Brick walls: Disabled degree-holders scramble to get jobs

Plan protest on April 6 in front to parliament to press govt to ensure hiring on quota.

ISLAMABAD: The October 8, 2005 earthquake wreaked havoc for much of the populace of Pakistan’s north. Muhammad Moshin Awan was no exception. He was sitting in class in a Muzaffarabad college when the earthquake struck. The building collapsed, and though he survived, a spinal injury left him bound to a wheelchair.

But partial paralysis did not deter him, as he went on to complete a master’s degree. But when he finished, he realized, like many others, that his battles had just begun.

A number of young disabled men from AJK with master’s degrees met The Express Tribune earlier this week, explaining how they had been struggling to find jobs, even against the government’s two per cent quota for disabled persons.

“On October 8, 2005, we were in class when the earthquake struck and the college building collapsed, damaging my spine,” Awan told The Express Tribune.

Awan has a master’s degree in special education from Allama Iqbal Open University. He said disability did to deter him from pursuing education, but he has been facing discrimination and difficulty in getting a government job against the two per cent quota for special persons.

“After my paralysis, people in my village would tell my family not to waste money on my education, but my older brother supported me,” he said.

Awan said that he had also applied for enrollment in an MPhil programme at Quaid-i-Azam University, but they did not offer him admission, which he claims was because of his disability.

“We have been struggling for government jobs on the disabled quota, but the government does not seem bothered about ensuring transparent hiring,” he said, as other disabled graduates nodded in agreement.

The disabled graduates said that they have forwarded their resumes to dozens of government departments over the last two years, but got no response from any of them.

Awan said that they have been going from pillar-to-post to get jobs, but staffers at most departments did not allow them to meet senior officials.

“When I visited the AJK ministry of agriculture, I was told that there would only be a vacancy if someone is died,” he said, adding that he got the same response from the AJK ministry of special education and social welfare.

Muhammad Masood, a disabled resident of Rawalpindi, said that he was working as a daily-wage labourer to pay his college fee and dreamt of becoming an engineer, but on March 26, 2001, while working as a labourer, he fell from the Holy Family Hospital building.

With the support of his older brother, Masood completed a one-year diploma in electronics, but he has been struggling to find a job ever since.

The special persons said they will protest in front of Parliament on April 6 to draw attention to the discrimination.

Zahir Abbasi, another disabled person, said that more than 300 special persons from the twin the cities and AJK will participate in the protest to press the government to ensure the implementation of the two percent quota.

Capital Administration and Development Division Secretary Khalid Hanif claimed that all attached departments have been asked to accommodate disabled persons against the quota. He noted the impact of an SC-ordered ban on recruitment. Since the ban has been lifted, he said, the disabled would be accommodated.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2015.