Huynh Thi Xam

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 faced barriers in accessing adequate education. Her access to education was also negatively affected by her family's low income as well as a lack of awareness among local teachers on how to support disabled children. The local chapter of the Communist Party of Vietnam donated a dinghy to help her travel to school. Against the odds, Xậm graduated high school at the age of 27

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.

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.