On 4th January, hundreds of
people gathered at the Press Enclave in Srinagar to protest for their
rights. Nothing unusual for a city that holds a history of protests
except that carrying placards in their hands, but this time, the group
was of visually challenged people driven by an impetus to make the state
government "watch" their plight.
The situation is worst in the interiors where hospitals and primary health centres fail to serve the needs of the visually challenged by not offering standard ophthalmic check-ups. Lack of infrastructure at the district hospitals is a major drawback that doesn't allow doctors to perform critical surgeries. Fear of heavy debts inhibits poor patients to consider private hospitals as an option for corrective medical care. They prefer to remain blind.
Aisha and Khadija (names changed) hail from a small hamlet in Anantnag and today after spending 30 years of their life in darkness, both are awaiting death.No doctor advised our parents to rehabilitate us," said Khadija.
"I have developed diabetes sitting at home. We are not allowed to go out and always face discrimination by our family members and relatives. For them we are the blind people," said Aisha, who firmly believes that if provided, vocational training can make both of them self- reliant.
Seeing the situation of 'Abhinanda Home' located in the heart of the city - Solina, Srinagar, one can understand the plight of the disabled lot for whose service this home was created. It is the only school for deaf and mute students, now on the verge of closure.
Various Ministers, during their visit to the place, announced grants for the school but did not bother to keep track of the situation thereafter.
The school compound, already encroached by security forces, is full of trenches and not looked after. A few ruined buildings and untidy rooms house deaf and mute children accompanied by some normal children from poor families. The conversion of the special school into an inclusive school does not reflect the principle of inclusion in any manner; it is merely a means of collecting some revenue to pay the teachers there.
A few rooms are occupied by some blind adults who were earlier trained in Braille, besides learning how to make chairs and chalks. With no means of earning a livelihood with such out of date skills, the blind people are only fed there as dependents without any future career planning. It would have been better if the Social Welfare or education department of the state had adopted the school and provided special education for deaf, mute and blind students there.
espite the darkness, there are a few responsible groups, which have taken on the onus of becoming the beacon of light for the visually challenged people. Yasmeena, 38, of Chee, Anantnag, is an artisan by profession responsible for feeding herself and her old-aged widow mother.
"We do not need government sympathy but want protection of our rights in the society. No worry that we are deaf, dumb and blind: we can sustain our lives with dignity," says one of the protestors, clearly reflecting the respect and place they seek within society.
It was in the year 1829 that the first ever Braille book was published after the name of its inventor Louis Braille
who lost his eyesight at the age of 3. It was his gift to thousands of
people around the world to feel the joy of reading despite being blind.
Today, the Braille, Daisy Formats, audio software integrated with
Information communication technology [ICT] has carved a less difficult
road for the blind people to read and write.
However, that road has been unable to reach the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir
where on the occasion of International Day for the Rights, in spite of
celebrating the day, the disabled community is carrying out protests for
simple demands like introducing Braille in schools and making public
places blind friendly by installing Braille sign boards.
As per Census 2001, out of the total 3,02,670 disabled persons in J
and K, 2,08,713 face visual disability. The 2011 census report on
disability is expected to be more alarming and astonishing. The ten
years of hard work invested by WHO in the global initiative "Vision
2020: the Right to Sight" to achieve zero blindness up to the year 2020,
seems to hold no good in J and K where there is an overall paucity of
eye hospitals.The situation is worst in the interiors where hospitals and primary health centres fail to serve the needs of the visually challenged by not offering standard ophthalmic check-ups. Lack of infrastructure at the district hospitals is a major drawback that doesn't allow doctors to perform critical surgeries. Fear of heavy debts inhibits poor patients to consider private hospitals as an option for corrective medical care. They prefer to remain blind.
In a recent disability assessment
camps organised by Department of Education under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
funding for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) component, out of around
8000 children with special needs in a district, more than 3000 were
found to be suffering from visual impairments. With each day passing by,
the situation of children with low vision problems is deteriorating and
they have started getting themselves enlisted in the record of blind
people. azima, a student of Class 9 in the educational zone Anantnag,
needs corneal transplantation to maintain her vision. Since there are
no separate schools in the state where Braille education system exists,
she is forced to struggle with the conventional black board education
and is therefore losing her sight.
Except for a few special schools where a handful of children with blindness seek education with the help of Braille slates, Jammu and Kashmir is among the few states, which are yet to introduce Braille technique of education in the schools.
Education is one aspect of development the visually disabled are
demanding; but more fundamental is the very basic right to live, live
with dignity, which certainly isn't true in the remote villages of the
state. Aisha and Khadija (names changed) hail from a small hamlet in Anantnag and today after spending 30 years of their life in darkness, both are awaiting death.No doctor advised our parents to rehabilitate us," said Khadija.
"I have developed diabetes sitting at home. We are not allowed to go out and always face discrimination by our family members and relatives. For them we are the blind people," said Aisha, who firmly believes that if provided, vocational training can make both of them self- reliant.
Seeing the situation of 'Abhinanda Home' located in the heart of the city - Solina, Srinagar, one can understand the plight of the disabled lot for whose service this home was created. It is the only school for deaf and mute students, now on the verge of closure.
Various Ministers, during their visit to the place, announced grants for the school but did not bother to keep track of the situation thereafter.
The school compound, already encroached by security forces, is full of trenches and not looked after. A few ruined buildings and untidy rooms house deaf and mute children accompanied by some normal children from poor families. The conversion of the special school into an inclusive school does not reflect the principle of inclusion in any manner; it is merely a means of collecting some revenue to pay the teachers there.
A few rooms are occupied by some blind adults who were earlier trained in Braille, besides learning how to make chairs and chalks. With no means of earning a livelihood with such out of date skills, the blind people are only fed there as dependents without any future career planning. It would have been better if the Social Welfare or education department of the state had adopted the school and provided special education for deaf, mute and blind students there.
espite the darkness, there are a few responsible groups, which have taken on the onus of becoming the beacon of light for the visually challenged people. Yasmeena, 38, of Chee, Anantnag, is an artisan by profession responsible for feeding herself and her old-aged widow mother.
Today with the help of Zaiba Appa Institute of Inclusive Education,
Bijbehara, she along with others, government school dropouts, are now
pursuing their education with the help of Braille system and computer
education with Jaws software facility.
A rally organised by the NGO Humanity Welfare Organization Helpline
along with the Zaiba Appa Institute of Inclusive Education, was an
initiative to raise unheard voices for a system where each and every
individual is provided a platform to realise their potential and become
independent on the basis of their special talent. "We do not need government sympathy but want protection of our rights in the society. No worry that we are deaf, dumb and blind: we can sustain our lives with dignity," says one of the protestors, clearly reflecting the respect and place they seek within society.
The rally and the strong voices
that created uproar in the region have started fading away. Next year
the crowd will gather again, probably with an upsurge in the numbers of
the visually challenged reflecting how much attention the caretakers of
the public have devoted to the disabled lot. Donations and sympathy
won't take away the blame.
The Charkha Development
Communication network feels that the answer would be to provide them
with equal opportunities to explore their hidden qualities. This will
not only empower them, but will guarantee a clear vision much needed to
create an unbiased society. By Javed Ahmad Tak(ANI)
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