PROMOTING A JUST AND EQUITABLE SOCIETY.

This write up is aimed at finding a way of promoting a just and equitable society for Women with disabilities in particular and Persons With Disabilities in general; also I want the orientation of the world to change towards Persons With Disabilities which cannot be achieved without their rights being given to them. Nigeria as a case study is one of the countries where Persons with Disabilities are being relegated to the background and considered only as charitable cases and of no good or use to the society thereby denying them their rights.

Just as the purpose of the convention on the rights of Persons With Disabilities is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity, we as a people have to strive to achieve that so as to make our society a better place for everyone irrespective of who we are.

Women with Disabilities suffer a greater discrimination in our society because they suffer triple discrimination. First as women, then as Persons with Disability and then as a result of poverty. In Nigeria, Men with Disabilities have been able to be mainstreamed into the men movement but the question that always lingers in my mind is why is itdifficult for women with disabilities to be mainstreamed into the women movement? We have to look from within and find answers before we can think of a just and equitable society where no one is left out.

In order to help promote a just and equitable society, we need to help empower women with disabilities especially the girl child living with disability. This can be done through education but before that can happen, the necessary things that will aid them have that education have to be put in place; like access to transportation and access to buildings and utilities Persons with Disabilities use.

Another issue is when pregnant Women with Disabilities go to the hospital for ante natal, there is no sensitization in that area in our society especially those with hearing impairment because they need the services of an interpreter and we don't have that handy in our hospitals. At such most of them give birth at home leading to several cases of maternal mortality. All these have to be put into consideration.

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Let the society give Persons with Disabilities a chance to show our potentials. It is only a part of our body that is incapacitated and not our brains nor are we useless. Don’t treat us as an afterthought. We have rights too. The Nigeria society has made life difficult for us to survive in by not including us in the societal and developmental aspect of the society; Nigeria is not disability friendly at all and we crave for inclusion and nothing more.

Let me shift a little and talk to my fellow Persons WithDisabilities about seeing the ability in their disability, because I believe the question on most people’s mind is how can ability and disability go together being opposite concepts? Most people in the world today see disability as a liability. This is because they believe that once you have a disability, you can do nothing. That notion is totally wrong. I have come across people with disabilities who are much more abled than the “able persons”. This is because disability is in the mind. When you condition your mind that because of your disability, there is nothing you can do, you will remain stagnant but get out of that mindset, the sky is only your starting point. When you are faced with a disability, don’t dwell on the negative side, you have to look beyond it. Try to explore the potentials you have. Your mindset is very important, as it is said, the way you see yourself, so will others see you. Do not hide your disability; rather dwell in its strength. When you hide yourself because you don’t want people to know that you have disability that is when people will see it. When you come out even with your disability, people will see your ability first before even noticing that you have a disability that is if they even do.

As a Disability advocate and as a Person With Disability have been privy to the plight of Persons living with Disabilities in Nigeria, we are suffering in this country due to lack of accessibility and neglect, when all this things are supposed to be made easy for us because it is our right.I have also seen the potential in us.  We deserve to be justly treated and equality is what we seek for, we are being forced to let our potentials wither.

 

For you to understand more about what we pass through and our rights, and join hands with us in this fight of letting the Nigerian government know that we need our bill to be signed because it is our right. The resources are available for you on the Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL) portal contained in the Egranary. There are deployment sites at National Human Rights Commission. Maitama, Abuja, Joint National Association of Persons WithDisabilities (JONAPWD) located at Women Center, Abuja. There is another one at HANDEF, Akure, Ondo State, at Challenge Your Disability Initiative (CYDI), Bauchi ,OjopeFarmers and Rural Dwellers Development Association,Makurdi and Center for Citizens with Disability (CCD), Lagos.

Persons with disabilities can do what the ‘able bodied’ people can do. They only need the chance to show what they can do. The fact that one is disabled does not mean that person is mentally incapacitated. What most people fail to understand is that there is ability in disability and Persons with Disabilities have a lot of potentials to offer to society if only the society can accord them the chance to make full use of their potentials, our society will be a better place. Give us a chance!!!