Beyond the barriers of disability

Context: The differently-abled community offers a vast potential that can be tapped with the right steps

Data on disabled 

• Largest global minority:

•  Nearly 15% of the world's population has some or the other form of disability, making disabled people the largest global minority. - World Health Organization,
• Over a billion people worldwide are impacted by disability and the stigma surrounding it.

• Concentrated in developing countries: About 80% of the estimated one billion persons with disabilities worldwide live in developing countries.

Issues faced by disability groups

• Continuous discrimination denies them equal access to education, employment, healthcare and other opportunities.

• Lack of understanding of their rights makes it difficult for them to attain their valued "functionings", which Amartya Sen defined as "capabilities" deemed essential for human development. 

• They are a reservoir of untapped resources excluded from the workforce

• Higher risk of being exploited:  Women and girls with disabilities are at a higher risk of experiencing sexual and other forms of gender-based violence.

• Low labour force participation: The International Labour Organization reports that 73.6% of persons living with disabilities in India are outside the labour force

• Worst-hit group in a crisis situation like COVID-19 pandemic: For, E.g.  students with disabilities have found it extremely difficult to access remote learning through digital platforms.

Measures taken to support disability groups:

• UNESCO joined its partners in the Global Action on Disability (GLAD) Network to raise awareness about the need to put in place strategies to mitigate the impact of school closures on learners with disabilities.

• The implementation of the ground­ breaking National Education Policy 2020 provides a historic opportunity to utilise the immense potential.

Way Forward: The Pandemic provides an opportunity to work together to ensure that all persons with disabilities enjoy the full range of human rights.

• Inclusive Education: 

• The UNESCO's 2019 State of the Education Report of India acknowledges that inclusive education is complex to implement and requires an understanding of diverse needs of children.
• We need to take measures that ensure quality education for every child to achieve the targets of Agenda 2030, and more specifically, the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goal 4.

• Right investments directed towards youth disabilities in India can also be the country's largest asset. 

• For, E.g. Star Indian para­athlete Deepa Malik have already set the tone for making inclusion the norm.