It is really imperative within a society that all the citizens must have the equal rights and privileges. People, born with disabilities or becoming so because of wars and accidents form an important part of the society and they must be given their due rights as well. Unfortunately, in different parts of the world they are considered as useless section of society and measures are not taken to bring them to the mainstream life; rather they are isolated and ignored.

Afghanistan is also one of the countries that have a large number of people with disabilities. Because of lack of health facilities at birth and early childhood, there are many people who become the victim of different sorts of disabilities that can otherwise be avoided. Moreover, the decades of war has also made the people suffer the consequences and become the victims. Whatever the reason, the people with disabilities deserve to be given their basic rights and must not be neglected as ineffective faction of society.

Unfortunately, the concerned authorities in Afghanistan do not pay proper attention in this regard and let thousands suffer, not only physically because of the disabilities they have but also mentally as they are completely left alone at the mercy of cruel circumstances.

Afghan government requires playing a tremendous role in this regard. The new president, who would be selected after the election results are finalized, must ensure that the disabled must get their due rights if not the special and elevated position in the society.

Emphasizing the same some civil society activists on Monday August 04 said that the next president should ensure that people with disabilities availed more privileges because their rights had been ignored over the past 12 years.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD), more than 108,000 people who lost their limbs in the conflict receive Afs 5,000 monthly under the law on rights and privileges of the disabled through a commission.  

At a news conference in Kabul on Monday, Omid and Hamzisty Cultural Centre head Syed Mohammad Yazdan Parast said the incumbent government had failed to address problems being faced by people with disabilities.

He said the special people lacked access to government-run educational institutes and the small number of privately-run schools for the blind and deaf could not accommodate the so many disabled persons.

Speaking on the occasion, Syed Muhibi, the head of a network which advocates for the rights of the disabled, said: “We hope the new president will prioritise problems facing people with disabilities.”

He said the special people should benefit from rights enshrined in the universal declaration on human rights for the disabled.

Though Afghanistan has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, tangible steps are yet to be taken in that regard. In accordance to the convention people with disabilities must be provided all the opportunity of having proper treatment and the feasibilities to live their daily lives. Unfortunately the government has been suffering on both the fronts. The medical facilities for the disabled are meager. Hospitals for them are not adequate. The existing ones suffer seriously from the lack of modern equipments. There are no new methods of treatment. The compensations or improvements that are possible to be made in their lives are not recognized appropriately and go unchecked. Further, the endeavors of government to assist them in their daily lives need to be strengthened and supported voluminously.

Another important issue in this regard is the response of the fellow citizens towards the people with disabilities. Instead of helping them out (this helping does not suggest that they should be given alms or something similar), most of the people further torture them by mistreating them. There are so many occasions when such people are socially neglected. As, they cannot do the things the way the other people do, they are considered awkward and even called with various weird names.

The families, as most of them suffer from economic problems, curse their children with disabilities and treat them as burden on the family. Many are forced to go for begging. Moreover, it is difficult to find people who readily get into any sort of relation with the disabled people. Especially, the females who are with disabilities do not get real chances of getting married. They remain neglected throughout their lives and suffer from severe kind of social alienation.