Hyderabad: Generally, people feel pity or an inferiority complex regarding the disabled, while some people live with the incorrect ideology that a handicapped person will be a burden on society. With a little effort, even a handicapped person can lead a normal life. Every year on December 3rd, to spread awareness among the people, attracting their attention towards the issues related to the challenges of disabled or differently-abled people around the world and making efforts for their proper economic and social development International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed.
With the help of the right training, opportunities and right efforts, people with disabilities can be made self-reliant and they can also lead an equal life in society. International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on a global stage to bring physically disabled people into more mainstream positions in the country.
International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on December 3rd across the world to make efforts to remove the prejudice and discrimination prevalent in society regarding the disabled, to make people aware of the issues related to them and to bring disabled people to the level of equality in society, to strengthen them economically and socially. The theme for International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the year 2022 is "Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world".
International Day of Persons with Disabilities was initiated in the year 1992 by the United Nations. Significantly, the decade from 1983 to 1992 was declared by the United Nations as the "United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons". After this, to give a healthy life to the disabled, maintain their self-esteem, make them aware of their rights and simplify the way to achieve those rights, in the year 1992, in the 47th United Nations General Assembly, a resolution was passed to designate it as the day.
According to an estimate given in a United Nations report, about 15% of the world population, i.e. more than one billion people, are suffering from some kind of disability, 80% of whom live in developing countries. On the other hand, according to a report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in November 2021, there were about 24 crore disabled children, worldwide, which means one child in every ten is a victim of disability. According to the report, among women aged 18 and above, the average rate of disability is 19% (nearly one in five women) while for men it is 12%. About 800 million disabled people are of working age in the world.
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According to the report, men, women and children with disabilities usually face systemic and social barriers, which affect their social and economic status. It is a matter of concern that most of the disabled are unable to take advantage of the necessary health services due to different reasons, they are unable to get desired education and even they get very few employment opportunities in society.
In such situations, International Day of Persons with Disabilities is an opportunity which gives a platform to various communities to make efforts at the national and international level to remove the prejudice and discrimination prevailing in society regarding disabilities, thereby protecting the rights of people with disabilities around the world, and to establish a barrier-free society for them. However, it has also been successful to a great extent, but still the disabled do not get full rights in terms of employment, education and medicine.
Significantly, the term disability includes both physical and mental disabilities. Mainly if we talk about the categories of disability, generally people suffering from the following problems are kept in the category of disability:
- People who are suffering from visual impairment i.e. extremely low vision or partial blindness or complete blindness.
- People who have difficulty in speaking or hearing or who cannot speak or hear at all.
- People who are suffering from physical disability due to any disease, genetic reasons or accident, and are unable to walk or lead a normal life.
- People who are victims of mental disability and mental illness, and are unable to learn, write, read, behave or establish contact or coordination with others.
- People who have multiple disabilities i.e. disabilities in which many parts of the body are affected or one or more parts of the body are not able to do any work completely or partially.
- People suffering from diseases like Down Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy.
