DISABILITY, LAW AND CHALLENEGES

May 31, 2023

DISABILITY, LAW AND CHALLENEGES

1) DEFINITION OF DISABILITY

A disability is a physical or mental problem that makes it difficult or impossible for a person to walk, see, hear, speak, learn, or do other important things. Some disabilities are permanent, or last forever. Others are temporary, or last for only a short period of time. A disability can be something a person was born with.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines disability as “long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder (a person’s) full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”

According to the Constitution of Nepal, a disabled person is “one who is mentally or physical unable to lead a normal life.” Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines disability as “denotes impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions.”

Likewise, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) describes “Disability is an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. It denotes the negative aspects of the interaction between a person's health condition(s) and that individual's contextual factors (environmental and personal factors).”

Moreover, according to the World Health Organization disability has three dimensions:

Impairment in a person’s body structure or function, or mental functioning; examples of impairments include loss of a limb, loss of vision or memory loss.
Activity limitations such as difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, or problem solving.
Participation restrictions in normal daily activities, such as working, engaging in social and recreational activities, and obtaining health care and prevention services.

Furthermore, Census Report of Nepal (CRN) has classified disability into seven groups:

1) PHYSICAL DISABILITY: partial or total loss of physical operational abilities; problems with the use and movement of nerves or muscles; and complications with the composition and, or operation of bones and joints including amputation, arthritis and cerebral palsy.

2) VISION-RELATED DISABILITY: where and individual’s eyesight is impaired and cannot be corrected. Where an individual is unable to see clearly from both eyes at a distance of 20 feet, they are considered to have ‘low vision.’

3) HEARING-RELATED DISABILITY: a condition in which an individual is unable to hear sound, and, or the rise and fall in sound. A deaf individual is someone who cannot hear sound above 80 decibels. An individual who can hear sound between 65-80 decibels is considered to be hard of hearing.

4) DEAF-BLIND: an individual who has both vision and hearing-related impairments.

5) VOICE AND SPEECH-REALTED DISABILITY: This is characterized by unclear speech and unnecessary repetition of words and letters.

6) MENTAL DISABILITY: where an individual has abnormal brain function. There are three classifications:

· Where an individual unable to carry out activities relative to their age or environment due to an absence of intellectual development prior to the age of 18 years, they are known as intellectually disabled or mental retardated.

· Where an individual is unable to conduct his/her daily life activities due to a mental illness, they are known having a chronic mental illness.

· Where an individual is unable to demonstrate normal behaviour and communication patterns (through the use of language), or where they consistently repeat one activity, they are considered to have autism.

2) DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TERMINOLOGY ‘DISABILITY,’ ‘HANDICAP,’ AND ‘IMPAIRMENT’

These three terminologies sound similar but there are some differences in the terminology. So, let’s see the differences between the terminology ‘disability,’ ‘handicap’ and ‘impairment.’

DISABILITY: Any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. In other words, a physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or mix of these impairment is disability.
HANDICAP: A disadvantage for a given individual that limits or prevents the fulfilment of a role that is normal. Any genetic or acquired physical or mental impairment that prevents or limits a person from engaging in daily activities or reduces their ability to work is defined as handicap.
IMPAIRMENT: An impairment occurs when there is a problem that affects the normal huma body structure or organ. Cerebral palsy is an example of an impairment because it has a variety of effects on the body's structure in persons who have it. It makes it difficult for the person to move their various limbs since it causes the joints to stiffen as a result of painful muscle contractions. Additionally, it makes the jaws tighten up and clench together in such a way that some people find it difficult to loosen the jaw. Some people with cerebral palsy may experience limb deformities and restricted growth. All of these factors affect the physical structure of the body and are included in the definition of an impairment.

EXAMPLES

· A learning disability, especially a reading disability is dyslexia. Let’s assume that the student is intelligent above average and has good hearing and vision. The inability of the brain to decode words to read is hence the handicap. The letter symbols and sounds cannot be connected by the brain correctly.

· The student’s learning difficulty is now reading comprehension. Specific intervention programs, such as multimodal reading instruction can be used to improve it.

· The person may struggle in class due to various learning handicaps. For instance, the students might be unable to complete the reading in class. However, if the learner is given some accommodations, such as the ability to record lectures and listen to books on audiotapes, they perform well on the level with their friends.

