As any disabled person in Pakistan will tell you, the country is not for the challenged. From the blind finding it near impossible to cross roads or sit for exams because of a dearth of braille resources to the old and infirm prevented from dining out because of a lack of wheelchair access, obstacles are present in every facet of life.

A conservative estimate puts about 2pc of the population as disabled or about 4.4m. However, according to Human Rights Watch, the actual number could very well be 27m. Bare bones data, provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics via Nadra, is just for 371,000 people.

Keeping moral obligations of society aside, marginalising the disabled has a very hefty price tag. In 2014, a policy brief by British Council estimated that persons with disabilities cost the country 4.9-6.3pc of the GDP, which came to about $12bn then. The number would be much higher now.

But in a country where perfectly abled and educated women are kept on the sidelines because of gender, what chance do the disabled have, regardless of legislation.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, September 26th, 2022