As the country observed International Day of Persons with Disabilities, disabled continue to be discriminated against-at schools, jobs and public spaces like markets, airports and transport. The Supreme Court order clearing 3 per cent job and promotion quotas for disabled notwithstanding, even doctors with disability have found themselves at the receiving end when it comes to work opportunities. A doctor was twice rejected by Union Public Service Commission for the post of assistant professor of physiology in the general category of Central Health Service. Last year, his candidature was rejected again. However, realising it was at fault, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare asked UPSC to accept his candidature for the interview. Such unfair exclusion is not limited to top jobs. It’s happening right at school and admission levels. Persons with disabilities are entitled to exercise their civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights on an equal basis with others. Disability “summarises a great number of different functional limitations occurring in any population in any country of the world.” The UN estimates that there are 500 million persons with disabilities in the world today. This number is increasing every year due to factors such as war and destruction, unhealthy living conditions, or the absence of knowledge about disability, its causes, prevention and treatment. Moreover, there exists a clear relationship between poverty and disability. The risk of impairment is greater for a family that lives in poverty, while and at the same time, a disabled family member places higher demands on the family’s resources. The most vulnerable groups that face discrimination are: women, children, elders, victims of torture, refugees, displaced persons and migrant workers. For instance, women with a disability are discriminated against because of their gender and also because of their disability. Ensuring that people with a disability have maximum quality of life is very important not just because they are still human like all of us, but that their dignity and social well-being should not be downgraded just because of a disability.
