“Now people with disabilities can confidently vote”

For years, Eveline has been a driving force behind disability rights in Cameroon. In early October 2025, as the country was preparing for a presidential election, Eveline was reshaping how people with disabilities have their say on the ballot paper.

Eveline describes herself simply: “I have always been a leader.” Before she became visually impaired, she organised community development projects. But her path soon changed when she lost her sight. She says: “I joined the community of people with disabilities. There was a very big need to be able to change their conditions. And then we started working.”

Eveline used her passion and knowledge to establish the Cameroon Association for Blind Women and joined several national organisations of people with disabilities. She soon noticed a substantial gap in the inclusion of people with disabilities in political processes and the problems this caused. “There is no way we stay behind politics because that is where decisions are made. You have to be where decisions are made. It’s very necessary, or some groups will be left behind,” explains Eveline.

When Sightsavers launched an inclusive citizenship programme in Cameroon with funding from Irish Aid, Eveline seized the opportunity to take part.

During a visit to Ghana with the African Union of the Blind, Eveline saw firsthand how tactile voting jackets (a ballot folder with braille markings) were changing how people with visual impairments could vote, enabling those who could read braille to differentiate between ballot papers and vote independently. Eveline shared this innovation with ELECAM, Cameroon’s election commission, which welcomed the idea and began collaborating on the rollout.

For Eveline, the jackets will have far-reaching consequences. She says: “Blind people in Cameroon have problems in voting. There’ll be people that want to help you at the polling station, but then they are influencing your vote.”

The jacket was first used in the October 2025 presidential election. Eveline was delighted with the initial response. “The tactile jacket has brought a lot of excitement among blind people. We will see the results of this work in the near future. I am sure when voting registration opens, we will see that more and more people who are blind will register because they can confidently vote now with the help of the tactile jacket,” she continues.

Although the tactile jacket has been a triumph, many barriers remain for people with disabilities in exercising their voting rights in Cameroon. These include disability stigma, limited awareness of rights, and inaccessible electoral infrastructure, technology and information. Recent evidence also shows that 67 per cent of countries still have constitutional or legal exceptions that restrict the right to vote for people with disabilities.

Taking part in elections isn’t the only political challenge facing women with disabilities. Running for office raises extra barriers. “As a woman with disability, you have to prove yourself beyond doubt that you are capable. You have to work extra hard,” says Eveline.