3) MISCONCEPTION AND MYTHS ABOUT DISABILITY

There are misconception and myths about disability especially in the context of Nepal. Some people believe that a woman only develops a disability if she or her parents engaged in extramarital sexual activity, offended their ancestors, or did something wrong in a previous life. People normally accuse the mother. But a child's disability is not the mother's fault. And blaming others for a disability is not the right way. Additionally, people also believed that disability is caused by cursed or witchcraft which is not true.

Another misconception about disability is that persons with disability should be ignored, mocked, and criticized. There is also the belief that people with disabilities are a sign of bad luck. Furthermore, sometimes women with disabilities are sexually abused because people believe they are free of HIV/AIDS or that having sex with a disabled women can cure HIV/AIDS.

There are some common myths about disability in the society which includes:

MYTH: A person’s disability defines who they are as an individual

People frequently categorize people with disabilities based on their condition or restrictions. In our daily lives, we frequently hear the terms like “the disabled” or “the epileptic.”

MYTH: People with disabilities are special and should be treated differently

The term ‘special’ does not imply equality to the disability. Expectations for success shouldn’t be undervalued because people with disability are given ‘special’ labels.

MYTH: People with disabilities are dependent and always need help

All of us might need help with certain tasks since we may find them challenging. Disability does not imply reliance; however occasionally disabled people may need assistance. Never presume a person with a disability requires assistance. Simply ask!

MYTH: People with disabilities want to associate with each other

Friendships and relationships are matters of personal preference. Although there may be similarities among people with disabilities, it shouldn’t be assumed that everyone wants to associate or make friends with one another.

MYTHS: People are confined to their wheelchair

People with disabilities do not consider themselves to be “confined” to their wheelchairs. Similarly, a person without disability is not confined to their car. Like a car, a wheelchair is a method of transportation that increases one’s independence.

4) KEY FACTS ABOUT THE DSIABILITY BASED ON WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)

· An estimated 1.3 billion people experience significant disability. This represents 16% of the world’s population, or 1 in 6 of us.

· Some persons with disabilities die up to 20 years earlier than those without disabilities.

· Persons with disabilities have twice the risk of developing conditions such as depression, asthma, diabetes, stroke, obesity, or poor oral health.

· Persons with disabilities face many health inequities.

· Persons with disabilities find inaccessible and unaffordable transportation 15 times more difficult than for those without disabilities.

· Health inequities arise from unfair conditions faced by persons with disabilities, including stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and barriers faced in the health system itself.

5) HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Every day, people with disabilities face discrimination. Not only they face discrimination but they have restriction on the barriers from participating in the society on an equal basis with other. Their rights to vote, to live independently in the community, to participate in sport and cultural activities, to enjoy social protection, to access justice, to choose their own medical care, and to freely enter legal obligations like buying and selling property are all frequently denied to them.

People with disabilities are overrepresented among the population in the developing nations, often marginalized and in extreme poverty. Additionally, people with disabilities are frequently left behind during humanitarian crises, having little to no influence over the reconstruction of their lives and communities.

The protection guaranteed in other human rights treaties, and grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should apply to all. However, people with disabilities have mainly remained ‘invisible’ frequently being left out in the rights debate and being denied the opportunity to fully enjoy and exercise their human rights.

5.1) CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty to United Nations aimed at defending the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. The convention requires the parties to promote, safeguard, and ensure that persons with disabilities can fully exercise their human rights and are treated equally by the law. The Convention acts as a significant stimulant for the global movement for the rights of people with disabilities, facilitating a change from seeing people with disabilities as object of charity, medical care, and social protection to seeing them as full, equal, and human rights. The convention was the first human rights deal signed by the United Nations in the twenty-first century.

The document was approved by the UN General Assembly on December 13, 2006 and it became available for signature on March 30, 2007. After being ratified by the 20^th party, it came into effect on May 3, 2008. It currently includes 186 parties, 185 states, and the European Union (which ratified it on December 23, 2010), with 164 signatories as of January 2023. Since 2008, yearly Conferences of States Parties to the CRPD have established rules for the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which oversees the convention. Due to the COVID-19 dilemma, the thirteen Conference of States Parties which was originally slated to convene in New York in June 2020 has been tentatively postponed taking place in December 2020.

