ISLAMABAD: Political will can help pass comprehensive legislation dealing with the welfare of people living with disabilities, which in the long run will correct societal norms on the disability issue, a brief released by a rights organisation on Thursday said.

The brief was released by the Potohar Mental Health Association (PMHA), a rights organisation working for the welfare of people with disabilities, outlining the discussion of a working group on ‘Mainstreaming of Disability in the Political, Democratic and Legislative Landscape of Pakistan’.

Members of the group said many myths prevail in society about people living with disabilities. Their exclusion begins at home and is exacerbated in schools, one working group member noted, adding that derogatory epithets further exclude the very presence of this segment of society.

Such exclusionary notions act as obstacles in the full participation of people living with disabilities,a population of around 33 million. The brief said society needs to overcome this difference by shunning the ‘us versus them’ narrative.

According to a statement, one participant called for looking at people living with disabilities as human beings rather than objects. Societal approaches, meanwhile, stay afloat given there is no proper law that incorporates people with disabilities into the mainstream or puts in place accountability mechanisms for discriminatory behaviour.

As of now, people living with disabilities are subjected to the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance 1981, which only deals with employment and rehabilitation services.

A critical missing element has been political will, members of the working group noted. PMHA, however, hoped that the new parliament will take forward the task of mainstreaming people with disabilities as promised by the top three political parties. Members also called for inclusive participation of people living with disabilities, particularly women, in the democratic process, which will ensure they can claim their rights on their own.

Members of the working group included Human Rights Commission of Pakistan council members Nasreen Azhar and Marvi Sirmed, psychologist Dr Bashir Hussain Shah and others.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2018