Dr. Pragya Khanna
India is an amalgam of cultures, mores, traditions, religions, languages, philosophies, beliefs, customs and of regions, climates and topographies. But whoever they are, wherever they come from, whatever they do for a living, Indians value their diversity.
Regardless of their social, religious, economic, political and geographical differences, there are two qualities that are shared by most Indians. One is tolerance and patience, and the other is an engrained belief in traditions and socio-cultural norms.
These have been responsible for the preservation, maintenance and continuance of a social structure based on caste and class, and acceptance of injustice, discrimination, exploitation and abuse as part of one’s karma or fate.
The status of disability and the course of the disability movement in India can be best understood within this framework.
This line of thinking, in which the past, present and future are attributed to supernatural powers, typifies Indian philosophical thought with its belief in ‘karma’, and is accepted in large part even today.
Indian history provides evidence that people with disability were and are still regarded as objects of pity or ridicule. Although families go through the natural process of shock and grief when a child is born with a disability, in Indian culture, it is accepted as one’s fate or destiny. The belief in karma, or payment for past deeds, underlies the accepting spirit. Because rehabilitation services are not easily available to the majority of the population in India, little help is sought for children with lifelong disabilities. Economic hardship, poor transport facilities and a lack of education make it harder for the parents to access services for their child.
Indians also see their children as investments for the future. So, when a child is born with a disability, they do not see that child as a source of support or income in the future. Hence, they would rather spend their income on the healthy children, especially the male children.
When a person acquires a disability, people are more sympathetic since they think of the person’s level of function prior to the illness or injury. If there is hope that the person will be fully functional again, efforts are made to provide services. For instance, in one particularly wealthy family, the male member, also the breadwinner of the family was involved in a train accident and had to have both his lower limbs amputated. The family saw to it that he got proper medical treatment, had his prosthetic limbs manufactured and fitted, and got his car adapted for him so that he would be fully functional again. In the same family, a female child was born with severe physical deformities. Although the family has taken care of that person all her life, they never consulted a rehabilitation professional to seek to make her more independent.
Majority of the population, according to a survey (Project Integrated Education for the Disabled (PIED), believed that disability was a punishment and a curse of god. The level of agreement among the different groups was highest for the statement whether a child with disability was a punishment to parents. 47% of the participants disagreed that people with disabilities can perform most of the daily living activities independently. While reporting views on education of people with disabilities 42% of the participants disagreed with the statement that people with disabilities could be educated in normal schools. 17% of participants disagreed with the statement that a person with disabilities can become a professional and the same percentage disagreed that a person with disabilities could become an employee for a non-disabled person. 33% of the participants disagreed with the statement that people with disabilities could have a happy family life.
Social norms in India are influenced by values such as productivity, the right to private property and patriarchy. Much is made of the rule of law, the institution of marriage, the family as a social unit and the importance of religion. The family comprising of able-bodied, heterosexual, and people engaged in socially acceptable livelihoods is the fundamental social unit. The history of the Indian women’s movement has been one of focus on poverty, caste and employment and issues such as dowry and sati, population control and female feticide, sexuality, and domestic violence. Its agenda has not, generally, included disability.
The women with disability do not physically measure up to able-bodied standards, neither does society expect them to do so. In many cases, they are not expected to adopt the roles of wife and mother. Women with disability do not, however, quietly acquiesce to this. They may struggle against negative stereotyping in an attempt to develop a positive sense of self within bodily and societal limitations, a struggle that does not often leave space for celebration of difference and pride in one’s individuality. In a series of narrative interviews with young people with disability, gender was a defining element of the disability experience, but meshed with elements such as class and caste, family composition and dynamics, and geographical location.
Women perceived the stigma associated with their impairments and the resulting social exclusion as acts and impacts of violence, as they caused them to be and feel excluded. Similarly, women who were deprived of agency experienced a reinforced sense of “being” disabled and feelings of isolation and helplessness.
Physical challenges and perceptions of women with disability as defenceless made them easy targets. Verbal and physical sexual harassment by strangers occurred in public spaces, trains, and buses. Women were vulnerable to exploitation because of their dependence on others for support and, possibly, as a result of men perceiving them as sexually available.
Structural forms of violence include inequalities in access to work opportunities in private or public institutions, and some women are denied jobs and social support. General discriminatory attitudes of potential employers toward women with impairments were often explained as concerns that they would not be able to “keep up” with colleagues, would be less productive, or would be incapable of completing the work.
Although this may seem to be of minor importance, the pattern of ignoring and isolating disabled women is repeated throughout national and international publications and websites of people with disabilities.
Women with disabilities do not form a homogeneous group. For example, the mentally ill and mentally retarded, the visually, hearing and speech impaired and those with restricted mobility or with so-called “medical disabilities” all encounter different barriers, of different kinds, which have to be overcome in different ways.
In addition, adding to the prejudice and discrimination barrier, the inaccessibility of the physical environment (e.g., buildings, roads, transport and toilet facilities) is a severe impediment to disabled women working outside their homes.
Women with disabilities are the easy victim for the exploitation and mistreatment within the family. We also do not discuss these issues in public. The great demand of parents of mentally retarded daughters for necessary sterilization speaks volumes. There is a need to deal with this issue by creating awareness and strengthening the existing laws to punish the offenders rigorously.
Adoption of children with disabilities is another issue, without which these children stay homeless.
Apart from economic independence, work is an essential means of enabling a person to develop a sense of identity and self-esteem. Thus, gainful employment is an important means of promoting the social integration of disabled women. Without efficient corrective action, the result of disability will add to the obstacles to the development of women with disabilities. Hence it is vital that we include instantaneous, sufficient and suitable measures for the equalization of prospects for girls and women with disabilities in the society. |