5.2) SUMMARY

The Convention follows the civil law tradition, with a preamble, in which the principle that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated "of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action is cited. The 25-subsection preamble explicitly mentions sustainable development, notes that "disability" is an "evolving concept" involving interaction between impairments and environmental factors, and mentions the importance of a "gender perspective". The preamble is followed by 50 articles. Unlike many UN covenants and conventions, it is not formally divided into parts.

Article 1 defines the purpose of the convention:

to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.

Article 2 provides definitions of some keywords in CRPD provisions: communication, (including Braille, sign language, plain language and nonverbal communication), discrimination on the basis of disability, reasonable accommodation and universal design.

Article 3 delineates the CRPD's eight "general principles" described below, while Article 4 delineates parties' "general obligations."

Articles 5–32 define the rights of persons with disabilities and the obligations of states parties towards them. Many of these mirror rights affirmed in other UN conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention Against Torture, but with specific obligations ensuring that they can be fully realized by persons with disabilities.

Rights specific to this convention include the rights to accessibility including the information technology, the rights to live independently and be included in the community (Article 19), to personal mobility (article 20), habilitation and rehabilitation (Article 26), and to participation in political and public life, and cultural life, recreation and sport (Articles 29 and 30).

In addition, parties to the Convention must raise awareness of the human rights of persons with disabilities (Article 8), and ensure access to roads, buildings, and information (Article 9).

Articles 33–39 govern reporting and monitoring of the convention by national human rights institutions (Article 33) and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Articles 34 through 39).

Articles 40–50 govern ratification, entry into force, relation to "regional integration organizations", reservations, amendment, and denunciation of the convention. Article 49 requires that the Convention be available in accessible formats, and Article 50 provides that the convention's "Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts" are "equally authentic".

The Key principles of the CRPD are stated in Articles 3 and they are applicable across all of its articles which includes:

· Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons;

· Non-discrimination;

· Full and effective participation and inclusion in society;

· Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity;

· Equality of opportunity;

· Accessibility;

· Equality between men and women;

· Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.

6) PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF NEPAL

According to Nepal Census 2078, 2.2% of the Nepali Population have some form of disability. Among the male population, 2.5% and the entire female population, 2.0% have some disability. The list of percentages that represent the prevalence of different types of are:

Physical (36.75%)
Low vision (16.88%)
Blind (5.37%)
Deaf (7.85%)
Hard of Hearing (7.875)
Deaf and Blind (1.56%)
Speech Impairment (6.36%)
Psycho-social disability (4.2%)
Intellectual disabilities (1.73%)
Hemophilia (0.75%)
Autism (0.75%)
Multiple Disability (8.78%)
Not Stated (1.07%)

6.1) DATA OF DISABILITY

Figure 1: Data of Percentages of Disability in Female and Male

Figure 2: Data of different types of persons with disabilities in percentages

Figure 3: Data of percentages persons with disabilities in seven provinces

6.2) DISABILITY IDENTITY CARD

Disability Identity Card (ID) is the key document issued for individuals with disabilities and qualifies a person as a recipient of disability allowance, a Social Security Programme of the Government of Nepal.

From 2009, the Government of Nepal has started providing Disability Identity Card (ID) to persons with disability from 2009 as per the provision of Disability ID Card Distribution Directive 2065 (2009). However, the government had previously introduced the bill on disabilities in 2006.

One of five government-run social security allowance (SSA) programs in Nepal, the disability allowance provides financial payments to people with disabilities. Additionally, the government has adopted a set of policy tools to defend the rights of individuals with disabilities and to grant them access to a variety of discounts and services as part of its strategy to advance their inclusion and welfare. In order to be eligible for the disability allowance and to access specialized and/or subsidized services, people with disabilities must possess a disability identity card which classifies person based on the severity of their disability. There are four types of disability identity card which includes red, blue, yellow and white. A person with complete disability (‘A’ category), severe disability (‘B’ category), moderate disability (‘C’ category) and general disability (‘D’ category) will obtain read, blue, yellow and white card respectively. Only people with a red or blue disability identity card-which according to the government’s classification, signify “complete” or “severe” disabilities- are qualified to receive the payment.

