Conference in Pakistan discusses need for civil rights for people with disabilities there

From The Daily Times in Pakistan:

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Proper legislation should be made to incorporate the rights of the disabled into the fundamental rights of a citizen, participants at a seminar demanded on Monday.

The seminar titled ‘Realising the rights of disabled children’ was organised by the AGHS Child Rights Unit. Speaking on the occasion, AGHS Director Hina Jillani said the rights of special children were mentioned in the principles of policy, which is separate from fundamental rights.

“The state can avoid implementing principles of policy on the pretext of financial scarcity, but once the rights of disabled persons become a part of the fundamental rights, it will be binding on the state to ensure its implementation,” Hina said, adding that any new building plan needed to have access for disabled persons, however, “Nowadays even some hospitals and airports do not meet this basic criterion.”

Human rights: She said that human rights were “universal and independent of race, creed, colour and mental ability”.

Foundation for Rehabilitation and Education for Special Children Principal Absha Kamran said, “We need to understand that disabled people are also humans... and by providing them a better environment and showing love and care we can bring a lot of positive change in just one decade.”

She said the disability criteria needed to be redefined to address their problems. “In the UK even a cardiac patient or someone with hypertension is considered a disabled person, making up to 52 percent of the entire population,” she said.

“Education and employment are two ways to bring special children into the mainstream,” she said, adding that learning disabilities affect approximately 2 million children between the ages of six and 17. “The Punjab government has set up 156 institutes dealing with different disabilities, but not a single one for children with learning disabilities,” she added.

Mayo Hospital Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Head Dr Khalid Jamil said that stakeholders are not taken on board to address the issue and hence the problem is not resolved. He highlighted the “dubious” role of a few non-governmental organisations, “which market special children and sell them as a commodity”.

“The NGO sector is making a lot of money out of the whole venture,” he said, adding that accessibility, financial support and free education are the tools to bring special children into the mainstream.