Excluded and silenced

Many of us may have often wondered about the invisibility in society of persons with disabilities (PWDs). A charitable event, a protest and its resulting inconveniences (of the likes most recently witnessed in Lahore) may remind us of their presence and special needs. Yet questions of their exclusion and plight often fade away amidst apathy and indifference. Such indifference extends, according to international estimates, to around seven to 10 per cent of Pakistan’s population. Other studies take the figure to be much higher, approximating the number of PWDs in Pakistan to 27 million. The vast majority of these individuals are made to live in seclusion, largely unseen and unheard by society.

The social response to ‘such persons’ centres on a culture of pity and charity. The provision of prosthetic limbs or shelter, daily rations of food or contribution towards essential expenditures are commendable acts of kindness that many in our society partake in. Yet the focus on monetary aid can hardly solve the crux of the issue — exclusion. What we need is an attitudinal shift that recognises PWDs as equal citizens of this state who, regardless of their weaknesses, are important and valuable members of the communities they inhabit.

Pakistan signed on to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2011, arguably setting in motion a shift in government and (eventually) societal attitudes. A recent report prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit, “Moving from the Margins,” however, states that since ratification of the CRPD, Pakistan has made little progress “towards achieving its goal for PWDs to participate fully and effectively in society”. The existing legal and policy framework is flawed. Built largely upon a concessionary as opposed to an empowering and integrative model, it falls far short of mainstreaming PWDs into society. The Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance 1981 provides for a two per cent employment quota for ‘disabled persons’ (increased this year in Punjab to three per cent) in establishments employing more than 100 individuals. The quota is, however, subject to certification of ‘fitness to work’ by the Employment Exchange, securing which has often been described as a “disabling experience”. The Special Citizens’ Act of 2008 mandates the construction of wheelchair-friendly footpaths, the allocation of seats in public transport and the provision of wheelchair access facilities in buildings. Yet our metropolitan infrastructure has hardly changed to fit such dictates. The National Policy for Persons with Disabilities drafted in 2002 stressing greater accessibility, inclusion and equalisation of opportunities remains unenforced, as does the National Plan of Action, formulated in 2006 to ensure policy implementation. What exists, therefore, are adhoc commitments that fail, even on paper, to provide a comprehensive disability law framework committed to the creation of a non-discriminatory and barrier-free environment.

Accessibility of PWDs to the most basic aspects of social, economic or cultural life — transportation, medical facilities, schools or workplaces — remains incredibly poor, forcing them into a cycle of dependence with limited opportunity to lead full lives. Education for children with special intellectual or physical needs poses the biggest challenge. The (almost) strict bifurcation under the existing educational framework between special education centres imparting education to children with disabilities and general ‘public’ schools, further pushes PWDs to the periphery, exacerbating their social and economic marginalisation. Only 330 special education schools are functional in Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. As a consequence, 50 per cent of children with disabilities (amounting to around 1.4 million children) are left without access to either inclusive or special schools. Despite commitments to the contrary made under the CRPD, in Pakistan PWDs are largely excluded from the voting process, and thereby denied the right to self-determination and political participation.

This culture of exclusion is reprehensible on moral and legal grounds. But such arguments may not be sufficient to bring forth the requisite shift in state policy on PWDs towards a more integrated, empowering and rights-based framework. The economic imperative may, however, be more convincing. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Report, the failure to mainstream PWDs in the economy results in an annual loss to Pakistan of around $11.9-15.4 billion amounting to between 4.9-6.3 per cent of the GDP. For our staggering economy, this cost is unaffordable.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th,  2015.

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