People with disabilities who hold a red or blue disability card are eligible to receive a government disability allowance. Red card holders receive an allowance of Rs. 2,000 a month while blue card holders receive an allowance of Rs. 600 a month. The money is transferred through the bank or hand-delivered every four months.

Figure 4: It shows the data of Identity Card Distribution to Persons with Disability

7) NEPAL’S CONSTITUTION TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY

According to the Nepal’s Constitution, it has provided act, rights and laws to the persons with the disabilities which are:

· RIGHT TO INFORMATION:

1) No person with disability shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability or be deprived of personal liberty.

2) No person shall make any kind of discrimination on the basis of disability in making enrolment of a person with disability in an educational institute, in lending loans by a bank or financial institution.

3) No member of his or her family or guardian shall, on the basis of disability, make any kind of discrimination against a person with disability in the maintenance, care, provision of foods, distribution of property or any other act.

4) No person shall, on the basis of disability, be prohibited from using or entering into any building or place that is open for use or entry by the general public whether with or without fee or no additional terms or liability shall be imposed in this respect on such basis.

· RIGHT TO COMMUNITY LIFE

1) A person with disability shall have the right to live with his or her family or guardian or in a place of residence chosen by him or her, on an equal basis with others, and he or she shall not be compelled to live in any specific place.

(2) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to obtain assistive materials and community assistance in order to earn the living respectfully.

· RIGHT TO PROTECTION:

1) The person with disability shall have the right to obtain protection against any kind of inhuman or degrading treatment, physical or mental violence, gender-based violence, domestic violence, sexual harassment and exploitation by the family guardian or other person.

2) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to obtain security, rescue and protection with priority in times of armed conflict, state of emergency or disaster.

3) The Government of Nepal shall make the following provisions in order to protect the persons with disabilities against any kind of exploitation, violence and harassment including gender-based violence: (a) To obtain information of incidents of exploitation, violence, harassment, gender-based and sexual violence committed against the persons with disabilities, and maintain records thereof, (b) to take effective legal action in accordance with this Act and the prevailing law against exploitation, violence and incidents referred to in clause (a), (c) To immediately and effectively provide security to, rescue, protect and rehabilitate, the victims from such incidents, (d) To make proper arrangements for preventing such incidents, (e) To launch awareness and counselling programs at the community level against such incidents.

· RIGHT OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION:

1) The persons with disabilities shall, on an equal basis with others, have the right to become candidate in elections in a fearless environment and to cast votes voluntarily, with or without assistance of others.

2) The Government of Nepal shall make appropriate provisions that the process and facilities of voting are accessible to the persons with disabilities and materials related thereto are easily understandable by and accessible to them.

· RIGHT OF PARTICIPATION IN POLICY MAKING:

1) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to participate on their own or through their related unions, organisations in the process of development of important policies that may affect them.

2) In making participation in the development of policies pursuant to subsection (1), the views expressed by the persons with disabilities shall be given appropriate place on the basis of relevancy.

· RIGHT TO FORUM UNIONS: The persons with disabilities shall have the right to establish, operate and manage unions or organisations in accordance with the prevailing law.

· RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CULTURAL LIFE:

1) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to participate, on an equal basis with others, in cultural programs or services and entertainment, including television programs, films, dramas, theatres, cinema halls, libraries, tourism services, arts, literature and music, in accessible formats and manner.

2) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to develop and utilize their creative, artistic, intellectual, professional and internal potentiality.

3) The persons with disabilities shall have the right, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture.

· RIGHT OF ACCESS TO SERVICES, FACLITIES AND JUSTICE:

1) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to have easy access to other services and facilities that are open or provided for the public, including educational institutes, housing, workplaces, buildings, roads, transportation, and electronic communication services.

2) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to free legal aid in order to ensure that they have access to justice.

· RIGHT TO SOCIAL SECURITY:

1) The persons with disabilities as prescribed shall have the right to obtain economic assistance or social security as prescribed from the Government of Nepal.

2) The persons with disabilities shall, in obtaining and enjoying any opportunity, have the right to get reimbursement for additional expenses incurred in the assistive services that they use.

· RIGHT TO INFORMATION:

1) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to obtain information from public communication media in disabled friendly and accessible formats.

