Hiljmnijeta Apuk

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Hiljmnijeta Apuk (born 1956) is a Kosovan campaigner for the rights of people of short stature. In 2013, she was a recipient of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.

Biography[]

Hiljmnijeta Apuk was born in 1956 in the city of Mitrovica, Kosovo, in what was then Yugoslavia. Her family is Bosniak.[1][2] Apuk was born with disproportionately low growth.[1] Her parents were supportive of her efforts to gain independence, for example through helping to adapt her car so she would be able to reach the pedals, and she obtained a driver's license at age 18. This opened the door for her to pursue education, and she went on to study economics and law.[3]

Apuk has been an activist for the rights of people with disabilities, particularly those with muscular dystrophy and dwarfism, since the 1980s.[4][5] She is the founding director of the non-governmental organization Little People of Kosovo.[4][5][6] The organization was founded after the end of the Kosovo War in 1999, inspired by the U.S. organization Little People of America.[3]

Through the organization and other volunteer work, she fights for employment opportunities for people with disabilities.[4][5] She is also active in campaigning for women and girls with disabilities, who face an intersection of discrimination.[3]

Apuk served as a member of the United Nations General Assembly's ad hoc committee on drafting the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[1][5] She is also an artist, whose work aims to center what she calls the "authentic culture" of people with disabilities[4][7]

In 2013, she received the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for her activist work.[1][4]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Loxha, Amra Zejneli (2013-12-14). "Priznanje UN uklesalo Kosovo među svetske borce za ljudska prava". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  2. ^ "Droits de l'homme : 4 activistes majeurs dont on parle peu". Toneo First (in French). 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Gender equality reduces poverty". Source. November 2015. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai among winners of 2013 UN human rights prize". UN News. 2013-12-05. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Winners of the United Nations Human Rights Prize for 2013 announced". OHCR. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  6. ^ "Apuk: Položaj osoba sa invaliditetom je loš u svim oblastima života". KIM radio (in Bosnian). 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  7. ^ Rethinking disability: world perspectives in culture and society. Patrick Devlieger (Second ed.). Antwerp. 2016. ISBN 90-441-3417-5. OCLC 952790140.CS1 maint: others (link)
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