State obligated to ensure rights of every citizen

Twenty-five year old Rounak Jahan Usha fell down the stairs and became paralysed from the waist down in 2011 when she was a first-year college student.

After six months of treatment at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), she went back to class in a wheelchair to pursue her bachelor's degree in social science.  

Teachers and college authority explained why that would be impossible -- due to the lack of infrastructure she needed to climb up to the fourth floor where her classes were being held.

But Usha was not going to give up. She began taking lessons by herself and took exams, graduating with a first class.

Now, she is working as an executive officer at the National Human Rights Commission.

“Many girls like me [who are physically disabled] drop out due to lack of infrastructure in educational institutions,” Usha said yesterday while speaking at a convention on “Rights of Women with Disabilities” organised by Women with Disabilities and Development Foundation (WDDF) at SWID Bangladesh in the capital's Eskaton.

Speaking as chief guest, Social Welfare Minister Rashed Khan Menon said the guidelines in the Bangladesh National Building Code made it mandatory to build infrastructure accessible for the physically-challenged.

The implementation, however, is rare.

It is a social responsibility to keep in mind the physical disabled people while building infrastructure, Menon added. 

Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said economic growth is not the only indicator of development at a time when Bangladesh looks to achieve the status of a middle-income nation.

The country is obligated to ensure rights of every citizen as it pledges to meet the target of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. A database of disabled people, bringing them under the social safety net, and constant monitoring of the situation are necessary to elevate their position in society.

Human rights activist Khushi Kabir said, “We need to act according to the needs of the disabled people.”

There should be a clear understanding of the problems faced by people with different disabilities and funds should be allocated acordingly for them.

Sultana Kamal, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said, “We wanted to see an independent nation where no one would be depending on others.”

Referring to a government committee's recommendation of abolishing quota system for class-I and class-II jobs in civil service, she said, “We need to see what measure would be taken for people with disabilities.”

Nazma Ara Popy, general secretary of Visually Impaired People's Society (VIPS), stressed the need for leadership of women with disabilities. Leadership and participation of women with disabilities in social activities should be ensured since their contribution is necessary for inclusive growth, she said.

Ashrafunnahar Misti, executive director of the WDDF, in her keynote speech emphasised equal rights for people with disabilities in terms of education, health, employment, rehabilitation and legal access to justice.