Huỳnh Thị Xậm

Huỳnh Thị Xậm (born 1978) is a Vietnamese librarian and disability advocate who in 2017 was named as one of the BBC's 100 Women in recognition for her work improving literacy rates among disabled people in Vietnam.

Biography
Xậm was born in Long Mỹ district, Hậu Giang province, within the Mekong Delta, the third of six children born to labourer parents. She was born with bond hands and her left foot paralysed, with her only having mobility in four toes on her right foot.

Due to Xậm's disability, she initially struggled to receive adequate education, due to a combination of factors including the family's low income; their rural location; accessibility issues; and a lack of awareness among local teachers on how to teach disabled children. The death of Xậm's father, while causing additional financial problems for the family, also prompted Xậm to return to school at the age of 15, where she learned to write by using her right foot. Due to difficulties making the 10km journey to the nearest school, which included needing to cross a river, Xậm did not graduate high school until she was 27; the local chapter of the Communist Party of Vietnam donated a dinghy to help her continue to attend school.

In 2006, after graduating high school, Xậm moved to Ho Chi Minh City to study at the Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Centre for People with Disabilities and Orphans. In 2009, she started studying for a degree in sociology at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, graduating in 2013.

Following her graduation, Xậm returned to the Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Centre for People with Disabilities and Orphans, where she started work as a librarian. Xậm also started to teach literacy classes to help address the number of students coming to the centre who were illiterate. Due to most of the students having disabilities, Xậm also learned Braille and Vietnamese Sign Language in order to teach literacy to blind and deaf students, respectively. Xậm is also an accomplished painter, teaching art to students and selling paintings.

In 2020, it was reported that Xậm had taken a step back from her role due to the declining health of her mother, as well as her own health issues. As of 2020, Xậm lives in Hóc Môn district, Ho Chi Minh City, with her mother, sister, and niece.

Recognition
In 2006, the Vietnam Women's Union named Xậm "the woman who touched the heart of Vietnam" due to her efforts to get an education in light of her disability.

In 2017, Xậm was among three Vietnamese women included in that year's BBC 100 Women poll in recognition for her work addressing illiteracy among Vietnam's disabled community.