2) Electronic broadcasting Institutions of public communication shall conduct news and other programs in sign language in such a number as specified by the Government of Nepal.

3) The persons with disabilities shall have the right to obtain the information that is intended for the public in accessible formats and appropriate technology without any additional fees or charges.

4) Communication service providers, including telephone and internet, shall make available the services that they provide to the persons with disabilities in accessible formats and usable manner, within the period specified by the Government of Nepal.

· RIGHT TO MOVEMENT: The persons with disabilities shall have the right on an equal basis with others to make movement with their assistant materials and assistance of persons of their choice.

EDUCATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

· TO PROVIDE FREE EDUCATION:

1) The educational institutes operated by the Government of Nepal or Local Level or that receive grants from the Government of Nepal shall provide free higher education to the persons with disabilities.

2) The educational institutes as prescribed by the Government of Nepal shall provide free higher education to the persons with disabilities.

3) No fee of any kind shall be collected form a person with disability for getting admission to an educational institute.

4) The vocational and technical education as prescribed shall be freely provided to the persons with disabilities.

5) No educational institute shall discriminate against the persons with disabilities with regard to extra-activities, distribution and access to educational materials.

6) The Government of Nepal shall make provisions to provide education to the persons with disabilities through more than one means such as brail or alternative scripts, sign language, means of information technology and peer learning, in order to ease the imparting of education.

7) The Government of Nepal shall make provisions to provide education as prescribed through accessible information technology means, including appropriate language method, scripts, curricula and coursebooks, to the persons with sight disabilities, hearing disability, hearing impairment, sight and hearing impairment.

8) The Government of Nepal may make arrangements for the provision of education along with hostel facility to such persons with disabilities as prescribed, on the basis of, inter alia, indigency, geographical remoteness or severity of disability.

9) The persons with disabilities shall be enabled to obtain access to vocational and technical education, adult education, practical education and continuing learning, by providing them with reasonable accommodation.

10) The Government of Nepal shall, on the basis of the classification of disabilities, make separate provision, as required, with regard to education and evaluation system of the students with disabilities.

11) The educational institutes shall make provisions of disability friendly educational materials, having regard to the needs of the persons with disabilities.

12) The educational institutes shall build school buildings and other physical structures in accordance with the standards determined by the Government of Nepal, in such a manner as to ensure the access of the persons with disabilities.

13) The educational institutes operated by the private sector shall provide fee study facilities to such a number of the students with disabilities as determined by the Government of Nepal.

· TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIP AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:

1) The Government of Nepal shall provide educational scholarship as prescribed for the education that has not been made free for the students with disabilities.

2) The Government of Nepal shall provide financial assistance as prescribed for the development of physical infrastructures and other services, facilities of the schools that operate special education programs for the students with disabilities.

· TO ENHANCE ACCESS OF THE STUDENTS WITH DISABILITES TO QUALITY EDUCATION:

1) The Government of Nepal shall make necessary provision as prescribed to give continuity to and promote study of the students with disabilities.

2) The Government of Nepal shall make provisions for special trainings for the teachers with disabilities and teachers who teach the students with disabilities.

3) The Government of Nepal shall make freely available the educational materials as prescribed to the schools in order to ensure the access of the students with disabilities to schools and learning.

8) THE TERMINOLOGY THAT SHOULD BE USED FOR THE DISABLED PEOPLE

While talking with disabled people, language matters. We don’t know what languages should be used or how to use them. Some words might hurt them. So, there are some terminologies to be used which are:

Don’t Say	Instead, say	Why?
He has special needs.	He has an intellectual disability.	He may feel patronized by the word “special.”
She is differently abled.	She has a disability.	She doesn’t need to feel more different than she already might.
He is handicapped.	He has a disability.	Just because he has a disability doesn’t mean he is necessarily handicapped from leading a normal life.
She is mentally disabled.	She has an intellectual disability.	This has negative historical connotations.
He is crippled.	He has a disability.	The word “crippled” actually means damaged or flawed and is an insensitive way to describe a person with a disability.
Normal	People who don’t have disability.	Normal doesn’t really exist. By using this word it implies that people with a disability are abnormal.

