For women with disabilities, an inclusive India is a distant country

Their share in education and workplace is much smaller than that of men with disabilities

D Y Chandrachud, the former chief justice of India, faced challenges in finding a suitable apartment to rent in Delhi after his retirement, given the special needs of his two adopted daughters. “We realise that every house we go to is just not equipped to have a family with children or even adults with disabilities,” he said in April.

 

Life outside the home is a struggle for persons with disabilities in India. Most public buildings and transport either ignore disability-friendly norms or follow them half-heartedly to secure construction permits.

 

Universities in the public mind are supposed to be inclusive spaces but students with disabilities struggle to access facilities such as Braille-incorporated signboards, insufficient assistive systems and accessible restrooms.

 

India observed the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, a time to check the data on accessibility. Only 3.44 per cent of women with disabilities have completed higher education, and around 8 per cent participate in the labour force.

 

The literacy rate among persons with disabilities is 54.52 per cent, but only 44.56 per cent of women with disabilities are literate, compared with higher rates among men, according to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The gap widens up the education ladder.

 

Just 11.48 per cent of women with disabilities complete primary education, and fewer than 10 per cent progress to each subsequent level. Only 3.44 per cent of women with disabilities have completed graduation or pursued further studies in the country. 

 

The workforce numbers are grim, too. According to the report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, women with disabilities barely register in the economy, with their labour force participation rate (LFPR) languishing at 7.7 per cent. Men with disabilities have LFPR of 36 per cent — a gap that shows women with disabilities face more barriers in accessing work. 

 

India has 26.81 million people with disabilities — 2.21 per cent of the population, according to Census 2011. Women comprise 44.11 per cent of this group. Movement disabilities affect the largest number (5.44 million people), followed by hearing impairments (5.07 million) and vision disabilities (5.03 million). 

 

The Karnataka government has drafted legislation to reserve 10 per cent of seats in educational institutions and 5 per cent of jobs in private companies for persons with disabilities. Such initiatives will help to achieve the objective of “disability-inclusive societies” as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities proclaimed this year.