5. Discussion of Findings - Systemic Roots of Discrimination

In this study we were interested not only in monitoring the experiences of discrimination and human rights violations of persons with disabilities in India but also to collect their views on the factors that cause the disadvantage faced by this group of the population.

Though there are 4 important legislations, mentioned above, enacted by the Government of India to address the issues of Persons with Disabilities, none of these legislations indicate punitive action. The reasons stated by the Government is that as there are other legislations meant for the citizens of this country which stress on punitive action in case of discrimination, there is no necessity to emphasize the same in the legislations meant to redress the issues of persons with disabilities specifically.

2 Interviewees pointed out inadequacies in current legislation, notably around access to the right to vote, as being one of the root causes of the systemic discrimination they experience in Indian society. . As per the Constitution of India, every citizen has the Fundamental Right to Vote, but in reality, for Persons with Disabilities, this right is being denied quite often, as reported in the following excerpt:

When there are elections and there is a need to vote for a representative, I really cannot go there could I? if we were given some form of transport and were taken to the spot where the elections are being held then I would also be able to vote because I know that I have the right to vote and that I have to make use of it. The persons who stand for elections should provide some transport for us to go and vote, otherwise we cannot go by ourselves. So when we do not go to vote, they treat us like outsiders and as if we have committed a sin or something and are insulted.

And the problem does not stop there but continues where the person said,

They said, you did not vote for me so I will see to it that your name is removed from the pension list, which meant that I had to face a whole new problem all over.

The main reason for discrimination though, which was cited by as much as 51 Interviewees, was Economic, and social roots for discrimination were cited by 7 Interviewees. The following citations only exemplify the various forms in which economic discrimination can work:

I do not like being a dependent but I am unable to get a proper job so that I could become independent.

Well, a disabled person who is economically stable and steady is treated on way in society and a poor disabled person is treated completely differently. In this instance, I must say it is the amount of money a person has and not his or her disability that takes precedence in how a person is treated in society, either with respect or negligence.

I was unable to continue my education because of these economic problems. After the completion of my Graduation I worked in a school for 4 years as a Hindi Teacher but I was paid much less than my other co-workers because I was a disabled person.

I am facing these conditions and incidents because I am a cripple, a disabled person. Other than this, I have to face economic problems, poverty, added to which there is no one at all who is willing to extend some form of support to me or the other. They all hesitate thinking even if we were to give him some monetary support is he in a position to return the money, to repay it back, and so they back out from helping me.

I want to continue to study, but if I have to study, I need money to pay for the examination fees and as there is no money, I cannot continue my education. That is my life at present.

Listening to all this, my mother-in-law comes home and begins to torment me saying I did not bring a paisa of dowry when I got married. We are two girl children for my parents and already their economic conditions are not all that good, so where will they get the dowry amount to give their daughters.

I am still continuing to endure the problems in my life. I feel desperately that I should be the bread winner of the family, that I should be the one to earn an income but I am unable to do any kind of work. I have three daughters and a son and none of them are married yet. I would have been able to take better care of my children and their future if I were like everyone else, if I were able bodied. As I am not well at all, I am unable to do anything for the good of my children.

Even if we wanted to do some work, there is no work to be found here, there are no other sources of income either. As such there is no source for food for us too, there is no money, and how were we to live, that is my one constant worry. My parents really struggle a lot for me.

Our village is situated right in the middle of steep hills and no one from outside ever comes here and we do not have enough economic stability for us to go out.

If we had that kind of money, we would have gone till the District Headquarters and would have got myself checked in a big hospital there but we did not have that much money to spare. We even tried some of the herbal/natural medicine of the tribal people.

top