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| A disable man with his wife & son. Photo by: Health & welfare Website |
In Maldives
families with disabled children often experience discrimination &
humiliation. Maldives being a member state of UN has ratified the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or CRPD. Despite the guarantees of
equality & non-discrimination by Maldivian constitution, people with
disabilities in Maldives are still somehow suffering from limited employment,
educational opportunities & social discrimination.
In Maldives parents
of children with special needs live in a culture where sometimes even their own
family members do not interact with them in a supportive manner. This situation
in Maldives might be compounded by inadequate financial support, insufficient
services, & a limited number of trained professionals in the field. While
there isn’t a comprehensive government-monitored program to address these
issues, those with disabilities cannot have any hope of becoming active
participating members of our society.
What we see
through the lens of reality is parents of children with special needs in
Maldives are experiencing discrimination & humiliation for having a child
with disability. But what the society could not understand is that disability
is not just a medical issue, while it is a human rights issue which should be
brought to the forefront of our society in order to address & challenge its
myths. At the same time, we should also remember that overcoming
the difficulties faced to people with disabilities
requires interventions in social
barriers too.
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