Since her time at the Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD) 2010, Asia Yaghi has continued her bold leadership and made a significant impact in her home country.
As President and co-founder of I Am Human, Asia works to ensure that Jordanians with disabilities understand and can exercise their legal rights. Former member Asia also serves on the Board of the Jordanian National Center for Human Rights, and is a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF).
In 2022, Asia rose to national leadership as a member of the Jordanian Senate. As a Senator, Asia is a vocal advocate for enforcing laws that prohibit disability discrimination, expanding access and inclusion, and allocating financial resources to strengthen disability programs.
Asia credits her experience at WILD for shaping many of the strategies that guide her leadership, activism and advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities in her country.
“As a woman with disability, it is important that I speak for my own rights. It is crucial we empower people with disabilities to speak for their own rights and include them in the decision-making process, hence ‘nothing about us without us’. Most people don’t know that there are laws to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. I want to change that by making them more aware of their rights.”
Asia, we applaud your continued leadership, and we are proud of all you have accomplished since your time at WILD. We look forward to seeing the impact you will continue to make.