9) SUCCESS STORIES

a) JHAMAK GHIMIRE

Jhamak Ghimire had to overcome difficulties at every stage of life due to cerebral palsy. She had endured much hardship during her life. Furthermore, her cerebral palsy from birth is one of her main obstacles. Despite the family’s poor financial situation, she had to overcome obstacles at every turn of her life because she was a physically challenged woman. However, she found a means to survive because of her efforts and obstacles. Jhamak Kumari is the family’s eldest daughter, and she was born in 5^th of July, 1980.

She used to receive hate from people for her disability. Additionally, her relatives used to refer to her as Murkatta. With such unfavoured conditions, she used to receive the blessing of the dead from her elders on Dashain tika. It was one of the worst things that she had ever heard. However, she learned a lesson from each of these experiences that has strengthened her and given her the will to do something.

She became well known because of her autobiography book named ‘Jiwan Kada Ki Phool; which depicts the difficulties and struggles faced by all physically challenged persons. She has portrayed the difficulties and struggles she had faced in her personal life in her autobiography. For this book, she received the most prestigious award in Nepali Literature, the Madan Puraskar 2010.

b) KAMAL LAMICHHANE

Kamal Lamichhane is from the Chitwan district of Jutpani. He was the fifth child born to late Bhanubhakta Lamichhane and Goma Lamichhane. His parents delayed enrolling him in school until he was 12 years old. He has overcome a number of obstacles to successfully lift the curtain of darkness. He consistently ranked in the top ten in his class in both high school and college. He had to skip several picture-based exam questions, and this used to lower his grade.

The visually impaired do not usually study languages due to the general lack of necessary materials, and at university Lamichhane was the first such student to graduate from university with a degree in the subject, earning the highest grade in the nation. He finished his studies at Bhaktapur's Adarsha Secondary School.

He is the first visually impaired person to be decorated with PhD. His PhD dissertation addresses disability from an economic perspective. He has researched how education promotes social and economic inclusion for people with disabilities. Likewise, he is also the first Nepali to be shortlisted for the Junior Chamber International Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (JCI TOYP) Award from Nepal.

c) NICK VUJICIC

Nick Vujicic is an Australian American motivational speaker who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, which is an extremely rare congenital disorder that causes a child to be born without any limbs. This disease is usually terminal for infants, but Nick survived the odds.

Born in 1982, Nick was bullied as a child, which led to a deep depression and thoughts of suicide. However, Nick grew into an empowered adult who turned his disability into a positive force for the world once he recognized his own potential.

Nick is an evangelist who has become the founder of an international non-profit ministry, Life Without Limbs. As a motivational speaker, actor, writer, and father of four, he has already accomplished at a young age more than many achieve in a lifetime.

d) MUNIBA MAZARI

Muniba Mazari belongs to Pakistan. At age of 21, she met with a car accident that left her lower body paralyzed. She spent 2 and a half months at a hospital and underwent 3 major and 2 minor surgeries. The list of her injuries is a long one, out of which, her spinal chord injury changed her life. She started painting and discovered her skill when she was bedridden for 2+ months. While she painted portraits of sorrow and how she felt, others found her work absolutely astonishing. It has been almost 10 years since her accident, she is now a motivational speaker, a prolific artist and interestingly, a wheelchair model and television host. Rising from Pakistan, she wants the world to recognize the talent and zeal of Pakistani girls. Being a model and a motivational speaker, she is also one of the most famous people with disabilities.

She believes that even though her body is caged, her mind is still free to concur anything. She is a living example of what you do with your brains, and that your disability is not inability.

e) DR. SATENDRA SINGH

At the age of nine months, Dr. Satendra Singh contracted Poliomyelitis. That means he is destined to remain disabled for the rest of his life. Satendra determined to study medicine and worked hard. He completed MD. Dr Satendra Singh is a medical doctor at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi. A physiologist by profession, he contracted poliomyelitis at the age of nine months but went on to complete a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur and later on Doctor of Medicine in Physiology. He is the first ever Indian to win the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards given to extraordinary leaders in global disability community. He is a noted disability activist especially for his sustained efforts in making public places accessible for disabled personsfor which he was conferred National Award by President of India. He is also the first Indian to be awarded the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship at the University of Chicago.

