Language and Terminology Policy

Person before disability

We use "persons with disabilities" throughout, consistent with the CRPD and Egyptian Law 10/2018. We avoid "the disabled", which reduces a person to a single attribute; "special needs", which sounds gentle but obscures legal obligation — what a disabled person needs is not special, but ordinary rights others receive automatically, and the phrase moves the claim from the terrain of entitlement to the terrain of sympathy; and formulations like "people of determination", which place the burden of heroism on the individual rather than the obligation of barrier removal on society, and which many organisations of persons with disabilities reject for themselves.

We also avoid "suffers from", "afflicted with", and "wheelchair-bound" — a wheelchair grants mobility rather than confining anyone; the accurate phrase is "uses a wheelchair". And we avoid "normal" as the counterpart to "disabled", which builds a false binary; where a comparison is needed, we write "persons without disabilities".

Naming belongs to the named

Some people prefer other terms for themselves and are entirely entitled to. Parts of the Deaf community prefer "Deaf" as a cultural and linguistic identity rather than a disability, and many autistic people prefer identity-first language.

When a person speaks about themselves, we use the term they choose, even where it departs from our general policy. The policy governs the site's voice, not people's own.

Framing in images and stories

We do not publish a disabled person's story as "inspiration" for others simply because they are living their life — a framing that recasts ordinary life as extraordinary achievement and diverts attention from real barriers. We do not use the language of giving and charity where the subject is a guaranteed right; the distance between "we provided for them" and "they obtained their right" is the distance between two entire models. And we do not publish images of disabled people to provoke sympathy: every image serves specific content, with documented informed consent.

Plain language is not a concession

We write in clear Arabic accessible to the non-specialist reader. Technical terms are used where necessary, explained at first use, and linked to their glossary entry. We are working towards Easy Read versions of the content most relevant to people with intellectual disabilities, beginning with the rights gateway.

Arabic terms and English equivalents

We give the English equivalent at first use of any technical term, since many readers know the concept in English before Arabic and it enables recourse to original sources. Where multiple Arabic translations exist for one term, we give the wording used in the official Arabic text of the Convention or the law, then the form common in professional use where it differs — and legal citation always uses the official wording, even where the alternative reads more clearly.

One lens is never enough

Disability is not lived apart from gender, poverty, place, and age. Where it is relevant, we name it, and we avoid treating persons with disabilities as a single homogeneous bloc, because they are not.

This policy is revisable

Language changes, and Arabic terminology in this field is still settling. If you think one of our choices is wrong, or that a better formulation exists, write to us. We review this page every twelve months and whenever official texts change.

info@aymaneltantawy.com