Nagaland ought to do better on disability rights legislation

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Aug. 27 (EMN): Nagaland as a close knit community should be doing better in legislation on disability rights, influencing new ideas and strategies to achieve an inclusive society, but the circumstances is the same as the rest with the issue of disability not addressed, and seen as a taboo while people are not forthcoming, said Dimapur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sachin Jaiswal.

The DC was addressing the inaugural session of one-day national seminar on “Rights of differently abled women in North East India: With special reference to Nagaland”.

The seminar sponsored by the National Commission for Women and organised by the department of Political Science and History, Immanuel College Dimapur, was held on Friday.

Jaiswal said that the 4% reservation for the people with disabilities (PwDs) in Nagaland was also a hard earned percentage, and although it is in paper, ‘we have to see how it is implemented’.

“The rights of the disabled started very late in India and the only sympathy that we offer towards the people with disability was God made them that way and validate it as a curse or karma,” he said.

Sensitisation and infrastructure gap is the main concern, he said, asserting that the ‘lack of education for people with disability is a continuing concern and a matter of neglect as they are not given the opportunity to venture out by their families because of shame and stigma from the society’.

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Mentality of the society has to go through a paradigm change, he said while pointing out that he doesn't consider the DC office in Dimapur as PwDs-friendly as it has no facilities or services for them although there are provisions for that in offices.

Jaiswal lamented lack of PwDs-friendly services in Nagaland, which has mostly rough terrains, and the infrastructure and psychological gap. Also, many do not possess disability certificates which will ensure them of the entitled schemes, he added.

Director of Prodigal’s Home, K Ela shared how the discrimination inadvertently meted out to PwDs during her ‘growing up years’ left her with guilt even today. She said that ‘parents and teachers had never taught us that the PwDs have their rights entitled in the constitution and we have never been taught on how to talk with them or make friends with them’. Although they have their own individual names like anyone of us, we refer to them as “mad person”, she lamented.

“In colleges, there are not many PwDs because they drop out of school and one of the main reasons is because of the discrimination and stigma that they face. If we provide them with the support system needed, make them feel part of us and the society, they will do well,” she said.

She lamented that women with disability and mental illness are violated by the abled men and the people, and with very limited services available in Nagaland for PwD, we live in a bubble of “abled” world.

The HOD of Political Science department of the college, Khrutalu Dozo, and Assistant Professor, department of Political Science, Bendang Jamir also emphasised on “Right to Employment concerning women with Disabilities with special reference to Nagaland”.

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Dozo informed that as per 2011 census, 29,677 (1.5%) persons in the state have one or the other kind of disability and 4, 26,765 female workers according to the Census of Nagaland State Government Employees published by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics 2011. It was found that 21.92% of the total workers in the state are working in state government, out of which 17.09% are male workers and 4.83% female workers.

On the employment perspective, she said, women with disabilities significantly face more difficulties in private and public spheres and ‘even though we talk of right to employment, there are not enough opportunities. And with patriarchy still followed in the state, women are not given enough opportunity’.

While the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 was an important landmark and a significant step in the direction to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities and their full participation in the nation building, Dozo said the key provisions on employment under this Act emphasis on reservation (3%), research and manpower development, social security/ assistance, accessibility and creation of barrier-free environment of the few.

The Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, said the appropriate government shall ensure that the PWDs enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity, and respect for his or her own integrity equally with others, the barriers to accessing employment opportunities were manifold, added Dozo.

The only way forward is through proper implementation and review of government laws, acts and policies; proper and inclusive education; infrastructure accessibility in work environment, both in private and public establishments, and affirmative action to name a few.

Speaking on “Right to education and women with disabilities”, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Loli Athisii said children with disabilities are deprived of education due to inaccessible schools, inadequately trained teachers, or lack of awareness among parents and school staff, social stigma, etc., despite having the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

According to Census 2011, 62% of male disabled are literate and only 45% of female disabled are literate.