General News
Attitude towards the differently-abled
THE International Day of Persons with Disabilities last Friday went by in Bangladesh with very little in the way of promoting more understanding of disability issues. The day is observed globally, obviously to sensitize the public and mobilize support for the dignity and well-being of people who are โhandicappedโ in one way or the other due to various congenital or acquired abnormalities. But though a national policy for the handicapped, drafted two decades ago (1990-91), exists, not much is noticeable to indicate that attitudes towards the โdifferently-abledโ have improved -- apart from a few reserved seats on some public buses.
Decision makers are by and large found to be still quite indifferent and their unique situation is often the last to be considered in the annual budgets and development plans. This official apathy is compounded by widespread prejudice and lack of job opportunities. Thus the handicapped have to battle not only their physical disabilities but also the gross insensitivities around them in their struggle to live respectable lives. Pity is not what the handicapped need if they are to be empowered and integrated with the mainstream society. But except for those in the upper strata of society, most of Bangladeshโs disabled end up in really pitiable situations. Most have no access to education, employment and health care. This must be remedied sooner rather than later, in the enlightened national-interest of Bangladesh.
Social workers dealing with the special challenges of handicapped people believe there can be no headway unless the government and society ramp up their mental attitude, in empathy with the disabled. They recommend, first and foremost, paying attention to the person rather than his/her condition during communication, and keeping in mind that physically disabled does not necessarily mean mentally disabled as well. This is not to say that the mentally challenged are not entitled to better behaviour from the more fortunate sections of the population. Indeed, educational institutions and all kinds of media ought to be instructed to use sensitization messages designed to welcome the handicapped into mainstream life. There are countless stories of the latent talents of the differently-abled being expressed in miraculous ways and these should be disseminated to help the obtuse members of the public become empathetic.
It may be mentioned here that the much used IQ or intelligence quotient, popularised in the early 20th century as the only yardstick to measure peopleโs intelligence -- the rational, mathematical kind -- has long been proven inadequate by a more enlightened approach to the rich variety of differently-abled human beings in this world. Neuroscientists and psychologists had amassed enough evidence by the turn of the century to establish that emotional intelligence (EQ) and spiritual intelligence(SQ) are equally, if not more, important for human beings to function at the optimum level. When the areas that control EQ and SQ are healthy, people are found to be sensitive, and able to reach the depths of their own as well as other peopleโs feelings, explaining โthe full complexity of human intelligenceโ and โthe vast richness of the human soul and imagination.โ
There are of course miles to go before society in Bangladesh is ready to give the sublime and the sacred potential within everyone -- abled and disabled alike -- a chance to be expressed. But without peopleโs intelligence in general evolving in that direction, justice can hardly be done to the differently-abled in this country.
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Country: Bangladesh
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Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=119450&date=2010-12-08
When: 08/12/2010
