From her window 61-year-old Radif Shamoyan can just about see the benches under the mulberry tree outside, where locals gather every evening to talk about the day’s events. The last time Shamoyan was able to join in the conversation was nearly 10 years ago. Since then, she has been a virtual prisoner in her home.



Shamoyan has been unable to walk since an accident when she was 19, but says she would be able to get around in her wheelchair perfectly well – if only she could get it out of the flat.

The problem is that her neighbours have built a storage room near the entrance to the building, blocking the space where Shamoyan had hoped to install a ramp for her chair.

She tried to take her neighbours to court to force them to remove the store room, but the case failed because she was unable to afford a lawyer. The court ruled that she had not provided sufficient evidence to support her case.

“I have to ask someone to do all the shopping for me,” she said. “It is not easy to ask people every time. [But] I could do everything for myself, if I could just leave home.”

Shamoyan tried to appeal against the court’s decision, but the case was dismissed because it had not been lodged by a licensed advocate.

“When I received the response I felt bad, lost hope totally,” she said. “I wish the judges would put themselves in my place, just for a moment.”

Shamoyan’s particular problem may be unique, but the Armenian government’s failure to provide adequate facilities is a frustration she shares with almost 200,000 people with disabilities in the country.

Radif Shamoyan says she would be able to ive an independent life if she could only leave home. Photograph: Mushegh Hovsepyan

According to a recent survey by the advocacy group Agat, eight percent of Armenian women with disabilities are not able to leave their homes more than a few times a year.

A Unicef report in 2012 found that up to 200 girls with disabilities have never left home, or only go out when visiting the doctor.

In 2010 Armenia ratified the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, yet activists say the government has failed to implement its recommendations.

“The authorities of Armenia don’t think that the provision of facilities is their responsibility,” said Zaruhi Batoyan, the president of Armenia’s National Disability Advocacy Coalition. “They say they cannot afford it because of financial problems, but they always find resources for buying new government cars or upgrading officials’ offices.”

Despite this lack of care from authorities, Shamoyan has not given up. When her appeal was refused she applied to the European Court of Human Rights to have her neighbour’s store room declared illegal.

Last year the court ruled that her right to a fair trial had been violated, but Armenians authorities have yet to respond. The local municipality said it had no knowledge of the ECHR’s ruling and refused to comment on the case.

In the meantime Shamoyan’s health has deteriorated, but she says she will keep on fighting. She believes that a new government is needed to improve facilities for people with disabilities, and is determined to vote during next year’s election.

As is customary in Armenia, where there is no postal voting, she will have to rely on political parties to take her to the polling station. “If they know where I am, they will come, carry me and take me in order to get a vote,” she said.