Disability Rights in India

Have you ever traveled alone in a bus? In a train? Have you ever read a book? Or browsed through several websites? Did you ever have the misfortune of using a public toilet in India? Can you get a driving license if you pass the set test? Do you get to choose where you want to work, so long as you fit the requirements of your chosen job? Do you think that most people reading this article would answer most of the above questions in the affirmative? Over 70 million people with disabilities in India will not.

Having a ‘disability’ puts a person in the largest minority in the world. A minority that has been denied its rights for years on end, with no justification whatsoever. Oh, wait! A 2007 study by the World Bankshows that an overwhelming majority of Indians consider disabilities to be a result of Karma or a curse of God and, therefore, ostracise people with disabilities. I believe that if you consider that to be a good enough justification, you are committing bad Karma. Beware.

Then there is another set of enlightened people. The charity folk. The ones who ‘give’ persons with disabilities what they need. Well, some food, a place to stay, clothing – that’s about it they require, right? If someone came to you and said, “Look, you’re disabled according to a number of us and so we’ve decided to take you on as our pet project. We’ll give you food, drink, a room in some institution and clothes as per requirement. Be happy, alright?” would you be happy? Would you agree to spend your life according to what others believe you require?

When we talk of women’s rights, do we consider women with disabilities? When the government publishes something for its people, is it published for all Indian citizens? When we design a building, do we ensure that everyone can get in? Is our public transport system really public? Are all jobs open for all people with the requisite qualifications? Well. NO. We discount a sizable population. Every single time.

It’s time we did a rethink. What is a disability? If you knew nothing about mathematics and were shoved into a room full of mathematicians who refused to talk about anything but math, wouldn’t you be disabled in conversation? If you were forced to study in Braille, wouldn’t you be disabled? Are you the person creating the disability or is the circumstance such that you find yourself disabled? Is it you, or is it your surrounding? It’s not the fault of a person who has to use a wheelchair that he can’t enter a building, it’s the fault of those who built it such that a person using a wheelchair can’t enter.

Which brings one to a pertinent question: on what grounds can a person with disabilities be denied access? If every child has a right to education, then why don’t educational institutions allow universal access? If a person has made it through an interview then how can he be denied a job on the grounds that he requires matter to be printed in larger font size or requires a screen reader? On what grounds can you deny a people with disabilities the right to use a public toilet without aid? What right do you have to publish books in a manner that actively denies all those who’re unable to read normal printed books the chance to peruse them? It’s a simple answer. We haven’t the right to deny access.
I believe it’s time we realized that pity isn’t an answer. Nobody wants pity. Give the 70 million people in India their rights. Else, remember the bad Karma threat.

Blogger Comments: Such situation prevails in whole developing world especially in South Asia

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.

San Diego Business - San Diego Nonprofit Manages Workplace Disability

DMEC helps companies get people back to work
By Eilene Zimmerman
Posted on Thu, Jul 22nd, 2010
Last updated Tue, Jul 20th, 2010

PHOTO CAPTION: Marcia Curruthers, CEO of the Disability Management Employer Coalition

New research from the San Diego-based Disability Management Employer Coalition shows that more and more companies are taking an interest in something known as “behavioral risk management.”

Marcia Carruthers.

^{Courtesy photo}

It’s a term coined by DMEC’s president Marcia Carruthers and it is, basically, the things companies can do to lower the number of people who take time off because of disability (from injuries both at work and outside of work) and, for those that do take leave, getting those employees back to work sooner. It’s also a way to manage risk—the risk that certain employees are likely to miss more days on the job than others and stay out longer, because their disability problems aren’t resolved as quickly as they could be. That's because many times what appears to be a physical problem is, at least partly, psychological.

Carruthers says research shows that upwards of 60-70 percent of back claims, for example, a common injury that often results in an extended absence from work, have an underlying psychological component.

“Claims that come in as back problems or a cardiac problem, often it helps to look and see if there’s something else going on with the employee,” she says. “Depression, for example.”

As a nonprofit, the DMEC provides strategies and resources to help companies improve the productivity of their workers. Its recent survey looked at best practices of 114 employers nationwide, with regard to their behavioral risk management. Carruthers says her organization learned that almost all companies believe they need to put into place strategies, programs or practices to help with disability claims. But they also found that there are many barriers to getting employees to look at what might be behind their extended claim of disability. Are they really taking a long time to heal from a workplace injury, or is it that they are stressed and anxious because of a troubled teen at home, the care of an aging parent or marital problems—all of which can make it hard to face work again.

One strategy companies can put in place is to have everyone out on disability see a mental health counselor—just to make sure there isn’t an underlying mental health component to their physical problems.

“The awareness of this is growing,” says Carruthers. “Three-quarters of upper management we surveyed were aware they need to pay attention to this. Although right now it’s hard to implement new practice that will cost money, because of the recession. And the irony in that is that people are more stressed than ever now, so there is more need for this than ever before.”

Having workers out of the office on disability leave—whether it’s related to a workplace injury or otherwise—can really affect a company’s bottom line. Workers out frequently have higher medical costs and use more medical care than other workers. In addition to the productivity loss that comes from their absence, there’s also the problem of workers who are at work, but can’t function well and aren’t as productive as they could be.

“These are poor performers, and they are often difficult to deal with,” says Carruthers. “Several medical associations have come out and said work is curative, so it’s actually important for people’s well-being to get back to work.”

DMEC’s annual international conference will be held here from August 1-4.

Business Sector	Employment
Keywords	San Diego Business Disability Management DMEC

Eilene Zimmerman

About the author: Eilene Zimmerman is a journalist based in San Diego who writes about a variety of topics, including business, social and political issues and family life. Her work has been published in national magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, FORTUNE Small Business, CNNMoney.com, CBS MoneyWatch.com, Wired, Harper’s, Salon.com, Slate.com, Psychology Today and others. She blogs at www.trueslant.com. More by this author