While Indian cities like Bangalore are working toward greater accommodation of persons with disabilities in its public services and commercial spaces, the neighboring country of Pakistan continues to struggle with the initial steps for removing barriers of inclusion and accessibility. One advocate in the southeast Asian country says the first step toward achieving these goals is a national commission on rights for the disabled, similar to ones that already exist for women and ethnic minorities.
Atif Sheikh is president of the Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP), a Pakistani organization that works toward “mainstreaming of disabled people in society” through a multi-faceted approach that includes independent research, employment exchanges, and awareness-building campaigns. The last of which they are engaged in currently, seizing on the platform provided by the United Nations’ designation of December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Sheikh spoke with an unnamed correspondent for The Express Tribune for the December 3 article, “Persons with disabilities: Without access, quotas are meaningless.” He tells The New York Times international affiliate that the current conditions faced by people with disabilities in Pakistan requires governmental oversight to help correct:
Special education, welfare, charity, discounts and quotas are all outdated concepts… PWDs cannot use public transport, they can’t access shopping malls, there is no accessible entertainment for them. Even polling stations are not accessible.
Pakistan is one of 154 countries that have signed the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Sheikh says that puts the responsibility on leadership in Islamabad for enforcing its guidelines for accessibility and accommodation. He points out that the government is a victim of its own circumstance, with half of the jobs allocated for people with disabilities in federal ministries and divisions going unfilled.
The lack of accessibility makes it difficult to even determine the number of people with disabilities in Pakistan. Estimates vary anywhere from five million to 18 million — a full 10% of the population. When the only people with disabilities whom society has contact with are “beggars or suffering from an illness,” as Sheikh puts it, the perception is that all these individuals are unable to make a productive contribution to the workforce and their community, which is not the case.
The Express Tribune notes that one initiative undertaken by the Pakistani government is an ID card for people with disabilities that would entitle them to benefits such as free medical treatment, discounts when using public transportation, and tax breaks for purchasing accessible vehicles. Such a program would have to work in tandem with other measures to bring people with disabilities into the mainstream in order to be effective, however.
Comments?
Image by Suleman Sajjad.
AssaLam’o’Alaikum Good morning dear sir, I’m Ubedullah Sarki from Sukkur city Pakistan,
Sir I’m 32 years old, sir AL-Hamdulilah I have done my M.A/B.Ed qualification but I am still jobless, because it’s negligence of govt of Sindh, sir I have disabilities with both legs by polio attack in my earlier age, sir I’m poor person,, so please help me if you do could.
AssaLam’o’Alaikum Good morning dear sir, I’m Ubedullah Sarki from Sukkur city Pakistan,
Sir I’m 32 years old, sir AL-Hamdulilah I have done my M.A/B.Ed qualification but I am still jobless, because it’s negligence of govt of Sindh, sir I have disabilities with both legs by polio attack in my earlier age, sir I’m poor person,, so please help me if you do could.
My cell number are
03003297657.
03213106238.