Disability News India (DNI)
Disability News India (DNI), is a disability News service dedicated to providing a quality up-to-date information to the Indian Disability. DNI's news section is updated two times a week, though we also add breaking stories as and when they occur.
Disability News India – May Issue
- Inclusive Transportation Can Improve Lives of Disabled People: Aqeel Qureshi
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to surmount disability: Farooque Hossain Kamrul
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to surmount disability: Farooque Hossain Kamrul
In our country, there are thousands of predicaments for a disabled person. There is no such constitutional opportunity for the Person with Disability (PWD) so that they will not fall victim to discrimination. No hope to lead a meaningful life for them. No seat reservation system for them in public transport services. No opportunity of easy access to public offices.
Disabled people require special accommodation, bathroom, and lavatory, the concept which is totally absent in our country. In Dhaka or other major cities there's no arrangement for the physically disabled to move freely in wheel chair. No governmental arrangement to take care of them and no pragmatic measure has been taken yet to make them disabled people empowered.
Young disabled children are like a burden to their parents. If the parents are poor their plights know no bounds. Disabled women in our country means leading their whole life hopelessly at her parents' family.
Despite of these, it is true that 10 per cent of the total population in our country is disabled people. As per a partial survey by National Disabled Welfare Foundation, the number of the People with disabilities in eight districts of Dhaka division is 28,000 and that of three districts under Rajshahi division is 18,000. Again, the figure in one district of Sylhet division is 4,000 and that of Chittagong division is 1,000.
In Bangladesh, it's not the physical limitation that is a big issue for disabled people; rather it is the illogical thoughts, misconception and superstition that are the challenging issues in aspects of leading their normal lives. Like many other poor countries, common people here in Bangladesh have no necessary awareness of disability. Indeed, they have little or no awareness of the reason for being disabled and the consequence of it.
Besides, there are also misconceptions among many villagers regarding disability. Thus, some think it the curse of the Creator while others consider the disabled children the aftermath of their parents' evil–deeds. On the whole, the disabled community of Bangladesh is not well at all.
Many of our policy makers, perhaps, do not know that the disabled con surmount all hurdles of their life with proper implementation of ICT. What is more, they don't even apprise that ICT is the optimum way for them to become a successful person by removing all difficulties of life.
At first, we should realize that being disabled is not a tragedy any way; rather it is said that it's just a bar in the way to life. Like our country, there are also 10 per cent of the world population that is disabled. According to that count, the number of disabled people across the globe is 60 crore.
These people are disabled in some way or other, that is, some are visually impaired, some hearing impaired, some deaf, some physically disabled or some are mentally disabled. The rate of disability differs according to countries. In developed states, the number of the disabled people is low, whereas, the figure is high in developing countries. Another thing is, nearly 80 per cent disabled live in developing countries.
Referring to the precarious situation of the People with disabilities, international organisations have stressed to take necessary steps in this regard. In 1948, UN Security Council declared universal human rights resolution. In its 25 teh section, it has been said that every person has the right to get assurance of leading normal lives even if s/he is being unable to do so due to the lack of employment, ailments, disability, widowhood, old–age or any other reason.
The UN initiated to keep this promise with helping the wounded during World War II. In 1950, a convention was held by the concerted effort of UN secretariat, ILO, WHO, UNESCO, and International Refugee organisation. The meeting of these specialised organisations of UN discussed how to take combined endeavors in rehabilitating the disabled. It took the decision that education, treatment, and training for disabled people have to be reached international standard. Special emphasis would be given on the visually impaired people of the least developed states.
Primarily, the UN launched a welfare effort for the People with disabilities in the time period of 1945–55. Later on, this effort was turned into a social welfare in period of 1955–70. A declaration, which preservation of right of the disabled firmly was referred to, was introduced in the seventeenth decade and accepted in the general council of the UN on December 9, 1975. On December 16, 1976, the general council of the UN announced the year 1981 the International Disabled year aiming at full participation of the People with disabilities in the society with proper dignity. In 1982, disability related "World Program of Actions" restructured the disability concerned policy into three issues such as: Prevention, Rehabilitation and Equalization of Opportunities. Simply, it was meant for prevention and rehabilitation of disability, rehabilitation of the disabled and creation of equal opportunities for them. In the same year "The UN Disabled people Decade" was declared aiming at searching new source of fund, improving the quality of education, creating employment opportunity and increasing participation in their respective countries and societies for the People with disabilities. On December 19, 1992, the UN General Council called for the governments to observe the December 3 as the "International Disability Day" every year.
