Opinion: Disability is not inability
Society; creator of developmental barriers to the visually impaired
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Visual impairment in most Ghanaian communities is viewed as a curse or an act of retribution.
As such, persons with visual impairment are relegated to the background and socialised to accept their lot.
Visually impaired persons are mainly perceived as beggars and persons who cannot do anything for themselves. However, their inability to do anything on their own is due to the barriers created by the society.
These “Socially Created Barriers” prevent them from engaging in income-generating activities, thus reinforcing societies’ perception of them as being “lazy” and “incapable” of doing anything for themselves.
One of these barriers is discrimination. Discrimination refers to an unfair treatment of one person or group, usually because of prejudice about race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender, disability etc. Though by law it is an offence to discriminate against a person on the bases of his or her disability, people commit such offences with impunity because these laws have been silent ever since they were enacted.
Discrimination
In our communities, families deliberately give much attention to social needs such as education, health care etc. of their able-bodied relatives at the expense of those with visual impairment as well as disabilities in general. This is because there is the perception that when they are sent to school, they are going to be of no use but a nuisance to both the teachers and students, and also the wrong assumption that it is only their able-bodied children who can attain the highest level of education, get better employment and help the family in future.
At school and the workplace, some authorities/employers refuse the admission and employment of blind persons because of their disabilities. This is very challenging for visually impaired persons because visually impaired children of school age are denied their right to education and kept indoors, and this retards their social development. Even with the few who get access to education, there is the problem of seeking a job.
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Social outcast
Besides, there is the problem of ostracism, otherwise known as “societal outcast”. This is very common in the traditional society, for it is a belief in the traditional society that visual impairment is a result of the consequences of the sins of their families. Even in some societies, people who are visually impaired are not allowed to mingle with the able, with the perception that they will infect them with their impairment, and they are also not regarded as full members of the society. This severely affects them in accessing aspects of social life such as marriage, dignity and so on.
Nevertheless, their impairment does not in any way affect their reasoning abilities. When given the opportunity, they have a wealth of innovative ideas, which when shared with their respective communities, will immensely contribute to development. Therefore to reverse the negative trend, public education must be strongly encouraged, and the laws protecting the rights of persons with disabilities should be strictly enforced so as to ensure respect for the rights of persons with disabilities at all levels.
The writer is a visually impaired student of the University of Cape Coast. She is deeply passionate about youth & disability issues. Grace serves as a volunteer of the Osei-Kusi Foundation (OKF), a development and resource organisation helping to transform thousands of young people by providing them with tools, resources and training they need to make a global impact.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.oseikusifoundation.org