Present but invisible

Today marks the annual International Day for Persons with Disabilities. This year’s theme focuses on ‘amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities’. Even though an estimated 16 per cent of the world’s population lives with a significant disability, we rarely see many disabled people in public life or even ordinary everyday life, particularly in prominent leadership roles. When is the last time one can say that they interacted with a person with a disability at the workplace? How many of us remember the last time we saw a disabled parliamentary representative or minister? This speaks to the deep isolation, exclusion and lack of equitable access that people with disabilities have to endure. As a result, persons with disabilities have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression, asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity or poor oral health, according to the UN. This is reflective of not just a lack of access to prominent positions in society but even the most basic amenities like employment and healthcare.

In developing countries like Pakistan, simply tallying the number of people with disabilities is proving to be a challenge. According to Human Rights Watch estimates, the exact number could be anywhere between 3.3 million and 27 million. Without a clear picture of exactly how many people need help and what kind of assistance they need, it is very hard to empower people with disabilities. While Pakistani law requires that two per cent of all people employed by an establishment be persons with disabilities, in the absence of clear data on the real number of such persons, it is hard to tell whether the two per cent mark is appropriate. It is certainly a lot lower than the 16 per cent global estimate of persons with disabilities. It is also crucial to get a clearer picture on what kinds of disabilities people are dealing with and the unique challenges that they face in order to ensure organisations can actually accommodate and help them properly. Ensuring such basic access is the first step towards advancing the agency and leadership of people with disabilities.

That being said, it is rather disappointing that Pakistan is still stuck at this very first step and is an indictment of our policymakers’ attempts to deal with this problem. Our urban planning ignores persons with disabilities and there are only a handful of public and private facilities that pass the accessibility test. Residential areas without proper lifts and ramps, no regard for pedestrians, and lack of well-supervised zebra crossing point to the fact that those in charge do not think much of persons with disabilities. When it comes to care, parents are often the only ones disabled persons can rely on. And most of them try to keep their children away from the vicious eyes and venomous taunts of people who do not know any better. For people with disabilities in Pakistan, it is likely going to be a tough road ahead simply to be treated with the same respect and consideration as everyone else around them.