Posted Tue, 11/30/2010 - 9:06am by Matt Itelson

Disabled children face enormous challenges in Yara Afshar’s hometown. The Industrial Arts graduate student says disability is a taboo in Tehran and throughout Iran, where she faced many difficulties in conducting research for her thesis. Nevertheless, she persevered and was able to get the information she needed to continue her ambitious project: designing a new educational toy for Iranian children who suffer from cerebral palsy.

Although Afshar and her family moved to the U.S. in 2001, she was unaware of the extent of attitudes toward disability in Iran until returning for two months this summer to do her research.

“It’s a human rights issue,” Afshar says. “Disability is wrapped in superstitions, religious shortcomings and a lack of knowledge.”

Afshar studied dissertations by Tehran University students and oral histories; she struggled to find any official government data on disability. She also worked with non-governmental organizations such as Ra’ad Rehabilitation Center and Tavanyab, talking to therapists and scholars, observing children and young adults and leading focus groups and workshops.

“Yara has a knack for getting people to open up to her, as witnessed by her video documentation in conducting her research,” says Assistant Professor Steve Jones, one of Afshar’s instructors. “Yara’s interview was outstanding in its revelatory content, and gave me a keen insight to Yara’s passion on disability, education and design issues. Yara demonstrates a curiosity and an eagerness to learn.”

The conditions that Afshar observed in Iran are mirrored in developing countries across the globe. In the abstract of her thesis, she cites UNICEF’s estimate that 85 percent of the
world’s disabled children younger than age 15 live in developing countries, and UNESCO’s data that 1–2 percent of disabled children in developing countries receive an education.

“Working with a disabled child was quite challenging at first,” Afshar says. “I sat down with a child in pain. They are so smart but so vulnerable, especially in poor urban areas.”

Afshar’s design will use local materials to create an educational toy for children ages 5–11. She plans to give it to Iranian organizations for free. Next summer, she plans to raise money to develop and manufacture a test version of the product.

Since age 10, Afshar has been interested in design. She has created and sold her own jewelry since her teenage years. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree from the Design and Industry Department, Afshar landed a job with Pacific Coast Lighting, designing lamps, chandeliers and other lights sold in stores such as Z Gallerie and Pottery Barn. But she found that accessible, community-based designs to be more of her forte, after working on several notable SF State projects. The Industrial Design Outreach (iDo) program’s projects at Thurgood Marshall High School provided her a solid community orientation. The “Sound Web” wind chimes and Whirlwind Wheelchair International inspired her to focus on the disabled.