The Centre of Excellence for Women’s Studies (CEWS) of Karachi University organised a programme on Thursday to mark International Dwarfism Awareness Day and promote awareness about the needs of and the barriers faced by people with dwarfism.
A number of people with dwarfism and their families participated in the event and shared their stories. A seminar titled “Pust Qamat Aik Samaji Masla Aur Iska Hal” was organised under the supervision of CEWS Director Prof Dr Nasreen Aslam Shah in collaboration with Karachi University’s Department of Social Work, Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Niswan, and Consultant Karachi Studies Society.
On the occasion, the CEWS formed an NGO, named ‘Little People of Sindh’. The NGO was inaugurated by Dost Muhammad, who as nominated by the department as head of the organisation. The aim of the organisation is to highlight and resolve socio-economic problems of people dwarfism.
Addressing the seminar, MPA Karim Bukhsh Gabol said little people were part of our society. They, however, faced social and economic problems, which should be resolved on a priority basis, he added.
He suggested that seats be reserved for them in the provincial and national assemblies to bring them into the political mainstream because they did not have any channels to access the platform for resolving their own issues.
Talking about the population of such persons, Bukhari Welfare Trust representative Ali Muhammad Bukhari said there were about 10, 000 people dwarfism across Pakistan, and of them, 3,000 were living in Sindh. He informed the audience that the government had increased the employment quota for the people suffering from dwarfism from two per cent to five percent.
In 2013, Sultan Nasiruddin had conducted a research on the socio-economic problems of little people of Karachi under the supervision of Prof Dr Nasreen Aslam Shah. He revealed in his studies that unemployment was one of major concerns of people with dwarfism.