To materialize the activities of disability related "World Program of Actions" in Asia–Pacific region, Asia–Pacific Regional Disability Decade (from 1993 to 2001) was announced. On December 20, 1993, a 'Standard Rule' on equal opportunity for the People with disabilities was approved in the UN General Council. In that council, emphasize was given to make the People with disabilities educated in electronic and ICT education to enrich them easily and appropriately. Regarding that very issue, 'e–accessibility' was made the theme of "International Disability Day" in 2006.
Many countries have passed laws to create equal opportunity for disabled people. Regretfully, many of those laws have not been come into force yet. In developed states, these rules have been amended for increasing access to the ICT opportunity of the People with disabilities.
The reason for these amendments to the rules is to create more access to ICT for disabled people. Because, people now have clearly understood that ICT is the superb key to empowerment of the disabled . But, like our country, in many developing countries, the issue of creating ICT opportunity for the People with disabilities is still a challenge. Besides, the lack of proper realisation of our policy maker in this regard is also a major problem.
For the last three decades, ICT has flourished unimaginably world wide. However, unlike developed countries, developing ones could not exploit this technology extensively. According to a known statistics, only 3.1 per cent people of Africa are getting to use internet while 63 per cent of the USA have the opportunity. Again, 7 per cent people of developing countries and 53 per cent of developed states are enjoying the facility of surfing net.
Presently, due to tremendous access to information technology of the society, a new way of empowerment has also been created for the People with disabilities. Especially ICT has created employment and the opportunity of independent living for disabled people. Now, the task is to exploit this chance by taking proper conscious steps. In particular, 'assistive computer' and other 'assistive communication technology' have opened the new vista for disabled people to access to ICT opportunity. With these they have got the chance of easy use of technology.
But, we don't know whether our government has taken any measure to reach the benefit to the People with disabilities yet. In addition, developing countries including Bangladesh are facing various complicacies to enter the ICT world. There is hardly any arrangement here for proper training of using information technology. As a result, it's still a challenge for the disabled people of our country to exploit the benefit of ICT holistically.
Assistive or adaptive technology has come for the physically disabled. Today, information and communication technologists have developed these border and barrier free technologies for the People with disabilities. These technologies can be disseminated among disabled people. Though various organizations have developed many disability–friendly information and communication technology, a myriad of disabled person cannot access to these advantages due to socio–economic and cultural reasons.
In 2003, 'Information and Solution Group' of World Bank conducted a survey. They tried to show the access–situation of the physically and visually disabled in various fields of ICT. The fields of ICT on which the survey were conducted were Website and Internet presence, Operating and Software systems, Telecommunication system, Video and Multimedia Items, Office equipment and employee accommodation practice etc. The survey revealed that the disabled have not entirely access to web application, software, Telecommunication and office equipments. Undue hindrances and overall working environment did not allow them to enter these fields.
In recent years, different countries and organisations have come forward with various efforts, which are being coined as assistive or adaptive technology items for the People with disabilities. Using these technology items, persons with disability can easily scale up their working ability.
The Bangladesh government and the authority concerned can take serious steps in this connection. And in this very way; it is very easy to include our disabled community in society and national activities. Our nearest neighbor the India's government has already taken such some ICT–measures of which the prime goal is to spread the use of ICT over disabled community to create the opportunity of improved lives.
The amazing advancement of ICT has created the digital divide not only between the developed and developing countries but among population of rural and urban areas and various social communities too. And our disabled community bears the brunt of this division. They have been far behind in respect of getting the benefit of using technology.
Even many common people who are not disabled , cannot keep pace with the fast expanding technology–trend for the want of necessary opportunity. And in the case of the disabled their predicaments are boundless in this aspect. However, everybody should realize that disability is not a curse, but a challenge and no challenge is insurmountable. So, if we want to make the disabled face the challenge of self–reliant and improved lives, then we have to reach the magic lamp named ICT to them expeditiously.
Farooque Hossain Kamrul is a Computer Science & Engineering graduate from IU, Kushtia. All rights reserved with the author.
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