They do not, because it is suicidal, short of a Good Samaritan walking them across against the honking motorists who claim sole proprietorship of the roads.
Worse still, how does one in a wheelchair board any of the country’s public transportations, daladala vans don’t have wide enough doors to accommodate a wheelchair and even if, as is the case, the person alights from the chair, crawls up the high raised step and again, a Good Samaritan offers them their seat, the vans have no seatbelts leaving them at risk of being thrown out of their seats every time the vehicle breaks.Unfortunately that is the case not only on the roads, for persons with disabilities; life in Tanzania is one of constant humiliation and discrimination.
Repeatedly, the need to end bigotry against people with disabilities has been emphasised and the public, especially the business community, reminded that disability does not mean inability.
Yet few offices hire persons with disabilities in any of their positions, especially in managerial posts despite qualifications.
Worse still, many offices, including public service offices do not have infrastructure that is friendly to persons with disabilities. The doors remain too narrow for wheelchairs to go through, entrances lack ramps or the ramps are just too steep to push a wheelchair up.
Schools, colleges and universities suffer similar shortcomings as do hospitals and dispensaries, few have any special accommodations for these special need groups. As a result, the already vulnerable groups, are further marginalised from the very basic of social services, education and healthcare.
However, while we point an accusing finger at the public, it is worth noting that the general culture in the country is one of shame and disregard to persons with disabilities. They are seen as a curse and blemish to the family.
Parents and guardians are guilty of continued abuse of persons with disabilities entrusted to their care. They hide them from the community, keep them from school and isolate them from their peers. Misguided by norms, many feel ashamed to have a person with disability under their care and avoid any kind of association with them.
Repeatedly, authorities have threatened to take action against such parent and guardian but the empty threats bare little to no fruits, because to these parents and caretakers, disability equates to inability. They see the disabled children (and adults) as incapable of taking part in any productive socio-economic activity.
Tanzania ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol in 2008 and 2009. However, less than 10 per cent of disabled children in Tanzania are in school and children with disabilities are three to four times more likely to be victims of violence than their non-disabled peers, reports ADD international that works to secure the rights of people living with disabilities in impoverished communities.
It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to vouch for the rights of the vulnerable in our communities. We pay the taxes that run the government and vote the leaders into power it is our responsibility to speak up.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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