CHENNAI: Would it surprise you to know that our constitution was constructed without any representation of a person with a disability (PwD)? Or that it took another 45 years for India to instate the Person with Disabilities Act, of 1995, which only included five different kinds of largely physically visible disabilities?
This, and much more was revealed at the session about the rights of PwDs called ‘Legal Awareness for People with Disability, organised by the VVIP Trust. The event was curated by creative consultancy Wright Intended and hosted by and at the Museum of Possibilities.
Exploring history
Conducted by disability activists M Karpagam, High Court advocate and Srivatsan Sankaran, photographer, the talk walked the audience through the history of legal policies for PwDs, untangling the provisions of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 in various aspects.
Highlighting the issues of statistics in policy-making, Karpagam said, “The first time a disability census was conducted was in 2001 but questions were formed (without much knowledge). So, the only concrete census we have is of 2011 and even then, only nine questions were put forth.
There is also a stigma to having a disability and without statistics, it is hard to make policies (regarding PwDs). In the census, it was revealed that 2.21% of the population was PwDs but other statistics showed that it would be 10-15 per cent.”
Eventually, things did change for PwDs with the model shifting from a medical and char
ity approach to person-oriented as several PwDs shared that it was a society that made them disabled. “If there was a ramp (in every building) and everyone knew sign language, (then PwDs would not have such concerns).
And while things have gotten better, there is much to be improved.
“A lot of issues come up as and when people face them. As a parent pointed out during the talk, we (PwDs) often talk among ourselves; the general public still doesn’t know a lot including even etiquette towards a PwD. This lack of awareness is something that the government has to look into. Also, the procedures are so lengthy that you don’t know when you will get a response so people lose hope. The process needs to be simplified,” she shared with CE, adding that there is also a need for representation of PwDs in the political stratosphere.
Empowered living
It was hard not to notice that most audience members were PwDs. While it would have been heartening to see more able-bodied citizens, those who were present seemed glad to gain knowledge.
“I was aware of the points about (some) rights of PwD, but I learned something new. This knowledge will empower us to fight for the rights of PwDs. We will be able to make decisions ourselves and it will help us to be more independent,” said Santhosh.
Another audience member, Aravind shared, “It was an eye-opening session for me as I am hearing of many of these things for the first time. I am looking to learn more about laws. The knowledge empowers me to take steps to get support.”
This first session has paved the way for other talks in the future, it seems, as Shwetha Raju, director and creative lead at Wright Intended shared their interest in the same.
“It’s on our agenda to bring a sense of community building in Tamil Nadu for PwDs. We want them to have knowledge transfer within the community, work on interpersonal relationships, and as for the general public, make them more sensitised towards communicating with the people in the disabled community,” she concluded.