Editorial
Rights of the physically challenged
Time is here to ensure their dignity in society
THE problems faced by the physically handicapped in Bangladesh ought to have been tackled decisively a long time ago. That we yet have to emphasise the need for people with disability to be provided with the rights that are applicable to others demonstrates, in a big way, the insensitivities such individuals have been subjected to over the years. It is against this background that the call by the Chief Adviser for a protection of the rights of the disabled assumes significance. Indeed, the campaign for rights to be ensured for the disabled has been there since long before the remarks made by the head of the caretaker government. His intervention in the matter only reconfirms the public conviction that the time to address such issues is here and now.
There are particular areas that must be focused on in any discussion of the rights of the disabled. Foremost among these is the great need to enable the physically challenged to play their due role in the job industry, of which government service happens to be a key element. For years, organisations geared to the welfare of the disabled have expended sustained efforts towards promoting the cause of the disabled insofar as their role in administrative and other services is concerned. Progress, unfortunately, has been minimal. At the educational level, physical disability has almost always been looked upon as a stigma, with the result that individuals with such drawbacks have found it hard to make an entry into such academic areas or have been compelled to go looking for opportunities that have smacked of segregation. As far as other areas of activities are the matter, notably the general movement of the disabled, it is unfortunate that as a society we are yet to devise the means by which the physically challenged can conduct themselves with ease. At a time when such facilities as disabled car parking, toilet and overall movement facilities have become a given in the West as well as large parts of Asia, it is most regrettable that in Bangladesh no thought has in a real sense been given to introducing similar amenities for the disabled in our country.
The upshot of it is that in Bangladesh there is still a very large measure of discrimination against the physically challenged. What is therefore needed is much more than any amendment to the existing Disability Welfare Act. And that entails a full-scale and foolproof mechanism that will not only speak of the rights of the disabled but also ensure their proper and swift implementation. We need to move beyond platitudes.
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