At the age of 48, she took her first trip down the runway, dressed in a light blue shirt and dark pants. Hasan pushed his mother in her wheelchair.
Veliyeva said that she watched videos from previous shows. I said to myself, why not have a thick model?
Paraparesis is the partial loss of movement in the legs after a stroke. She became the first female athlete from Azerbaijan to qualify for the 2012 London Paralympics.
Quick GuideShow
The human toll of non-communicable diseases is increasing. Of the 56 million people who die every year due to these illnesses, three quarters are in the developing world.
Unlike aviruses, NCDs are simply that; you can’t catch them. They are caused by a variety of factors. Cancer, chronic respiratory illnesses, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are some of the main types. Around 80% of the world’s population are preventable, and all are on the rise as older populations and lifestyles push being unhealthy a global phenomenon.
The poor have a grip on NCDs, which were once seen as illnesses of the wealthy. Being poor makes it less likely that you will be diagnosed accurately or treated for disease and disability.
The cost to families, economies and communities is staggeringly high because of the low investment in tackling these common and chronic conditions.
In low-income countries, NCDs are seeing a fraction of the money needed being invested or donated. Cancer death rates have gone past the death toll from Malaria, Tuberculosis, and HIV/Aids in recent years.
The stories of people living with NCDs in the developing world are being told in a new Guardian series.
Tracy McVeigh is editor.
She likes jumpsuits, T-shirts and trousers, but can’t pull them on and off easily because they don’t have buttons in the places she needs them.
The Kekalove adaptive fashion show was held at the Marriott Absheron hotel in Baku during the summer.
On their own or with assistance, male and female models with various disabilities took to the runway in front of a packed audience.
A student named Mahammad Kekalov came up with the idea of the show. He and his business partner, Rashada Aliyeva, had visited the home of Veliyeva and her husband, Galib Aliyev, a few months before. Aliyev lost a leg when he stepped on a land mine during the first of two wars between the two countries. Hundreds of amputees were caused by conflicts.
Aliyev thought it would be more convenient to take off and wear clothes together with a limb.
They talked to Aliyev and created clothes based on what he said. Aliyev gave feedback on what did and didn’t work.
The inspiration to start the business was given to him by his late grandmother. She was blind, so getting dressed could be difficult. He was driven to think of adaptive clothes as a solution after a year with an American family who looked after disabled children.
I see the same thing in people we work with. They are asked if they need help or have a problem with their clothing. They say they don’t, but we find out that they have trouble getting dressed. They don’t see it as a problem but an everyday reality.
Some people had problems getting dressed. But they were so used to it, they saw it as an everyday reality
He believes people who perform feel more confident about their bodies. The main reason why we do it is because people move away from body stigma.
The first two shows were held last year. The concept cost $13,000 and was paid for by the US embassy in Azerbaijan, but by the second it was being sold to companies to show solidarity with people with disabilities.
Rzayev wore a turquoise Hawaiian shirt and wide white trousers with buttons on both sides while on the runway. He followed the show on social media.
Rzayev, who recently got married and will soon be a father, has a curvature in his spine and a twisted bone in his right leg.
His education was limited to a couple of home visits from a teacher. He sells hand-crafted products but can’t find clothes because his waist is small. The hem is too long if the waist is accurate.
Rzayev persuaded his friend to do a performance with him. Previously, Rahimov covered his clothes with a heavy jacket, but now he has an anaemia and his legs are different lengths.
Kekalov’s clothes range in price from £130 to £215 and are beyond the reach of many people in the country. The team gives their clothes to other people.
The show must be financially viable according to Kekalov. The plan is to have a supply chain to sell products in western countries, for example Germany, where there is a track of adaptive fashion brands.
Representatives and fashion designers are contacting countries with similar disability ecosystems. In each of the countries, the team plans to stage a series of shows with disabled models.
It will help us understand how fashion can bridge the gap between disability and cultural aspects.
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