Rebati (name changed), a 13-year-old physically-challenged girl, studies in Class-VII in a Government school in the State. She has a dream to finish her higher education if she is provided with all necessary facilities, which a disable person needs.
But for Rebati the path is not rosy. Though everyone has discouraged her mother to send Rebati to school, but she has always accompanied her daughter to school with a hope that one day she will be able to read and write, which she is deprived of. “But the Government school in there locality is not disable friendly. Her daughter is physically challenged and it is very difficult for her to cope up with. The school authorities have built up ramps, but the class rooms, drinking water and toilet facilities are not disable friendly. During menstruation period the situation is even worse,” says her mother Sumati Barik, who goes through a hardship to meet her ends.
Anita Sahoo (name changed), when conceived, it was a difficult time for both her and her husband and other family members to attend regularly VHND (Village Health and Nutrition Day), and PHC (Primary Health Centre). Being a physically challenged woman the major problem for her was the health centre was not accessible. The width of entrance door was not sufficient to enter with the wheel chair and the room has not proper space that a wheel chair person can move easily.
“The problems faced by disable pregnant women do not stop here. If the mother is speech and hearing impaired the doctor at PHC cannot understand her problem and even discourage her talking with him.
Rather he will discuss about her pregnancy problems with the person who has escorted her. The visually challenged mothers do face problems for their treatment,” says Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre, Bhubaneswar national advocacy coordinator Lokapriya Priyadarshini.
Adding to this, she explains, “We have been repeatedly raising these issues, but the authorities cast a deaf ear to these problems. If the ASHAs and Anganwadi workers, who work as frontline workers in village level, will be trained to identify and counsel the pregnant mothers, we can sort out the problem in many folds. These ASHAs and Anganwadi workers are everyday coming in touch with People with Disability (PWD) and if they will be trained properly they can identify, counsel and refer them for further treatment.”
Many such problems can be sorted out if the departments working under the State Government extend their support to make it disable friendly.
In infrastructure, training to the employees, increasing allowance and giving space in jobs in every field, the departments need to extend their support. So we have given some suggestions to the Government before preparing the State Budget (2016-17) to consider about the need of people with disability. Each and every department should spend at least 5 per cent of its total funds on people with disability, from which 2 per cent of the funds should be spent on women with disability, said SMRC Programme Manager Reena Mohanty.
In a meeting here, the representatives of different groups working for the welfare of people with disability drafted a list of suggestions to the State Government before presenting the State Budget this year (2016-17). They have discussed many critical issues which they face in their day to day affairs and suggested appropriately to the Government.
Mohanty continued, “In our suggestions to the State Government, we have suggested to provide a health card to every individual disable person so that he can get the benefit of health services. Besides, sensitization programme in regular intervals for medical professional and front-line workers, all health centres need to be accessible to people with disability. Also it is seen in most of the areas disable children drop out after class 5 because the school, drinking water, toilet, entrance door, class room and library are not disable friendly. The appointed full-time special teachers need to teach only children with special needs, not others. To support them for their livelihood they need to be trained with new trade and skill. Besides, marketing and entrepreneurship, development training should be given to them.”
She adds, “In social security ground the pension to people with disability need to increase to Rs 1,000 per month, whose family income is less than Rs 6,000. There is a provision of 3 per cent reservation for people with disability in all social security schemes. At least 1 per cent should be reserved for women with disability in all these schemes.”
As per 2011 Census, the total population of people with disability in the State is 12, 44,402, registering with a growth of 21.84 per cent during the decade. So the Government should look into the matter and make the Government offices disable people friendly.
“Not only accessible, people need to be sensitised towards the PWDs especially with disable women. We have heard in many cases police personnel and lawyers are unable to understand the problems faced by people with disability; so we urge they should be trained with sign language while handling these issues,” says Dipti Das, a person with disability as well as a social activist.
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