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The rights of the persons with disabilities were human rights, not just an issue of welfare or charity, rights activists, pressing for a 15-point demand for the persons with physical and mental challenges, stated on Saturday.

As part of their demand they called on the interim government to allocate budgets to fulfil education, health and other rights of the persons with disabilities under the specific ministries.

They denounced the current government practice of dealing with education, health and all other issues of the persons with physical and mental challenges under the social welfare ministry, saying that this must change.   

They also stressed initiating change in the social psyche regarding the outlook and approach of the common people towards the persons with disabilities.

Disability Rights Watch, a watchdog working for an inclusive society since September 2024, held the press conference at the Midas Centre in the capital.

The event, titled ‘Press conference demanding the legal rights, protection, and prevention of all negligence, deprivation and violation of human rights’ was supported by the Transparency International Bangladesh.

While reading out the keynote paper, organisation member Md Jahangir Alam said that they had met chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on November 2 last year with their demands but saw no progress so far. 

The keynote paper noted that the Bangladesh government ratified the Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities and enacted the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013 but hardly any measures in this regard were seen in the recent years.

Their other demands include—change the name of the social welfare ministry to the social development and empowerment ministry, activate the government committees on their rights, reconstruct and make effective the National Foundation for Development of the Disabled Persons, put one focal point for persons with disabilities in every ministry, ensure participation of representatives of the persons with disabilities in the national Sustainable Development Goals activities, allocate separate budget for persons with disabilities, reserve 1 per cent in government jobs for the persons with disabilities, and build a separate sports federation for them. 

TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said at the press event that the issue of the rights of the persons with disabilities was not about welfare or charity.

‘They are demanding their human rights,’ he said, adding, ‘the change came to our mindset in the past 54 years towards these people is not enough at all.’

Jahangir Alam said that despite there were two separate ministries for education and although the ministries of women and children affairs, youth and sports and health and family welfare existed, the social welfare ministry was in charge of education, health, sports and all other affairs concerning the persons with disabilities.  

The rights body’s chairman Monsur Ahmed Choudhuri said that based on the 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country had an estimated 2.15 crore persons with disabilities, including one lakh unemployed bachelor degree holders. 

Having noted that the incumbent interim government was formed as a result of an anti-discrimination movement, Iftekharuzzaman said, ‘We feel aggrieved that the demands presented to the chief adviser on November 2 stayed in paper. No steps were taken and for that we are holding this press conference.’

‘If changes only remain in changing the names keeping old practices intact, no result will come from it,’ he said, adding, ‘we need more’. 

The conference was attended, among others, by Disability Rights Watch member secretary Khandaker Jahurul Alam and disability development affair expert Nafisur Rahman.