THE CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS FACING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH
HOW CAN PARLIAMENTS BE MORE ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES? A VIEW FROM PAKISTAN As Parliamentarians, we have power. Every day, we can use this privilege to make meaningful contributions towards achieving accessibility at various local and global scales. Not only is achieving global inclusivity our social and moral responsibility, but it is also a critical part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For example, disability is referenced in multiple SDGs which pertain to inclusive education, economic growth, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities, justice for all, and revitalised global partnerships for achieving the SDGs.1 Unfortunately, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Over 1 billion people worldwide experience some sort of physical or mental disability.2 People with disabilities experience poorer health outcomes, have less access to education and work opportunities and are more likely to live in poverty than those without a disability. Unfortunately, girls and women of all ages with disabilities are more vulnerable and marginalised compared to any other group.3 Not only are they twice as likely to have fewer jobs compared to men with disabilities, but they often experience discrimination in the workforce, are subjected to unequal pay, and are rarely integrated into the economic decision-making.4 Given these various hurdles to achieving inclusivity for all, the question remains, how can Parliamentarians be more accessible to persons with disabilities? In the next few sections of this article, I will share a three-tiered approach on how Parliamentarians can work towards creating a more inclusive society at a primary, secondary, and tertiary level for persons with disabilities (PWD) in the Commonwealth. Achieving accessibility for all is no easy feat for both developing and developed countries. However, in developing countries, we need to think more creatively about how we can use our limited economic resources to make our societies more accessible to persons with disabilities. At the primary level, the strongest tool we can leverage for this cause is our place in the government and our role as Parliamentarians. We can easily mobilise the government’s machinery to help differently-abled people. Given our place of power and influence, we have the ability to pass Bills and legislation that
Hon. Zill-e-Huma, MNA
cater for persons with disabilities. For example, in our Parliament in Pakistan, we formulated a Special Committee for persons with disabilities. The primary responsibility of this Committee is to maintain a check and balance by overseeing all laws and legislation pertaining to the inclusion of people with disabilities and report any practices and measures that do not align with inclusive values. Another major asset we have is the media. The media listens to what we have to say, and our messages can help steer the larger societal debate on what inclusion for all looks like. For instance, we can leverage the media to run public awareness campaigns that recognise the various forms of disability. With these public awareness campaigns, we can demonstrate what discrimination against persons with disabilities looks like, how one can take action against it, and what the penalty is for those who willfully discriminate against those with disabilities. On a secondary level, we can ensure accessibility by doing our work mindfully, which puts accessibility at the forefront of all Bills and legislation that we bring into Parliament. Before we pass any Bills, we must thoroughly evaluate whether the Bill includes any discriminatory language against persons with disabilities, or if it intentionally excludes those with disabilities. This will not only ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all future Bills, but it will also allow us to estimate which of our previous legislation may need re-evaluation. Recently, in the Parliament of Pakistan, we approved the Planning Commission 1 (PC1) disability checklist. This checklist includes criteria on what disabled-friendly policies and infrastructure look like. The PC1 checklist serves as a filter through which all new policies and infrastructure projects must go through before they are implemented. PC1 is implemented at all 26 Federal Ministries and is also approved at the provincial level. It includes language on inclusive hiring and ensures inclusivity in all newly proposed infrastructure projects such as integrating ramps, elevators, audio and video recording, signs, and rails. The aim is that as we propose new projects, we can ensure accessibility is addressed. In the long run, this will bring us closer to creating a more inclusive Pakistan.
was elected as a Member of the Pakistan National Assembly in 2018. She is a Member of several Parliamentary Committees including Parliamentary Affairs, Human Rights and Housing. Hailing from South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Zill-e-Huma led various door-to-door campaigns to advocate at the grassroots level and increase the political representation of women in the province. Drawing on her own experiences, Zill-e-Huma advocates for the rights of disabled persons in the country. She is the CPA Asia Regional Champion for the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD).
350 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing
