Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Society neglects the differently abled: Baby

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Education M.A. Baby said here on Monday that society was not doing enough for people with disabilities. He was speaking after inaugurating a four-day workshop on acupressure treatment for children organised by the State Council for Educational Research and Training.

“Society has the duty to ensure equal opportunities to people with disabilities,” Mr. Baby said. “People with disabilities cannot go a theatre to watch a movie or to a stadium due to the absence of ramps.”

The government has the responsibility to create necessary infrastructure for the differently abled, he said.

Referring to the various systems of medicine that often competed with one another for superiority, Mr. Baby said the need of the hour was to devise a “holistic system of treatment.” The practitioners should not adopt a fundamentalist approach that their system of treatment was better than the other, the Education Minister said.

Simon Britto, MLA, called for a change in attitude among the people towards those with disabilities. Mr. Britto, who suffered serious injuries in a near fatal attack by his political opponents decades ago and is an active campaigner for the rights of the disabled, said a person with disability was “highly stigmatised” by society.

Recalling a personal experience, Mr. Britto narrated how he had to engage in a verbal duel with a policeman who refused to assist him in crossing a road. “The policeman simply refused to budge until I told him that I am an MLA,” he said.

“If this can happen to an elected representative who enjoys the protection of a political party, imagine what would be the plight of the hundreds of ordinary citizens with physical disabilities.”

It is estimated that there are around 25 lakh people with disabilities in the State.

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