PGR shines spotlight on disability rights at international conference
The School of Law celebrates the continued achievements of Postgraduate Researcher, Maral Nosratzadeh, who continues to lead groundbreaking work at the intersection of disability and law.
Maral Nosratzadeh, a postgraduate researcher at the School of Law, recently took part in the International Conference on Disability Rights, hosted by the University of the Free State from 24 to 26 April 2024. Under the theme ‘Taking a transformative approach to inclusion and equality: A disability rights perspective’, this global gathering provided a vital platform to explore experiences, strategies, and actions aimed at advancing inclusion and equality for persons with disabilities across Africa and beyond.
At the conference, Maral delivered a presentation titled ‘Access to Advocacy for Securing Disabled People's Rights to Independent Living’. Drawing from her ongoing PhD research, Maral's paper delved into the crucial role of government-operated advocacy support, such as statutory advocacy, in promoting and asserting the right to independent living and community inclusion for individuals with disabilities.
Maral shares this about her participation,
Reflecting on an incredible International Conference on Disability Rights, I am very delighted to have had opportunity to attend the conference and engage with a wide diversity of stakeholders, practitioners, academics, and researchers from various fields.
Disability remains one of the key barriers to the establishment of an inclusive society given that it has become the basis for discrimination and consequently a violation of fundamental rights and dignity of disabled people. Therefore, it increasingly important to talk about disability related issues and collaborate with others to preserve disabled people’s rights. It was great to be able to share my work at this conference and sharing my enthusiasm beyond Leeds.
Beyond her scholarly endeavours, Maral serves as an Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Ambassador and an Educational Outreach Fellow for the School of Law. She is also an active member of various advocacy networks, including the Disabled Students Peer Network, the Centre for Disability Studies, the Centre for Law and Social Justice and the Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education. She is highly passionate about disabled people’s rights, inclusivity in higher education and access to peer support for disabled students at university.
We are immensely proud of Maral's achievements and look forward to witnessing her continued impact in the field of disability rights.
