Ray of hope for Nagaland’s disabled-community

Eastern Mirror Desk

Dimapur, Oct. 26: For Diethono Nakhro, a rights activist and a former editor of Eastern Mirror who has been most vocal in championing the rights of the disabled people in Nagaland, it has been a long fight. Nakhro along with other activists have been asking the state government to implement the Right for People with Disability (RPWD) Act 2016 for years.

On Oct. 26, 2018, the Nagaland government finally constituted the state’s advisory board on disability as necessitated by the RPWD Act.

Nakhro told Eastern Mirror over the telephone that the RPWD Act 2016 became law in April 2016. Every state was supposed to notify the rules and start implementation within six months. “Since the enforcement notification has come only now, our state is way behind this timeframe. The ‘disability community’ has been fighting for this all these months and I am happy that the government has finally done this,” she said and added that ‘this is only the first step and an official declaration of the Act in the state which will amount to nothing without proper implementation of the various laws and regulations.’

Nakhro asserted that the government must now start the enforcement in an earnest manner. “People with disabilities are the most excluded and marginalised group in our society. For long, we have been ignored and neglected by successive governments and society at large. We are serious about this,” she maintained.

Nakhro suggested that the next step for the government is to notify the ‘state disability rules without further delay.’ “The advisory board, district committees, certifying authorities, special courts for offences against disability, and the like, should be set-up as quickly as possible. This is what we were pushing for. Unless all these things are done, the implementation will not be able to move forward,” she emphasised.

While stressing that the “people with disabilities are not charity cases and that they are not looking for charity,” Nakhro affirmed that the people with disabilities just want the same opportunities as everyone else – the opportunity to get an education, to be able to work and earn, to socialise, and have fun with family and friends. “They just want the same opportunities as you to explore their potential and live a full life,” she stated.

“Presently, there is nothing for a person with disability in our society—no awareness, no understanding, and no accessibility. Most people still look at them as if they are ‘useless and hopeless’ people which they are absolutely not. Laws are important, but it will mean nothing if mindsets on disability do not change,” she said. “The change can begin with you.”