Whereas the rest of the world might have observed International Day of Persons With Disabilities (PWD) by organising seminars and conducting campaigns regarding the rights and protection of mentally and physically challenged persons, the Pakistani police received them with a baton charge when a group of visually impaired people tried to raise their voice for an increase in their quota in government organisations. The force with which these people were met reflects the behaviour disabled people receive in our society generally. The Punjab police, after all, is part of that ill-informed communitythat looks down upon its fellow humans who carry some special characteristics. December 3 is observed as a day to recognise the dignity of mentally or physically challenged persons and to understand their rights and well-being as equal human beings. The UN passed the Convention on the Rights of PWDs in 2006 that categorically states the ensuring of the full enjoyment of all fundamental human rights by PWDs. Many countries have ratified the convention but its effective implementation is yet to be seen. Societies generally tend to overlook the abilities of special people. Several scientific studies have proved that if there is a biological disability in a person, it is almost always compensated by a heightened sense or functioning of another faculty. To assume therefore that they are less capable than the rest of us is nothing but an ill-informed opinion. Such obstacles can be overcome if states adopt laws that promote positive discrimination on behalf of PWDs.
With roughly a population of 10 million disabled people, Pakistan presents an embarrassing picture of the miserable and neglected condition they live in. There is the Ordinance 1981 in place which binds all the establishments with a workforce of hundred or above to have at least one percent of disabled persons as their employees. That is not to say that the Ordinance is by any means being followed by employers. The special persons community are demanding an increase in the quota to five percent. It was this demand that triggered the Punjab police’s violence on the visually impaired gathering. When will we learn that as civilised human beings and citizens we are bound to adopt a sympathetic behaviour towards our fellow humans? However, at this point there is a need for the government to act to ensure equal rights for these people not in the least because they deserve it but also as a recognition of the fact that rest of the humanity is in no way superior to them.
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