Priority for development of women with disabilities

In order to establish an inclusive society attention has to be paid on the development of persons with disabilities. Both inside and outside of the home, women with disabilities become the victim of oppression and segregation the most.

So, there must be access of legal rights, inclusion of sign language interpreters for hearing and speech impaired as well as infrastructural arrangement for plaintiffs to enter the court room in order to ensure justice.

Speakers made this call from a roundtable titled ‘Legal Framework to Protect Women with Disabilities: Challenges and Resolutions’ held at Prothom Alo office in capital’s Karwan Bazar area on Thursday.

With the support of Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN PRPD), UN Women, Women with Disabilities Development Foundation (WDDF) and Prothom Alo had co-organised the roundtable.

Speakers at the roundtable also stated that political commitment is necessary for the development of persons with disabilities. Especially the development of women with disabilities has to be given priority.

Focusing on the difference of requirements, definition of the existing law has to be revised based on human rights to ensure rights and protection. Committees on various levels have to be made more active.

In order to make employment arrangements for people with disabilities, their inclusion in technical and institutional education has to be increased. Plus, modern measures have to be taken to guarantee their access everywhere starting from establishments and transportations.

While speaking as a guest at the roundtable, parliament member and former social welfare minister Rashed Khan Menon said that development and protection of rights for persons with disabilities cannot be achieved without changing society’s attitude. There’s no benefit without law enforcement either.

There has to be discussion in the national parliament on forming budgets sensitive to persons with disabilities. He supported the demand for re-establishing a parliamentary caucus for persons with disabilities and reserving two seats in the national assembly for women with disabilities.

Additional secretary (Institutions and Disability) at the ministry of social welfare Bijay Krisna Devnath said that there are two laws titled ‘Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013’ and ‘Protection of Persons with Neuro-developmental Disability Trust Act-2013’ for the benefit of people with disabilities.

If everyone’s respectful towards the law, it is possible to protect the rights of people with disabilities. The ministry will work on the demands of motivating the committees on different levels including the national observation committee, he said.

Deputy country representative of UN Women Bangladesh, Navanita Sinha said that Bangladesh has advanced a lot. So, with the policy that no one should be left behind everyone must work on how to strengthen the existing institutional arrangements for the protection of persons with disabilities, especially women with disabilities. UN Women wants to work with the government to enforce the law and implement the CRPD, she added.

Executive director of WDDF Ashrafun Nahar said persons with disabilities are facing segregation starting at home to every level in the society. The scope for their employment has thinned down for the disability quota being scraped. The needs of people with disabilities are different but there’s no scope for them to demand justice accordingly.

Persons with disabilities are mentioned in total thirteen laws and plans. That means almost every single ministry is supposed do at least something for the development of persons with disabilities. She made a call to allocate at least two seats from the reserved women seats at the national parliament to women with disabilities, she added.

Associate professor of law at the University of Dhaka, Taslima Yasmin presented the concept paper during the programme. She said that the rights-based aspects have been overlooked in Bangladeshi laws on persons with disabilities.

The same sorts of crisis and rights have been outlined for all the persons with disabilities. The law does not address the fact that women with disabilities are victimised by discrimination and they require special attention, she continued.

Bangladesh national women lawyers’ association president Salma Ali said that there should be a coordination among the activities of the ministry of women and child affairs, ministry of social welfare and ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs to prevent violence against women with disabilities or to ensure their access and safety in case of seeking justice when falling victim to oppression.

Member of national human rights commission and professor at the department of women and gender studies in the University of Dhaka, Tania Haque said, “It is only the limitation of our own knowledge that we don’t see the expertise and capabilities of people with disabilities. This is how we are showing signs of irresponsibility. Considering the fact that women with disabilities face even more challenges, inclusive laws should be formed to protect the rights of people with disabilities.”

Assistant director at the department of women affairs, Syeda Nasrina Parvin said that with a little bit of help, a lot of women with disabilities can become established based on sheer will power.

Trustee of Impact Foundation Bangladesh, Monsur Ahmed Choudhuri remarked that there must be a political commitment for the development of people with disabilities. A national observation committee had been formed for the development of persons with disabilities back in 2008. That committee was active till 2016.

He said, “Why is there no trace of that committee any longer? Anyone can be faced with disabilities at any point in their lives. So, nobody should ever overlook persons with disabilities.”

Executive director of centre for services and information on disability, Khondokar Johurul Alam said that the power the national coordination committee for women with disabilities holds is needed to be implemented as well.

Among others, legal specialist (gender justice and women’s empowerment) at BLAST Ayesha Akhter, national programme officer at International Labor Organization Farjana Reza, Bangladesh programme team lead at ADD International Bangladesh Gholam Faruq Hamim, disability and development consultant Nafeesur Rahman, programme support officer at UN Women Bangladesh Nazma Ara Begum, National Council of Disabled Women president Nasima Akter, B-SCAN director Iftekhar Mahmood, advisor and communication manager at CBM Global Bangladesh Dewan Mahfuz E Maula, and deputy director at National Human Rights Commission Farjana Najnin Tultul also spoke on the occasion.

Prothom Alo associate editor Abdul Quayum gave the opening speech at the roundtable that was moderated by Prothom Alo assistant editor Firoz Choudhury.