Short numbered: Activists find fault with data on disabled

Say survey teams were not adequately trained, SC order ignored

ISLAMABAD: Representatives of people with disabilities and social activists working for their welfare have rejected the count of the section of the population revealed in the census carried out this year by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS) , and called the data inaccurate, misleading and shocking.

Addressing a press conference on Monday at the National Press Club, they said the census of 2017 had once again failed to accurately count the persons with disabilities, in defiance of a Supreme Court order, leaving the community shocked.

They claimed that the census teams were not properly trained and they did not ask about persons with disabilities while carrying out the process.



According to the sixth national population and housing census, the population of disabled people in the country has been put at less than 0.48 per cent of the total, far less than the 1998 census, which had recorded the percentage at 2.38. This would indicate that the ratio of people with disabilities fell by 80%.

However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, approximately 15% of Pakistan’s population is disabled.

Sharing the background, the speakers said the court issued its order in this regard on March 16 in a case brought by the Community-Based Inclusive Development Network. They said the network was one of the strongest disability networks in the country, having as its members many like-minded disabled persons’ organisations, national and international non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and disability movement champions.

They said that Para 7 of the court order had instructed the PBS to include three more cells in the gender column for male, female and transgender people with disabilities, but this directive was not followed.

The PBS says the order came too late, arguing that to count the number of people with disabilities separately could have affected the overall headcount.



Talking to The Express Tribune, Atif Sheikh, an activist for the rights of persons with disabilities and President of the Special Talent Exchange Programme (STEP), said, “It was shocking to learn that since 1998 there has been a 9% drop in the number of persons with disabilities in Pakistan as revealed in the latest census. It is a fact that there has been a massive increase in the number of persons with disabilities during last 19 years.”

He said there had been numerous terrorist attacks, road accidents and natural calamities in the country during the period.

“It is unfortunate that the authorities concerned only count the number of people killed or injured in these unfortunate incidents but not the number of people who suffer from various kinds of disabilities because of them,” he said.

The activists who addressed the press conference said: “We demand a national disability survey, as per the Washington Group’s questionnaire tool which is the only appropriate solution to correctly count the persons with disabilities. We anticipate that the relevant ministries and government departments will not ignore this very genuine demand of the most vulnerable segment of society.”

According to experts, having an accurate count of the number of people with disabilities is essential for ensuring that appropriate action is taken to reduce the barriers they face.