Article 30 – Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport.

Initially he enjoyed adulation afterwards.

States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life and shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities.

However, he has said he's since endured being filmed and laughed at in the street on a daily basis.

Enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats.

He has spoken frankly on his plight and has called for society to challenge such behaviour.

Enjoy access to television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, in accessible formats.

Do you know what it's like to be looked at and laughed at every single day?

Enjoy access to places for cultural performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas, libraries and tourism services, and, as far as possible, enjoy access to monuments and sites of national cultural importance.

Because I do. And I'm absolutely sick to death of it.

States Parties shall take appropriate measures to enable persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, artistic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.

The nature of his abuse isn't confined to just one or two ways.

States Parties shall take all appropriate steps, in accordance with international law, to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.

"I face a lot of public abuse. This includes photography, being filmed, laughed at, pointed at, stared at. The list goes on."

Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.

With a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, States Parties shall take appropriate measures.

To encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels.

"We're not that common so the way people see us is through film and that's the way they learn about us and that's the way they think we are in real life when it's completely the opposite."

To ensure that persons with disabilities have an opportunity to organize, develop and participate in disability-specific sporting and recreational activities and, to this end, encourage the provision, on an equal basis with others, of appropriate instruction, training and resources.

The games represented a celebration of different types of disabilities, but that changed when the team returned home.

To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sporting, recreational and tourism venues.

"I just became a member of the public once again," he continued.

To ensure that children with disabilities have equal access with other children to participation in play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities, including those activities in the school system.

"And the abuse started again. It was like night and day and I think that's one of the things that made it even more upsetting."

To ensure that persons with disabilities have access to services from those involved in the organization of recreational, tourism, leisure and sporting activities.

Are you comfortable yet?

‍

Anahita Harding is a British Iranian artist who works with performance and collage.