Dear interested audients to program of campaign for change of the life! we are happy to be again at your service, our discussion is about social problems of disabled, our guests in the program are Mohammad Ali Mohabati the coordinator of Department of Support and Development of people with Disability in Afghanistan Human Rights Independent Commission, Dr. Sadeq Mohibi the member of Committee of Pleading for Justice of people with disability, Saifudin Nezami the director of Social Center of disabled and Mr. Munirudin from ABRAR organization.
Question: First I would like to ask Mr. Mohibi to define briefly the disability?
Answer: The disability has had specified definitions considering the different societies throughout the history, but three characteristics have been mentioned in the last definition of disability cited in Children rights convention. The disabled people are those who have long term mental, corporeal/body, physical sustainability of the injury that cannot participate properly in affairs during their reaction to the community.
Question: Mr. Nezami, the disabled are being despised, seen on compassion eyes and considered as weak people how we can change this manner of vision?
Answer: First I should say that the behavior of people in the community and the limitations are obstacles existent in the ways of disabled which is resulted from the unawareness of the authorities and the public.
The negative sight toward the disabled cause the lack of participation of the disabled in the community so giving the awareness regarding the privileges and rights of disabled is the only way to repel the negative sight against the disabled..
The government also has the responsibility to use the possibilities in hand for elimination the mentioned phenomenon and enact the laws that can change the rights of people with disability.
Question: Mr. Nezami, many tens of institutions have been active in the sector of disability, the media also are working in public awareness regarding the disabled, and by your opinion have these activities effective to create any change in life of disabled?
Answer: The issue of disability is a hot issue in our community, considering the extent of the disability the works done within years are not enough as the activities accomplished has faced with numerous problems from view point of quality and quantity, for example: most of the institutions that are working in giving awareness regarding the disabled themselves don’t know about the situation of people with disability. On the other hand the activities of the media about the people with disability have been little as they have reflected the negative sides of the disabled namely the media mostly have reflected the limitations of the people with disability rather than their abilities but despite these we can say that they have done some activities that we cannot ignore them.
Question: Mr. Mohabati, how do you assess the legal situation and the privileges of the people with disability?
Answer: Unfortunately the issue of disability is not on the top working priority of governmental authorities as the government has not been able to have an organized plan, for example: there was no law for the disabled that finally we were able to provide a law through help of the committee of pleading for justice and then approve by National Assembly (Upper House) but there are still problems in the implementation aspect of the mentioned law.
Question: Mr. Mohabati, one of the hearers has asked that how is the coordination between the Human Rights commission and other partners in disability field?
Answer: Regarding the coordination between the Human Rights Commissions and other concerned institutions to people with disability I can say that the Afghanistan Human Rights Independent Commission is the only institution in Asia that has activities in field of disability.
A commission has been established in the center for issues related to disability in which all the institutions are involved and the Afghanistan Human Rights Independent Commission itself is the member of the commission, the committee of pleading for justice for the people with disability exists that the Human Rights Commission has active role in it, the appeals for justice caused that the law of rights and privileges of people with disability was codified.
Question: Mr. Nezami, what work should be done that the media reflect the positive dimensions of life of the disabled?
Answer: It is necessary that the institutions that are working in sector of disabled should give correct information to the media that the media can transfer the information to people that are suitable to disabled, despite these we can say that the media have improved than past years.
Question: Mr. Burhani, as you know based on the figures presented the disabled are 2.7 % of the population in our country but no institution has taught about the physical access of people with disability to buildings, so should be done?
Answer: Yes, this has remained as a main problem of the people with disability within past years, the partner institutions worked about and paid their attention to this issue in their discussions, this caused that the issue of disability was taken into consideration by those who want to construct tall buildings.
Question: Mr. Mohibi, why the government still doesn’t has the exact statistics of the people with disability?
Answer: Having the exact statistics is one of the important issues in all aspects but unfortunately it is to say that the Afghan government has not been able yet to present the correct and acceptable statistics of the population of the country though recently a questionnaire has been provided that by its completion we would be able to have exact number of the people with disability. The figures that we have, shows that 2.7 % of population are the people with disability, this figures has been gotten from Handi Cap International (an international NGO) in 2005, the mentioned figures have not been reviewed so the changes may have appeared definitely but we don’t know exactly about.
Question: Mr. Muhabati, what do you think how would be the situation of the disabled after 2014?
Answer: Unfortunately we cannot assess the current situation of the disabled separately from other individuals in the community; the Afghan government is in need of international community aids so we should be waiting for coming events, the presence of one of the representatives of the disabled community in second conference of Bon and lifting the voice of disabled in the mentioned has caused the increment of allotment of budget to field of disability.
Question: Mr. Burhani, We had two questions from our audients I want to get your view about, first they have asked why the governmental authorities don’t have attention to salaries of the disabled and secondly what is the view of Islam about disability?
Answer: It is good idea, if we want to repel the problems of the people with disability, the speeches by the mullahs is one of the ways as they can communicate the important points about the disability to the community and don’t let the people to despise the disabled as Islam has ordered all its followers not to use the indecent words against each other. The prophet of Islam (PBUH) has told you would not be a Muslim if you don’t admire something for others that you admire for yourselves.
Question: Mr. Nezami, as you know better many facilities are available for the people with disability in other countries then what is the role of some of the sector institutions such as ministry of City Development and Kabul Municipality?
Answer: today the world see the disability as a comprehensive phenomenon, namely the disability exists in whole world so it is the obligation of Afghan government to see the issue of disability as humanitarian issue not issue of compassion.
Though Afghanistan cannot counter against this phenomenon as it is required due to numerous problems but the government is still obliged to support the disabled and stand on its commitments considering the international laws, for example, lack of physical access is one of the problems for the people with disability so the Kabul municipality is obliged to have a comprehensive policy about to inform the people that construct the building to consider the issue of disability as well.
Question: Mr. Muhabati, up to which limits the work has been done to create job opportunity for the people with disability?
Answer: First I should say that Islam has insisted on cooperation and help to people with disability, the prophet of Islam was showing the way to his blind associates by a laying a string.
Regarding to your question I should say that effective work has not been done for self-sufficiency of disabled and creation the job opportunity for disabled because the basic foundations of job creation including education and other opportunities have not been provided by the government, when a disabled is illiterate what it can do so first the groundwork of education must be provided the field that less attention taken place by this time.
Question: Mr. Mohibi, the law about the people with disability has been provided and approved but is said that there are some problems in the law; the committee of pleading to justice has some suggestions, what these suggestions are about?
Answer: Yes the law was provided due to efforts of community of disability after ten years tumults but the law still has some problems, for example more privileges are given to war disabled while all the disabled need privileges and facilities, lack of any discussion about the disabled women, surficial attention to the disabled children and non-existence of budget for financing the programs for disability are the problems in the law that we are trying to repel through bringing the amendments in the law.
Dear audiences, our discussion ends here, thanks for joining us; be happy and successful by next program good bye.
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