He advocated for not only his but other disabled doctors' rights. He also brought into the open the discrimination by UPSC which disallowed doctors with disabilities to apply for various Central Health Services (CHS) posts. He himself was rejected in 2014 but fought and was later allowed to appear for the interview. In 2013, his application was again rejected when he highlighted that the same discrimination was also present for the other posts. He was allowed to apply in a quick intervention. His RTI revealed that doctors with disabilities are not considered eligible for specialist CHS posts in teaching, non-teaching as well as public health specialist cadres. Undeterred, he complained again and requested the health ministry to allow all eligible doctors with disability to apply for these posts. His single-handed relentless fight for justice over four years ultimately forced Health Ministry to unlock 1,674 specialist central posts for disabled doctors.

10) CHALLENGES

Persons with disability face challenges which include accessibility in physical environments and on the Internet, social exclusion, the absence of assistive technology, and barriers in healthcare and in the workplace. Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) has outlined some examples of common accessibility issues, including events that do not provide sign-language interpreters for attendees who are deaf or hard of hearing, buildings that do not include wheelchair-accessible bathrooms or elevators, or software for blind users. These types of accessibility issues make a disabled person’s life more difficult and sometimes prevent the individual from accomplishing certain tasks or fully participating in social events.

Additionally, in terms of education, in 2017, Nepal adopted the Disability Rights Act and an Inclusive Education Policy for Persons with Disabilities. The policy says that children should be able to study, without discrimination, in their own communities, but also allows educating for children with disabilities separately.

Although has adopted the Act, it has failed to implement. There is no reasonable accommodations to support individual learning which includes braille textbooks, audio, video, and easy-to-read learning materials; instruction in sign language for children with hearing disabilities; and staff to assist children with self-care,behaviour, or other support needed in the classroom. Likewise, there are lack of trained teachers.

Similarly, most people don’t know about the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Articles 29 of the Convention clearly states that “voting procedures, facilities and materials must be appropriate, accessible and easy to understand for use by persons with disabilities.”

Nepal has the provision of Right to Vote but persons with disabilities continue to be marginalized from full participation in society. The electoral framework is silent on ensuring the people with disabilities can participate in all aspects of the election process, including voting, filing nomination and complaints, and reviewing campaign finance reports at the office of Nepal Election Commission.

Additionally, for persons with disabilities, physical accessibility is a major obstacle especially in public transportation vehicles. The cdesgin of the public transportation is difficult for them. Moreover, the operator of the vehicles might refuse to carry wheelchair users. That’s why, persons with disabilities don’t actively participate in voting, political rallies and etc.

In conclusion, persons with the disabilities have challenges which includes:

· Weak national capacities

· Lack of resources

· Accessibility problems

· Low awareness

· Lack of livelihood support

CHALLENGES FACED BY DISABLED PERSONS IN THE WORKPLACE

Lack of education
Trapped in Poverty
Stigmatization
The disparity between supply and demand
Transport and Accommodation Facilities
Negative Attitudes

REFERENCES

Maxwell Jane, Belser Watts Julia, David Darlena: A Health Handbook for Women with Disabiliites, (June 1, 2008)

Dangal, Hemanta, Paneru, Supa, Pokhrel Mala, Baijayanti (2020) “Constraints on Applying Disability Identity Card: A Study from Rural Municipality from Midhill Nepal.” Journal of Social Protection

Holmes, Rebecca, Samuels, Fiona, Ghimire, Anita (June 2018). “Nepal’s cash allowances for children with disabilities

LINKS

https://www.recordnepal.com/exploring-barriers-to-the-right-to-inclusive-election-in-nepal

https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/dr-kamal-lamichhane-enlisted-in-jci-s-top-20/

https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/lamichhane-first-nepali-with-disablity-to-get-phd

https://www.kumarbbaniya.com.np/jhamak-kumari-ghimire-biography

https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/The-Act-Relating-to-Rights-of-Persons-with-Disabilities-2074-2017.pdf

https://nepalindata.com/insight/identity-card-distribution-to-persons-with-disability/

https://nfdn.org.np/ne/news/disability-data/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_Persons_with_Disabilities

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health

http://www.markwynn.com/wp-content/uploads/Common-Myths-and-Misconceptions-about-Disability.pdf