Today I will start my discussion with a question. It is perhaps one of those questions that never strike an ‘able’ human who is rowing his boat through the storms of life, in case of Pakistan, living through a generation that has not experienced much besides confusion, chaos and catastrophe.
So, let me ask you, how many new private and/ public buildings do you see today that are built with a wheelchair facility? How many billboards do you see promoting programs on anything and everything ranging from women health fitness to Spanish courses compared to a braille class? I will be honest with myself; the last time I talked about disabled people was in my university years, while questioning a fellow student who had chosen the topic for his semester project.
It never occurred to me to ponder over the lives of those unable to walk, talk, see or hear. For I like many other in this world have taken these blessings for granted. While climbing stairs, I sometimes climb two at a time, just because I can; without ever giving it a thought about someone who is in a wheelchair wondering how will he go past those 3 steps because there isn’t any ramp. While my problems may start after I enter a building, his start on the very doorstep.
Many centers and private organisations work for disabled people all over the country, but a serious initiative from the Pakistani government is so far, nowhere to be seen. Forget implementation, in this case, many policies are yet to be formulated. The machinery is busy in satisfying foreign elements while our own bodies keep piling up, the ministers are busy satisfying their hunger for protocol while the common man is chained in taxes and inflation, and the disable remain in an oblivious mirage of hopelessness.
October 15 was celebrated as the White Cane Day across the country, yet ironically the majority of us remained as oblivious to it as we are to those who are physically and mentally less privileged than us. Several seminars and forums were held that highlighted the discrepancies in the policy making against the visually impaired such as they are not issued credit cards, neither are any special packages designed for them by banks. Such people can become an integral part of our society as well as contribute to the GDP if given moral and financial support by the government and NGOs. It was only a few years back that a visually impaired girl passed the CSS examination and was allocated in the Foreign Service group. We currently have a blind cricket team though more needs to be done to bring these people to the upfront instead of treating them like mere ‘props’ that showcase certain days of the year for several organisations.
I know most will argue, in a country, where the ‘able’ are plundered in the socio-political scenario, how can we make the case for the disabled. By just posing the question we are classifying the physically impaired in a different category whereas they have a claim to their rights just like the average citizen, perhaps more.
It is funny, most of my friends ask me why is that when they go abroad they see so many disabled people as compared to Pakistan and I just silently stare at them not wanting to reply; which is that it is not the statistics but our negligence which deprives them of their required level of comfort to move around as freely as the rest of us. So, let it be more than a day for the disabled, let it be more than a thought, and more than words that go out to these lovely human beings, let it be action.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
