By Dayyabu Tanimu Azares
It is crucial for the government to build inclusive society to sustain peacefully democratic governance for persons with disabilities by providing equal opportunities, access to justice and effective accountable and build inclusive at all level.
This article explains some of the challenges and barriers encountering people with disabilities that restrict them from participating in public life, underrepresented in civil and political process, limiting their abilities and directly engage in the decisions that affected their lives and some eliminations.
“When people with disabilities have a strong and unified voice, governments would be held accountable and the right of persons with disabilities would be respected”
Before going deeper into this article let me give the clear definition of what inclusive society and what democracy governance mean.
INCLUSIVE SOCIETY: Referred to as a society where everyone is welcomed and permitted to participate in social life, establish their identity and express their feelings. It assures that ones opinions and experiences are highly honoured.
Inclusive society is not just for people with disabilities but it is for everyone. It is a society that aimed at promoting the social, economic, political and cultural inclusion of all, irrespective of their age, disabilities, gender, and other status e.t.c.
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE: It was Abraham Lincoln that gave the world the simplest and most concise definition of democracy as “the government of the people by the people and for the people” it is a definition with a thesis that packs quite a bundle.
The definition is very easy to memorize. If you are a leader, one duly elected by the process of democracy, this definition is very easy to remember.
It says everything without saying a lot. The recurrent phase “the people” should serve as a mnemonic for the elected official. A contestant should always remind of why he occupied the office entrusted to him.
Democratic governance therefore, is not about who signs the budgets, or how many cars constituted the convoy of a government officials. It is leadership that is centered on the people and ensure it does not lose them. This cannot be emphasized enough: democracy is about the people.
Hence, building inclusive society and vibrant democratic governance depend on how the government treat its citizens to participate in social life. People with disabilities are most vulnerable people in world population. Yet decisions-makers and policy-makers in governments have historically been unresponsive to their needs.
To build inclusive society and vibrant democratic governance we have to follow the few steps listed below:
EMPOWER PERSONS WITHDISABILITIES: Many people are suffering as a result of economic hardship and high level of unemployment for which persons with disabilities are the worse victim. They encountered many problem in society and often subjected to stigma and unnecessary discrimination, inequality treatment and frequently excluded from civil and political process, they are overwhelmingly voiceless in the matters they affected them because the government did not pay attention to their needs in the decision making process. As a result of this, some of them have decided to engage themselves with street begging as an alternative means of survival and yet the society discriminates against them and call them “SENSELESS BEGGARS”.
Meanwhile, research has shown that when people with disabilities are adequately empowered to participate in social life, their entire families, community and society will benefit, because their involvement creates an opportunities for everyone both the persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities.
To get rid of these menace of street begging among persons with disabilities, the government should try all it can to empower them in all nooks and crannies of the country, it will to help them boost their economic status, to be financially stability/independent.
Although the governments always thinking if it provide everything people will lose the sense of self-help and rely entirely on government. I assure you that what people with disabilities value most is what they worked for. So it is good for government to give them the chance to strive so that they can appreciate the fruits of their labour.
CONSIDERATION: People with disabilities are often excluded from participating in the decisions that affects their lives. We are living in time when people are deciding about the destiny of others. They are entitled to make decisions relating to their lives according to their desires and priorities. Their absence from the decision making process reinforce barriers to the equality to participate in public life.
All people with disabilities should enjoy all the rights to participate as much as everyone else. Yet they remain the most marginalized group globally.
People with disabilities are strong and capable target group to address their particular problems. Currently we don’t have enough capacities among them to share the story of what they actually needs. So you have a case that some sort of social rights or social benefits are more important than the crucial rights. Not only in the society and politics but among persons with disabilities.
As long as this target group is not politically inclined to influence the authority and have a formidable disability movement, nothing will change that much.
EQUAL RIGHTS AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: People with disabilities face discriminations and barriers that restrict them from participating in society like everyone else.
Their rights are denied in term of employment, choosing medical treatment, independently living, participating in cultural and political activities, to enjoy access to justice, and enter freely into legal commitment such as buying and selling.
All human beings are born equal both in dignity and rights. So why does the society negates the rights of those people who were affected by minor illness and disability?
Some research has shown that societal negative attitudes toward them are the major challenges encountering them on daily basis. In response government and other non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are implementing numerous programmes to improve attitudes toward people with disabilities. Yet they continue to face such challenges in attaining their rights.
Simply, because the desires to avoid whatever is associated with evil has affected people’s attitudes toward them. Because disability is erroneous associated with evil. These mere misconceptions lead to lack of proper understanding of disability.
For instance, some religious leaders indicates that people with disabilities especially the deaf were cursed for the sins they have committed and the mentally disabled persons were possesses by evil spirit.
These religious leaders subjected them to mental and physical pains and torture in the name of exorcising the spirit.
In addition, the increasing privatization of public enterprise as well as the standard of education poses increase challenges to fulfilment of their rights. Inclusive public system and enabling services housing, public health care, disability related assistance and infrastructure must be strengthen to ensure full participation of persons with disabilities in social life without discrimination.
