As Nigeria joins the rest nation to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Plan International Nigeria and its partners have called for safe spaces for PWDs to thrive.
Chinelo Amaechina, Gender Equality and Inclusion Manager, Plan International Nigeria, said the collaboration with Christian Release Services (CRS), Oxfam and other organisations was to strengthen the demands for the inclusion of PWDs in various government activities.
The theme of the event is tagged:’Movement Beyond Walls:’The Art of Bridging Gender and Disability’.
Amaechina said the PWDs are using the international day to share their worries and concerns using the Arts words to explain to the world that there was need for them to be included in programmes, processes and what organisations and government is doing.
“They need to be remembered, no policies are being developed and even implemented, PWDs should be on the table same as people that are not with a disability,” she said.
Amaechina explained that PEDs faced a lot of challenges while calling on stakeholders at all levels to come to their aids in addressing those challenges.
“When it comes to employment, some of them are not considered on the basis of disability, when it comes to creating accessible world like offices, public places and the rest of them, they’re not being considered.
” Also, when it comes to education, sometimes you see some schools are actually designated for persons with disability but there’s no inclusion of PWDs in other schools, they are just kind of segregated and most more importantly, some of them are being stigmatised and discriminated.
“And that’s actually killing and discriminating PWDs,” she added.
She urged the government to formulate policies that are not disability blind so that the needs and aspirations of PWDs can be met.
“Government has a lot to do especially when it comes to policy formation, most of our policies shouldn’t be gender blind and and disability blind as well.
“These persons should actually be called on the table when policies are being developed so they can also bring the issues and how they are being affected and how It can be solved.
“Doing this will bring out solutions to their problems,” she added.
Also, Olawunmi Gbolahan, Programme Coordinator for Women Equality and Gender Equality, Oxfam Nigeria, said PWDs were usually abused mostly by the people closer to them.
Gbolahan called for autonomy for PWDs to make decisions on issues affecting them as everything about their life, everything about what happens around them or their existence is being decided by someone.
“It might come from a place of love, but at some point you need to understand that they also have the right and autonomy to make decisions by themselves.
On her part, Pelemo Nyajo, Co-convener Movement Beyond Word (MBW), called for the scaling up of disability inclusion to address the needs of PWDs irrespective of their location.
Speaking on the Disability Acts, she said having an acts was not enough but ensure the acts is being implemented would address the needs of PWDs.
“We have disability Acts but we have lack of implementation and I think that’s apart from a governmental level where it’s supposed to be implemented, it can be done on a communal and societal level.
” Efforts in this event is for us to get inclusion in little spaces from community and in people and I think that will spur people to become allies and to really understand what the fight is really for,” she said.
She appealed to government to create safe spaces for PWDs for conversations around their demands while also ensuring the implementation of the acts that already exists.
