Enable the Disabled | Gist of Rajya Sabha TV / RSTV (now Sansad TV) - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction:

The world population is over 7 billion – and more than one billion people (or around 15% of the world’s population) live with some or the other form of disability – 80% of them in developing countries. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the world has to build an inclusive and just society for everyone, leaving no one behind. The world marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on the 3rd of December – the day that aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness about the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an enhanced push towards a more inclusive society and efforts to reduce the barriers faced by people with disabilities. He said realizing the rights, agency, and leadership of persons with disabilities will advance our common future. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu spoke of equal opportunities to ensure that persons with disabilities can lead a dignified, safe and productive life. Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined that his govt’s emphasis remains on equality, accessibility and opportunity.

Ensuring a Disability-sensitive Development:

• Constitution guarantees equality, freedom, justice and dignity to all citizens, including the Divyang.
• Exclusion of persons with disabilities from education, employment and participation cost at around 7% of national GDP.
• Accessible services and business premises can broaden the customer base, increasing turnover and positively impacting the financial health and social brand of the company.
• Research estimates the market size of product categories needed by persons with disabilities in India at Rs. 4,500 crore
• WHO report said that all of us at some point will be “temporarily or permanently impaired” and those “who survive to old age will experience difficulties in functioning.”
• Thus ensuring a disability-sensitive development agenda across all ministries, sectors and causes becomes critical if growth has to be truly inclusive.

Issues and Challenge:

Health:

• A large number of disabilities are preventable, including those arising from medical issues during birth, maternal conditions, malnutrition, as well as accidents and injuries.
• However, the health sector especially in rural India has failed to react proactively to disability
• Further there are lack of affordable access to proper health care, aids and appliances
• Healthcare facilities and poorly trained health-workers in rehabilitation centres is another concern.

Education:

• The education system is not inclusive. Inclusion of children with mild to moderate disabilities in regular schools has remained a major challenge.
• There are various issues such as availability special schools, access to schools, trained teachers, and availability of educational materials for the disabled.
• Further, reservations for the disabled in higher educational institutions has not been fulfilled in many instances

Employment:

• Even though many disabled adults are capable of productive work, disabled adults have far lower employment rates than the general population.
• The situation is even worse in the private sector, where much less disabled are employed
• Accessibility: Physical accessibility in buildings, transportation, access to services etc still remain a major challenge.

Discrimination/Social Exclusion:

• Negative attitudes held by the families of the disabled, and often the disabled themselves, hinder disabled persons from taking an active part in the family, community or workforce.
• Differently-abled people face discrimination in everyday life. People suffering from mental illness or mental retardation face the worst stigma and are subject to severe social exclusion.
• Inadequate data and statistics: The lack of rigorous and comparable data and statics further hinders inclusion of persons with disabilities. The major issues with collection of data and measuring disability are:
• Difficult to define disability
• Coverage: Different purposes require different disability data
• Reluctance in reporting disability as disability is considered to be a stigma in many places/societies
• Poor implementation of policies and schemes hinders the inclusion of disabled persons. Though various acts and schemes have been laid down with an aim to empower the disabled, their enforcement face many challenges.

Way Forward:

• A one-size-fits-all approach is unhelpful for disabled persons. There needs to be a shift from a charity-based approach to a rights-based approach.
• Care must be taken to ensure disability-inclusive development.
• We have to create sensitive and harmonious society, where every person feels empowered – and a society of empathy, where one person feels the pain of another.
• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have the potential in enhancing their social, cultural, political and economic participation.
• Incorporation of accessibility principles across all new developments will also complement the Accessible India Campaign
• Representation of persons with disabilities in all ministries, commissions and committees to advise and ensure inclusion in all policies, programmes and development
• Adherence to the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines should be made mandatory while developing websites and mobile applications.
• No Divyang person should be evaluated by his or her physical ability, but by his or her intellect, knowledge and courage.