A SOCIETY comes of age when it does not normalise ‘othering’. As we observe the International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, Pakistani society and its ruling elites should know that they have left a large swathe of people behind. According to the UN, 16pc of the world’s population experiences disability. But the fact that we are without credible data on differently abled lives provides glaring evidence of discrimination: the 2017 census recorded 0.48pc persons with disability among Pakistanis, which may not reflect the actual situation. The 2024 theme of ‘amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future’, represented in the international disability rights movement’s slogan ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ that comprises ‘participation, representation and inclusion’, must compel us to reimagine disabilities for decisive progress, such as delivering PWDs’ share in employment, education and healthcare, with facilities in public spaces, at the workplace and on public transport.

While many countries have taken tremendous strides in removing physical barriers, spreading information and promoting socially sensitive terminology to tackle stigmas, the space for compassion and equity is shrinking in Pakistan. For instance, in 2020, the apex court directed government officials not to use terms such as ‘mentally retarded’, ‘disabled’ and ‘physically handicapped’, but the practice remains rampant, to the extent that a section of society is turned into a slur. Inclusion for disability mandates progressive policymaking and extensive interaction to understand special needs; but the lack of data hinders the former. Urgent collective action is, therefore, needed because an imbalanced setting becomes the breeding ground for bias and health threats. To overlook the challenge of differently abled people being twice as susceptible to health issues — diabetes, stroke, oral diseases, depression — is criminal. Humane societies demand that no one is denied agency and pushed to the margins of society.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2024