Paper short abstract:

In Tigray region, people with physical disability are called «gudat akal» that litterally means «damaged body». This paper aims to explore the local perceptions about different kinds of physical impairments and the differences in their management .

Paper long abstract:

ICF (International Classification of Functioning) of the World Health Organization states that disability is an «umbrella» term to define a functional difficulty either at an individual or social participation level.

The World Report on Disability estimates that in Ethiopia there are 15 million people with disability and that the disabling factors are numerous and varied. In this local context an anthropological approach to the focus of disability has to shed light on which kinds of physical impairments are perceived as «disabling» for the life of a person.

During my ethnographic fieldwork in the cities of Mekelle, the capital of the regional state of Tigray, and Wukro I collected life stories of people with disability to reflect about the different perceptions and the different management of disability. The analysis of this material reveals a «local» classification that shows axes that differ in some ways from the global ones. The acquisition mode of the disability, for example, is an important axis that determines the perception of the disability and its management.

A lot of social actors, from the family to governmental and private institutions, play a role in the management of disability and programmes range from physical rehabilitation to social «integration» of people with disabilities.

Trough the life stories of disabled people met on the field, I'll try to outline the different representations of disability, the different systems of «taking care» displayed by public and private institutions with the purpose of highlighting inequalities.