Persons with Disabilities: Rights & Issues

Context: The International Day of Persons with Disabilities, observed on December 3rd, serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by persons with disabilities (PwDs) in India and around the world. 

Relevance of the Topic: Mains- Challenges faced by PwDs, National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. 

Challenges faced by Persons with Disabilities:

• Inadequate data: The figure of total PwDs population (2.68 crore) is based on the 2011 census and is not reflective of the current status of disabled population.
• Denial of Disability:
  • Fear of stigma often forces the family members to hide the disability or refer to it as a mere physical illness.
  • PwDs often face harassment in acquiring the disability certificate due to bureaucratic apathy.
• Problem in accessing govt benefits/entitlements:
  • The government arbitrarily exempted certain establishments from giving job quota to the disabled. E.g., Blanket ban on all disabled persons, including acid attack victims, in all categories of police forces.
  • Posts which are reserved for disabled remain unfilled due to mismatch of skillset requirements.
  • Government initiatives like Digital India are increasingly delivering basic government functions through information technologies, but many of these are still inaccessible for users with visual or other disabilities.
• Exclusion from the economic sphere: Many PWDs have been denied or kept away from wage labour due to the wrong notion that disabled could not work and even if they work, output would not be worth the payment made. PwDs are also denied property rights.
• Harassment: Superstitions prevailing in the communities also play a big role in subjecting the people with disabilities to various harmful treatments. Women with disabilities face more discrimination but no special reservation for women within the disabled category.

National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, 2006:

The Government of India has formulated the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in 2006 which deals with Physical, Educational & Economic Rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. 

The policy majorly focuses on following:

• Prevention of Disabilities: The policy lays strong emphasis on prevention of disabilities through routine immunisation, awareness measures and appropriate mother and childcare.
  • Childhood vaccinations against diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis B can prevent certain conditions that may lead to disabilities. Immunization programs, when widely implemented, contribute to reducing the incidence of preventable disabilities. 
  • Adequate intake of folic acid before and during early pregnancy significantly reduces the risk of neural tube defects (such as spina bifida) in newborns. Folic acid supplementation is a simple and effective preventive measure.
• Rehabilitation measures: Physical rehabilitation, which includes early detection and intervention, counselling & medical interventions, and provision of aids & appliances. Educational rehabilitation including vocational education.
• Economic rehabilitation by providing reservation in public employment and promoting wage employment in the private sector and self-employment.
• Barrier-free environment: Make buildings, transportation systems and other public facilities barrier-free to enable PwDs to participate in everyday activities without assistance.
• Identity: Ensure that the PwDs obtain the disability certificates in the shortest possible time by adoption of simple, transparent and client- friendly procedures.
• Social Security: Governments will be encouraged to develop a comprehensive social security policy for disabled.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016:

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 was enacted to fulfil the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

• Types of disabilities covered under the Act increased from 7 to 21. It includes various physical and  mental disabilities like acid attack victims, Dwarfism and Autism Spectrum Disorder. 
• Rights & entitlements:
  • Reservation in higher education (>5%), government jobs (>4 %), poverty alleviation schemes (5%).
  • Right to free education from 6 to 18 years.
  • Ensure accessibility in public buildings (both Government and private) in a prescribed time-frame.
• Central & State Advisory Boards on Disability are to be set up to serve as apex policy making bodies at the Central and State level.

• Penalties for offences committed against PwDs and also violation of the provisions of the new law.
• Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs.

However, lack of sensitisation of government functionaries and citizens became limitations to the effective implementation of the Act. Laws are as good as their implementation. Thus, sensitisation of Bureaucracy and community at large is important in ensuring full participation and inclusion of PwDs in the society.