Make it easy for PWDs to access venues
What you need to know:
- This is something that government ministries, departments and agencies have failed to understand. This in spite of the fact that Government of Uganda ratified the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
It is often said persons with disabilities hardly speak up when it comes to their rights. In essence, enabling an already biased society at the cost of their comfort. But people, especially those in positions of power, do not listen to people with disability and it shows.
As a person with a disabilities, it is exhausting to turn up for a government activity as an invited representative from an organisation of persons with disabilities and confront the accessibility obstacles in place. To make matters worse, is the constant use of the phrase “disability inclusion” in a presentation while keeping a blind eye to the accessibility challenges in place for persons with disabilities.
Disability inclusion should not just be about talk, but it should also be about action. This is something that government ministries, departments and agencies have failed to understand. This in spite of the fact that Government of Uganda ratified the Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
It has also created assisting laws such as the Persons With Disabilities Act 2019 to ensure that persons with disabilities are accorded their rights in all spheres of life.
As inclusive as they purport to be, they invite representatives from well known organisations of persons with disabilities and force them to navigate staircases, which is a big challenge to those having mobility issues.
Why else would government ministries, departments and agencies organise an activity on the second or higher floor of a hotel while fully aware that the hotel has no functioning lift, female bathrooms, etc? Besides, why serve a meal or refreshments at the pool area of the hotel, which is often located at far-end of the hotel? Is this not meant to frustrate the participation of persons with disabilities in whatever activity for which they are invited?
Is this lack of disability awareness and sensitivity towards invited persons with disabilities to participate in an activity? Do all this happen because there are no representation of people with disability in the Ministry responsible for this special interest group?
Is this also why reasonable accommodation best suited for persons with disabilities is always ignored? Are these government ministries, departments and agencies honestly seeking participation of persons with disabilities or they are just after their exploitation.
Like some government ministries, departments and agencies, a few organisations of persons with disabilities are headed by persons with ability. Having an abled person as head of an organisation for persons with disabilities does not imply that the organisation is without persons with disabilities in its workforce.
To assume so is to undermine persons with disabilities and offer support to some members of society that do not respect people with disabilities. It is important that person with disabilities are appointed to represent the views of their members because they their plight better.
Shamim Nampijja,
[email protected]
