disABILITY FOCUS

There is no denying the fact in this age of technology, there is a steady increase of people who use computers and Internet frequently in their workplaces, public places, or homes, but there are still many individuals who do no have access to these technologies. Some may not access them because they cannot afford to do so financially. But others have failed because of disability, in spite of having access to computer. This is why adaptive technologies have been developed.    Many computers in libraries, public information centres, government institution, still do have the adaptive technologies because they are still new in Malawi. We must, therefore, list down some examples of these technologies. However, before we do so, we must first describe different categories of disabilities that make it difficult for people to access information. The major categories of disability types are as follows: •       Visual blindness: This may include blindness, low vision, and colour-blindness. One

Having discussed last week some of the challenges that persons with disabilities face when it comes to accessing information affecting their lives, it is important to explore this week some of the interventions we can make to ensure that they are able to enjoy their right to information. Whether we are Government, policy makers, rights advocates, chiefs, or just ordinary citizens, there are surely certain things that can be done. Government, which is probably the principal duty bearer, has obviously the biggest role to play, especially in creating a conducive policy and legislative environment to enhance both protection and participation of persons with disabilities in social life. For example, besides enacting the long-awaited Disability Bill, Government, Parliamentarians and policy makers, must also undertake to ensure that the needs of persons with disabilities are addressed in another long-awaited draft piece of legislation, the Access to Information Bill, before it is enacted

Although there are no specific provisions protecting rights ofpersons with disabilities in the Republican Constitution of Malawi, these are protected by other provisions nevertheless. The provision on equality in Section 20, for instance, demands that there shall be no discrimination on any grounds including disability. In Section 13(g) of the Constitution, the state makes a commitment to support the disabled through (a) greater access to public places, (b) fair opportunities in employment and (c) the fullest possible participation in all spheres of Malawian society. The 1998 Population and Housing Census conducted by National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed that the country’s total population with disabilities is 4.2 percent.   It further revealed that 54 percent are males while females make up 46 percent.   The rural-urban distribution of the disabled population is 3 percent for rural areas and 2 percent for urban.   The disability population was distributed as follows: 18.2 per

According to a handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entitled “From Exclusion to Equality: Realizing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” over 650 million persons around the world live with disabilities. Add to that their extended families, and a staggering two billion people daily live with disabilities. The handbook – developed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) – further says Persons with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority. The numbers are damning: an estimated 20 percent of the world’s poorest persons are those with disabilities; 98 percent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school; an estimated 30 percent of the world’s street children live with disabilities; and the literacy rate for adults with disabilities is

This week, we continue from where we left last week; listing down examples of preferred terminology concerning persons with disabilities. Please note, however, that these guidelines are not exhaustive and that some language which is considered appropriate by one person may not be considered appropriate by another. If you are unsure about the language you are using, then ask the disabled person what they feel most comfortable with and continue to use this language whilst in their presence. Here are more examples of the preferred terminologies: •       Most disabilities are not a disease. Do not call person with a disability a "patient" unless referring to a hospital setting. In an occupational and physical therapy context, "client" or "customer" is preferred. •       Some diseases by legal definition are considered disabilities. Victimization imagery ("AIDS victims") or defining the person by the disease ("she is a diabetic") is inappr

Language reflects the social context in which it is developed and used. It reflects the values and attitudes of that context, and plays an important role in reinforcing values and attitudes that lead to discrimination and segregation of particular groups in society. Language can, therefore, be used as a powerful tool to facilitate change and bring about new values, attitudes and social integration. However, there is a great deal of disagreement as to what should be considered offensive. Views vary with geography and culture, over time, and among individuals. Some of the terms, such as "retard" and "lame," are deliberate insults; others, such as "wheelchair-bound," are inherently negative; still others, such as "Mongolism," are based on stereotypical ideas of certain groups of individuals with disabilities. Some people believe that terms should be avoided if they might offend people; others hold the listener responsible for misinterpreting terms

The definition and classification of disabled persons have gone through a number of changes over the centuries. Specialists have grouped disability approaches into two models, namely “social model” and “medical model”. The distinctions between the “social model” and the “medical model” of disability can initially seem remote from the concerns of someone unfamiliar with disabilities struggling to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to the mainstream social life, such as their ability to enjoy their right to access transportation infrastructure, or access to the HIV/AIDS education. The theory of Medical Model Approach uses traditional approaches which states that the inability to carry out activities is caused by impairment or impairments. For example, you are not mobile because you have a spinal injury. This understanding of disability is said to be a medical model of disability because the causes of disability are attributed only to medical conditions. In contras

For someone new to the disability rights studies and advocacy, certain terms can seem as bewildering as international development jargon can seem to a grassroots disability rights advocate. Before we even begin to discuss in detail what we can do to mainstream disability in both developmental work and daily social life, we must first discuss and understand the basic concepts that are often used in such work, as such terminologies may inevitably pop up once in a while in the subsequent articles. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Disability as “an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.” On the other hand, the Handbook On Mainstreaming Disability developed by Voluntary Service Organisation (VSO) defines disability as “the disadvantage and exclusion which arise as an outcome of the interactions between people who have impairments and the social and environmental barriers they face due to the failure of society to take account o

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you, readers, to this new blog, The disABILTY FOCUS which tackles issues affecting persons with disabilities in Malawi and beyond. As you may be aware, while most of us have been reading a number of blogs on the Internet and columns in newspapers and other publications focusing on a thematic issue like gender, most of you will however testify that this is probably the first time you will be reading, and following, a blog that specifically tackles issues on disabilities in Malawi. It is in this context why the authors – Mussa Chiwaula of Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (FEDOMA) and George Mwika Kayange of Child Rights Information & Documentation Centre (CRIDOC) – have initiated the blog. Through this blog, we intend to help raise awareness and encourage debate on key issues that affect persons with disabilities in Malawi. We also aim to assess the role of various stakeholders in the promotion of rights