3rd December marks the International Day of Person with Disabilities to understand the issues of the specially abled faces and to support the rights, dignity and the well-being of people having disabilities. Over the years, perception of disability has undergone various transformations.The fight for the rights for disabled people has a long history similar to the civil rights movement. There were many acts, laws, protests and people that helped shape this development.
Disability is not any new form of a disease; it was present right from the beginning of human civilization. During the olden days it was believed that disabilities is some kind of demonic possession which a person possesses and is an unnatural way of living.The only way of living was asylums and prison. As years passed and people were introduced to knowledge and the emergence of science had begun, they began to understand about disabilities in a newer light.
Many organizations have emerged for people with disabilities since the 1800s. During the 1900s there were several activists who found various groups of people having disabilities along with their parents who wanted to have equal rights, dignity and to put an end to discrimination. There were several protests and campaigns that had been held for this issue. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed International Day of Person with Disabilities on 3rd of December, 1992.
It is very important to highlight the notion that disability is a universal human experience and not a characteristic of the individual. Disability is a condition that makes it more difficult for an individual to do everyday or certain activities within a given society. Disability may be classified as long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment. There are around 1 billion people who face disability and the numbers are drastically rising due to overpopulation.
There are a number of barriers that are faced by them in various sectors mainly in health, education, employment, accessibility, social exclusion and others. They lack necessary requirement and are unable to access any of these rights hence they face discrimination. People with disabilities tend to have a poor health condition and they survive with more challenges than a normal person does. Most of them rely on the support of their family members in day-to-day activities. They also get a negative attitude from people and health care workers. Another issue that they face in an underdeveloped environment is inaccessible healthcare facilities. In order to help specially abled people there are various schools that have begun to give them the necessary education. As some of the disabled adults are capable of working but they have lower employment rates than the normal population, there are various organizations open to help disable people to be employed. People around the world who have a different opinion about people with disabilities are now evolving to have a changed mindset.
Every year programs and campaigns are held to spread awareness and speak up for equal rights in every sector. This year's theme is based on transformative solutions for inclusive development and the role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world. This will be covering three major dilemmas such as;
- Innovation for disability inclusive development in reducing inequality (SDG10)- This is to cover good practice, practical tools and innovative ideas to reduce inequality in both the private and public sectors.
- Innovation for disability inclusive development in; sports as an exemplar case - to take sports as a site of innovation, good practice and example for employment and equity.
- Innovation for disability inclusive development in employment (SDG8) - It will discuss all the links between knowledge, skills, and employment required to access employment in a rapid way. Child Help Foundation has supported the initiative for A Sports Camp for Wheelchair Fencing, which was organized by the Wheelchair Fencing Federation for the 6th National Wheelchair Sports Camp in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. They helped the athletes by providing them uniforms and jerseys.
Specially abled people are very often contributing assets for our society. This day does not discriminate between mental health and physical health of any person. People with disabilities have shown the courage and progressed far better than before.They have grown in various sectors and are continuing to build an entirely different world for themselves, where they are trying to live with equal rights, dignity and no discrimination done amongst them.There are many inspiring stories of specially abled people who have achieved a lot. They make you believe that no matter how differently you are born, if you have hope and belief in your dreams, you can achieve anything and nothing can stop you.
"Some people may have thought it was undignified for people in wheelchairs to crawl in that manner, but I felt that it was necessary to show the country what kinds of things people with disabilities have to face on a day-to-day basis. We had to be willing to fight for what we believed in." - Michael Winter, Former Director of the Center for Independent Living, Hawaii and Berkeley, California.