On the 25th of January, Members of the European Parliament Disability Intergroup gathered in front of the European Parliament for a photo action calling to stand united against ableism and to raise awareness of the instrumentalisation of persons with disabilities in folk events in Spain. The action was led by the Co-Chair of the Disability Intergroup, MEP Katrin Langensiepen.

MEPs held signs with different messages: “stop comico taurino” “stop ableism”, “equality hurts no one”, and “disability rights are human rights”. Later, they were joined by the secretariat of the European Disability Forum.

Alerted by a disability rights activists in Spain

Earlier this year, MEP Langensiepen and her group at the European Parliament were alerted by a Spanish disability rights activist about a traditional event near Sevilla called “’bombero torero’” where persons with dwarfism are instrumentalised for amusement in a “performance” called “cómico taurino” (comic bullfighting, happening in an arena).

Last year in October 2022, CERMI Andalucía already requested the suspension of a similar event happening in Jaén, another city in southern Spain, considering these events as burlesque and as “mockery, distorting the image of people with disabilities, making negative stereotypes persist with the degrading representation of said people.”.

MEP Katrin Langensiepen, stated:

It is hard to believe that these kinds of events are still tolerated today. Persons of small stature are paraded here, reduced to objects of amusement. It is time to break with this ableist tradition. According to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the EU Disability Strategy, Member States are obliged to promote equality. It is our political duty to establish and empower people with disabilities as equal members of our society, to promote structures for equal opportunities in education and employment, and to counteract discrimination – these kinds of events only do the opposite.

Following the photo action, several organisations and MEPs reacted on social media, including Vice-Chair of the Disability Intergroup, Tilly Metz, who also called for ban on the event.