Share
Participants engage in a demonstration during the Sveep campaign at the DC conference hall, on March 20 in Dimapur.[/caption]
Dimapur, March 20 (EMN): Most people in Nagaland who have disabilities are themselves quite unaware of their rights. It is a situation that needs people who can advocate their rights besides needing people who care, a commissioner from the state’s disability establishment has stated.
As part of the systematic voters’ education and electoral participation program (Sveep) campaign, a seminar for persons with disability was conducted in the conference hall of the deputy commissioner of Dimapur on March 20.
Disability commissioner for Nagaland Diethono Nakhro was the special guest of the event, the government bulletin IPR stated in its report on Wednesday.
The Sveep is the leading program of the Election Commission of India for voter education; and for increasing voters’ knowledge about the electoral process, and to promote voter literacy in India.
Delivering an address during the event, Nakhro she said that the disability community is ‘rarely on the radar during elections, and even at other times.’ She expressed gratefulness to the administration for taking the initiative to conduct the seminar.
‘The Right to Vote is a fundamental human right. But for too long, voters with disabilities have been ignored and marginalized. Awareness and understanding of disability rights and issues in general has been and is still quite poor in our society,’ the IPR quoted her as having stated.
‘The disability community still faces many challenges in term of misconceptions and negative attitude about disability,’ she added.
The former journalist has requested families, caregivers, and nongovernmental organisations besides well-wishers to encourage and help voters who have disabilities to ‘come out and cast their votes.’
“We are still in a situation where many people with disabilities themselves are quite unaware of their rights. We are greatly in need of advocates and people who care,” she said.
Also, Nakhro noted that the Election commission of India had in the recent years included persons with disabilities in the electoral process with its slogan “no voter to be left behind.” She appreciated the election authorities for a number of initiatives that have taken for the cause. The election establishment has also been proactive in this regard, the official said.
The IPR stated that ‘pledge cards’ were distributed.
A demonstration on the use of electronic voting machines and the voter’s verifiable paper audit trial was given to the gathering during which the persons with disability took part, the updates added.