International Day of Persons with Disabilities 3rd December 2021
As yet another International Disability Day is Celebrating on 3rd Dec 2021
International disability Day 2021 Theme
This year’s theme is ‘Not All Disabilities Are Visible.
The day aims to raise awareness of disabilities which may not be immediately apparent but can still have an impact on people’s lives.
These include mental illness, learning differences, chronic pain, and sight or hearing impairments among others.
Everyone in this world suffers from some form of temptation. Some are being tested by wealth, fame, and power, some by poverty, hunger, and subjugation, some by health and strength, some by illness and disability.
Today the whole world is going to celebrate another day for people with disabilities. Today, an ordinary person with a disability will remember the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and remember in his heart the promises made by the government and welfare agencies for the welfare of persons with disabilities.
That people with disabilities will think about how many of those promises have been fulfilled that are giving us new hope.
Handicapped persons would as likely remember the pledges and assurances given to them during the last World Disabled Day just about a year back and realize that nothing much has changed in their life. People with disabilities are well aware that these are all hollow slogans of the government and welfare agencies.
Although promises, ceremonies, seminars, and conferences occur year after year. Several of the disabled persons continue to live on in conditions of poor quality and uncertainty, and not knowing as to how the coming future would hold for them.
With physical immobility on the one hand and lack of resources and unsatisfactory income, on the other hand, most of the disabled persons do not have the access to quality educational institutions or the facilities to acquire the vital skill to employ them.
Society Behaviour and Social inclusion of persons with disabilities
Disabilities have a wide range of degrees and different conditions, some obvious and some unclear. Disability due to an accident may have been present at birth or may have occurred over time.
These include physical, mental, and learning disabilities, mental illnesses, hearing or visual impairments, epilepsy, drug dependence, environmental sensitivities, wars, and more.
Social behavior is a criterion of any society, which can be judged by the extent to which its members are civilized and conscious. It also sheds light on how psychologists and sociologists explain behavior.
Children with special needs and disabilities are among the most walled classes in every society. They are not visible to anyone, they have no identity, and no one remembers them.
People’s attitudes are often inattentive and based on baseless fabrications. Many families find it so difficult to cope with other people’s reactions that they are afraid to bring their special children into the community.
Lack of Awareness
Due to the lack of awareness about disability in Pakistan, the management and staff of the institutions are not able to cover the mental abilities of special people.
Instead of higher education and skills, they are rejected for employment only based on physical disability or are offered a very low salary based on their qualifications.
It is also a great tragedy that people with disabilities are not considered a part of our society.
Most people, when they see a person with a disability, instead of encouraging him or her to help him or her cope with the ordeal, give the impression that the person with a disability is more likely to feel inferior.
The courage to live far away is also lost even though disability is not a matter of one’s own but this tragedy can happen to any person or his loved ones.
It has been proven in practice that if Allah Almighty has put someone to the test of disability. He (Allah Almighty) has also given him some additional abilities. The West is aware of this, therefore, they are providing all possible facilities to the disabled.
Through which those disabled people are not only living like normal people. They are also carrying out such remarkable activities. Countless healthy people are helpless in front of them.
Accessible technology and assistive devices for people with disabilities in developed countries make office work easier for people with hearing and vision impairments. In our country too, employers and business management need training in this regard and they should be aware of creating jobs in their organizations according to the types of disability.
What if I’m disabled, I have the right to vote
Elections are very important in a democracy. Elections give the people the right to choose their preferred political leadership through their votes, which will take the reins of government and work for the bright future of the country.
Election success is possible only if all eligible voters in the country exercise their voting rights. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every citizen of the country to register as a voter and express their political views through voting and to be a part of the democratic process in the country.
When will the general elections be held in Pakistan? A comprehensive policy needs to be formulated to enable persons with disabilities to vote in the general elections as voters, which will require political parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan, NADRA, society, and the disabled themselves to be active.
Unfortunately, the exact number of disabled people in society is not yet known. Disability is on the rise in Pakistan due to natural disasters, traffic accidents, genetic and hereditary diseases, terrorism, and poor public health awareness.
