by a local CSO at a time when her role in civil society was limited to routine administrative volunteering. While she had the motivation and education, societal stereotypes around disability prevented her from accessing leadership roles or meaningful responsibility.
Through a year-long, inclusive capacity-building journey, Fatma acquired concrete skills in digital literacy, research methodologies, communication, and business administration – in an environment where persons with and without disabilities were trained together. This equal-footing approach proved transformative. Today, Fatma is a member of her association’s General Assembly and leads the disability inclusion file, including managing beneficiary data systems and coordinating outreach to persons with disabilities and their families. Her role is no longer symbolic: she is now a decision-maker shaping how inclusion is practiced institutionally.
