Claiming disability rights Justice has to come to the fore

In the academy award winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, criminals are shown inflicting physical disabilities on the abducted or homeless children to make them work as beggars. The fate of persons with disabilities often leads them to the streets and temples with no options but to beg for a living. This cruel and unjust traditional practice of disowning, chastising and marginalizing people for physical and mental conditions they did not choose to acquire will continue unless the disabled people empower themselves by knowing and claiming their rights. It is for everybody else to show solidarity, to recognize and respect the rights of the disabled people, and to create an enabling environment for people with disabilities to assert their rights with dignity and autonomy. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) endorses persons with disabilities with powerful rights. The Convention is an instrument of the United Nations (UN) geared toward protecting the rights and dignity of disabled people throughout the world. Some of the principles of the Convention include non-discrimination, full and active participation and inclusion in society, equality of opportunity, accessibility and equality between men and women. In addition, one of the general obligations of signing the CRPD is modification or abolishment of existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that are sources of discrimination against persons with disabilities. National level strategies driven by both governmental and non-governmental actors is required to create an enabling environment for disabled people to be aware of and assert their rights.

Although Nepal is one of the countries that have signed the CRDP in 2008 and recently ratified it, international conventions by themselves may not have the force of law unless the national legislature is amended to reflect those commitments. Even if discrimination is prohibited in the constitution or via other legal provisions, unless the laws are enacted and monitored, they become useless. It should be a concern for current lawmakers that international organizations repeatedly underscore Nepal’s lack of data on disabled people as well as ineffective implementation of existing legislation and programs. The data on persons with disabilities in both national and international levels are scarce and unreliable. Going by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimation of 10 percent of the world population suffering from some forms of disabilities, about 3 million people with some forms of disabilities should be living in Nepal.

The initial step is to ensure that people with disabilities, however severe, know their rights. Access to information and education, through parents, family members, teachers, friends and relatives and the mass media must be ensured. Developing critical consciousness, to borrow Paulo Freire’s concept, is imperative if disabled people are to overcome the age-old discrimination and repression, and to demand equality in terms of employment, education and participation. Increasing awareness among lawmakers, national and local leaders, planners, social activists and the general population about disability rights is important if we are to actuate the process of making what was readily signed on paper a reality in the ground.

The CRDP clearly defines employment as one of the fundamental rights of disabled people. As long as the government does not provide incentives to private sector businesses or impose quotas, people with disabilities who want to be employed will continue to find jobs out of their reach.

The process of organizing the disabled population will enhance their visibility and voice. When disabled people organize themselves, they are better equipped to demand change and advocate for their own rights.

Existing human rights organizations can play a catalytic role in facilitating the organization of people with disabilities from all walks of life. Building capacity of leaders and activists in promoting disability rights is essential to bridge the gap between international standards and its application on the ground. Capacity building exercises can include granting material and funds, training and development, and supporting collaboration with other organizations.

Local leaders must begin to recognize persons with disabilities as citizens with rights as everyone else and local communities be accommodating of their difference. Visibility of disabled people in the media, not as exceptions making news but as a norm will help this group secure its rightful position in the society.

Although at least ten percent of the population is affected by some form of disability, the disabled population is not proportionately represented in the media. It is unfortunate that government action in Nepal is now becoming possible only if groups exert pressure, especially in the forms of strikes and other desperate measures.

Scattered and hardly visible, the disabled people need better information, organization, visibility and voice to lay claims on rights they already have.