DISABILITIES RIGHTS BILL MISSES INCLUSIVENESS IDEA: EXPERTS Saturday, 22 November 2014 | Anupma Khanna | Dehradun Caught somewhere in the middle of hope and skepticism are India’s disabled, a section of society that has hitherto remained largely on the periphery of Government and public attention. In 2007, India became a signatory to United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, thus becoming obligated to streamline its existing laws on disability into a new law in consonance with this international charter. What followed was introduction of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014. And now, as the Government invites public suggestions on the Bill, The Pioneer explored if the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, if enacted, can really further a disability-inclusive development agenda or just be old-wine in a new bottle. Discussions with disability rights activists, legal advisors and differently-abled people pointed out that despite the sundry provisions, the Bill misses the fundamental, core idea of disability-inclusiveness by capacity building for self-reliance. As articulated by Meenu Verma, a volunteer with National Association of the Blind, “Historically, the approach of the Government and the Indian society towards the disabled has been of sympathy and charity. But little has been done to prepare the disabled for leading independent and meaningful lives to the maximum possible extent. “And regrettably, even the proposed new law in its current form is more or less silent on this. It provides for reservations and commissions, though without any teeth but does not lay down any specific, measurable and time-bound provisions for opening special schools, early-intervention centers and training institutes where the disabled can be prepared from an early age to become self-reliant and mainstreamed,” she said. According to Rizwan Ali, Legal Advisor with Latika Roy Foundation, the new Bill has expanded the scope of definitions of disability but it does not meet the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Internationally, the UN and other global organisations have adopted a human rights construct with a focus on participatory decision-making and capacity-building but India’s RPD Bill, 2014 manifests a charity-based attitude. The bill has legal infirmities and does not offer full legal capacity to the disabled. While the Supreme Court has ruled that a mentally challenged woman can decide to bear children, the current bill says that a severely disabled woman’s pregnancy can be terminated with her guardian’s consent. The ultimate decision making power should be left to the pregnant woman. Though the Indian constitution vouches equality to all, disability has not been mentioned specifically in it and this adds as a limiting factor more often than not. One of the most crucial needs for the disabled is to have a system that works for their needs and provides an institutional source of redress to the victimized and the overlooked and essentially this system should have power. The RPD Bill, 2014 has provided for commissions, but in the absence of penal authority, these will be toothless bodies. This is one major loophole in the Bill that should be plugged. Physically-challenged RTI activist Anil asked, “The 2013 RPD Bill incorporates reservation for the disabled in Government and Government- aided higher institutions but what about the majority who cannot get formal education? The Bill is vague and evasive on mandating the government to set up early-interventions centers and special care institutes for different categories of the disabled so that children born with or hit by a disability at an early age also get a fair chance to build their capacity and live a respectable and meaningful life.” In the same vein, Ali pointed out, “If we open a school up to class 5th, we get Government recognition, scholarships etc. but if we run a special center or therapy centers for the disabled, we don’t get corresponding government benefits.” Disability-inclusiveness stakeholders also noted that the Bill does not address the crucial need of provisions for health insurance of the disabled. According to the 2011 Census on the disabled, there were 2.68 crore disabled in India in 2011 and this was an increase of 22 percent since 2001. Of these, 20 percent are movement disabled followed by hearing impaired and visually impaired at 19 percent. It is noteworthy that ‘mentally challenged’ was introduced in the 2011 census and it was found to be almost 6 percent of the total disabled in India.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 01:28:39 +0000
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