Persons with disabilities demand their right to be respected

By Ama Achiaa Amankwah

The Ghana Federation of the Disabled, (GFD) is embarking on a campaign to effect change in the negative attitude, perception and prejudices the public holds about disabled people.

Disability is a human rights issue and there are several international conventions protecting the rights of Persons with Disabilities, (PWD). Some include the UN Declaration on the rights of mentally retarded persons, the disabled persons and the UN world programme of action concerning disabled persons. These declarations define their rights to enjoy decent life, respect for their human dignity, medical, psychological and initial treatment.

Ghana is yet to pass her disability bill. Although every child has the rights to education according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990, many children with disabilities in Ghana are excluded from school due to inaccessible infrastructure and lack of special of materials. In the meantime, the GFD believes there is the need to change stereotypes that exist in the Ghanaian society.

For a start, GFD has been engaging the media in discussions on the need to create positive images on issues of disability. The belief of the federation is that, when disability issues are mentioned in the media, they get straight into people’s lives.

The GFD is inculcating in media professionals the need to be mindful of the languages and terminologies that are used to describe Persons with Disabilities, (PWD). PWD argues that they are particularly vulnerable to the use of negative terminologies and languages, which lead to discrimination and prejudices.
Consequently, a guide for media professionals on positive portrayals of disability has been developed and was made available to media professionals at the forum.
At a media forum in Accra, the federation identified environmental, institutional and attitudinal barriers as some of the issues that make it difficult for Persons With Disabilities, (PWD) to function in society.

A Resource Person for the federation, Dr. B.I Koray, noted that disability is not just a medical condition, but also arises out of the interaction between an individual with impairment and social barriers.

He said social arrangements are such that disabled persons cannot operate. “Society has to change to ensure the full inclusion of PWD. It is appropriate that such persons are defined by their impairment, as they do not form a homogenous group.” He said disability is cross cutting and therefore obstacles must be removed by addressing their needs.

Dr. Koray emphasized that although language and terminologies used to describe PWD could reinforce discrimination, it could also be a powerful tool in facilitating change in society.

Membership of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled includes the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled and Ghana Association of the Blind. The rest are the Ghana National Association of the Deaf and Parents Association of Children with Intellectual Disabilities, (PACID).

Spokespersons of the sub associations took turns to stress the need to address each group of PWD by their impairment and not as a homogenous group.

Mr. Yaw Ofori Debra, President of the GFD noted that social exclusion, prejudices and negative perception towards PWD cut across all cultures and societies. “We are struggling to free ourselves from human rights abuses. But we can’t win the battle against the violation of our rights without the collaboration of the media.”

He explained, “we believe the media can play a catalyst role by raising greater awareness of disability through articles and programmes, exposing the knowledge and experiences of PWD, influence the development of disability-sensitive policies and programmes, as well as advocating national disability legislation.”

The GFD called on the media and institutions involved in producing public information to ensure that communications are accessible to all persons with disabilities. The federation says the written word should be available in large print, on tape and in Braille, while the spoken word, including television newscasts and programmes should incorporate sub-titles or on-screen language interpretation.