Education and Employment Facilities
Since the founding of Pakistan, the Government of Pakistan has limited the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities to special education, employment quotas of 2 or 3%, and modest financial assistance. People with disabilities have a beautiful label of special people, but they are excluded from general education, health, transport, employment, construction, and participation in all kinds of political processes.
The welfare of persons with disabilities is included in all planning and development policies in the developed world today, as a result of which they live an independent life instead of being destitute and miserable and become part of the country’s development.
In Pakistan too, all political parties should recognize in their manifesto the civil rights of persons with disabilities and announce a comprehensive strategy for their welfare.
Every voter is required to have a National Identity Card to register and vote in the electoral rolls. NADRA issues a Special National Identity Card for persons with disabilities. The presence of a Disability Certificate is mandatory for a Special Identity Card.
Disability certificates are issued by the district, tehsil headquarters hospitals, and provincial or district social welfare departments. There is an urgent need to make the procedure for issuing a certificate of disability transparent and easy.
The special national identity card is marked with a wheelchair for the disability identification or logo. Well, there are many types of disabilities, but in Pakistan, there are generally four types of disabilities being worked on.
These categories include physical disability, mental disability, visual impairment, and hearing loss. Every disabled person has a different logo.
The special national identity card should have a person with a disability logo so that the disabled person can be identified immediately by looking at the disability identity card. NADRA should provide accessible mobile units for making special identity cards for persons with disabilities in rural and backward areas.
The websites of NADRA and the Election Commission of Pakistan also need to be made accessible to the visually impaired.
Suggestions
Sustained Development refers to a development in which all people on the planet can move forward together, improve thinking and keep the environment healthy.
That is, the resources available to us today, whether natural, human or non-human, should be fully utilized and every effort should be made to improve them for future generations.
Such a development can never be sustainable in which all the important resources are used today and nothing is left for the future generations.
In our country, seats should be reserved for persons with disabilities, such as women and minorities, in local government, provincial and federal assemblies, so that their views on all development and development policies related to persons with disabilities are included.
Because they can better identify their problems and their solutions. A person with a disability, like a normal person, has to go out of the house for education and training, employment and business, travel and entertainment, etc. If public transport is not accessible to them, they will be confined to their homes.
The main reason for the Helplessness of people with disabilities in Pakistan is the lack of facilities for them at the government level.
We have a 2% quota for people with disabilities in government jobs but it is not being implemented. In addition, there are no facilities for people with disabilities in government buildings and public places.
The government should ensure the provision of other facilities including special ramps for persons with disabilities in all buildings and public places in the style of Western countries.
In developed countries, especially in Japan, the United States, Canada, etc., public transport has been made 100% accessible to take advantage of the mental abilities of the most severely disabled people and to make them active citizens of society.
Like developed countries, motorcycle and car companies in Pakistan can not only increase the number of their customers but also mobilize millions of people with disabilities by designing motorcycles and cars locally for people with disabilities.
Places of worship strengthen man’s relationship with his Lord, while places of recreation such as mountainous areas, beaches, lakes, and parks not only bring man closer to the natural scenery but also provide him peace of mind.
In Pakistan, too, there is an urgent need to make places of worship and places of refreshment accessible for people with disabilities. Signs should be installed in these places for the deaf.
Tacit Tiles and embossed signs should be installed for the visually impaired. Wheelchairs for the physically challenged should be accessible.
Absence of correct estimation
The sixth census of Pakistan was conducted in 2017 to estimate the population of the country and formulate economic policies according to the total population.
Unfortunately, just as people with disabilities continue to be exploited economically and socially at every level in our country, they have also been severely overlooked in the recent census.
Due to the untimely inclusion of information on persons with disabilities in Form 2 of the Census, the exact number of persons with disabilities in Pakistan could not be ascertained.
The Chairman of the National Bureau of Statistics is requested to announce an emergency plan to achieve Global Sustainable Development Goal No. 17.18.
If people with disabilities are given a legitimate place in society, their abilities can be effectively utilized.
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