The Aggrieved Disabled Civil Society, a platform for disability rights organisations, has submitted a memorandum to prime minister Sheikh Hasina with a 11-point charter of demands, including raising the monthly allowance to Tk 5,000 from Tk 850 in the forthcoming budget.聽聽聽
Three representatives of the platform submitted the memorandum to the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office on Sunday after a rally that marched from the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban鈥檚 South Plaza to Khamarbari.
About 70 people with disabilities participated in the rally, chanting slogans including 鈥榃e want education, employment, and to live a dignified life鈥� and 鈥楴o discrimination against persons with disabilities will be tolerated.鈥�
Mentioning that the current disability allowance is Tk 850 a month, the platform demanded increasing the allowance to Tk 5000, taking into account escalating prices of commodities, inflation, and the limited employment opportunities for them.
Disability rights activists also demanded that students with disabilities be provided with education stipends and allowances simultaneously, while advocating for raising the stipend amount for each student to at least Tk 2,000, from the current amount ranging between Tk 900 and Tk 1,300.
Their demands included formulation of a special policy on recruitment in government jobs, immediate implementation of the Directorate of Development of Persons with Disabilities, creation of a disability fund of Tk 1,000 crore through the Bangladesh Bank in the forthcoming budget, and ensuring representation of people with disabilities at all levels.
Their demands also included establishing a sign language institute and integrating the sign language into the education system, including persons with disabilities from poor economic background in all rehabilitation programmes, initiating health and caregiver allowances for persons with severe disabilities, including autism, and formulating disability budgets based on ministries.
The platform鈥檚 member secretary, Iftekhar Mahmud, conducted the event.
