THE CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS FACING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH
CPA ASIA YOUTH VOICES: FROM IDENTITY TO INDEPENDENCE: BUILDING A HOLISTIC ECO-SYSTEM FOR THE INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN PAKISTAN Providing an overview of persons with disabilities in Pakistan is immediately challenging and illustrative of the obstacles to this movement. The actual number of persons with disabilities in Pakistan is unknown, and various statistics are available, depending on the source of information. The most reliable official number count of persons with disabilities was taken in 1998 – nearly two decades ago and reported 3.3 million, or 2.54%, persons with disabilities out of Pakistan’s then-overall population of 132 million. The Economist Intelligence Unit notes that, according to the World Health Organization, the world population has approximately 15% or 1 billion persons with disabilities. If Pakistan’s population followed similar rates, that would be over 27 million people, out of the 210
“As a result of this gross under-
representation in the data, persons with disabilities face multiple barriers to being recognised as citizens, entering education, acquiring market relevant skillsets, availing support from the government through benefits, being economically empowered through employment, and leading independent lives.”
Omair Ahmad
is currently the Executive Director of NOWPDP - a disability inclusion initiative and the Founder and CEO of The Shamil (Inclusion) Initiative - a social enterprise creating economic and social empowerment for the disenfranchised. Omair is a social entrepreneur, organisational development specialist and capacity builder with 15 years of experience across the USA, South Asia, the Philippines and the UK.
million population overall. Indeed, as a developing country, Pakistan possesses many characteristics that would likely make the number of persons with disabilities even higher than the world average, such as “high poverty rates, the prevalence of endemic debilitating diseases (including malaria, dengue fever, and polio), [and] injuries sustained through natural disasters and conflict.” Statistically, this would mean persons with disabilities would have significant sway over policy-making and its subsequent implementation – but unfortunately, this is not the case. The reason for this is that the national censuses that have been undertaken over the past many decades, have failed to account for persons with disabilities, and the national database only has about 1 million persons with disabilities registered, which is about 30 times less than the actual number. As a result of this gross under-representation in the data, persons with disabilities face multiple barriers to being recognised as citizens, entering education, acquiring market relevant skill sets, availing support from the government through benefits, being economically empowered through employment, and leading independent lives. With several provincial and national laws in place, and in light of progressive recent judgements of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Sindh High Court - all of which have clearly laid out the judiciaries' framework for the disability-inclusive policies at educational institutions, governments offices and workplaces, it is about time that the government and private organisations step up and start working on the implementation of these laws. In the short-term, one must sensitise the decision-makers and make infrastructure accessible, and in the long-term society should create an entire ecosystem of inclusion for persons with disabilities. A 2011 World Bank study suggests that around 71% of persons with disabilities in Pakistan are unemployed. It has also been suggested
Khalid Sherwani
has spearheaded initiatives on disability inclusion and accessible education. He has worked on the implementation of disability laws in Pakistan by engaging local, provincial and national governments; contributed to making higher education accessible to students belonging to marginalised communities; and compiled a ‘Know Your Rights’ booklet for people with disabilities and their families.
With special thanks for the coordination of this article to Danish Ali Bhutto, Youth Representative for the CPA Asia Region on the Editorial Advisory Board for The Parliamentarian.
The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing | 391
