Disabled people in Pakistan — daring to dream |
Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and I would like to talk about two disabled people I know well — my mother and a young lady, Khansa Maria Imitiaz, whom I met some years ago.
I would like to talk about their achievements and their struggles. However, the purpose of the article is not to idolise them or praise them for their successes despite all odds. Rather, it is to point out how hard it is for disabled people to overcome social biases and social structures in Pakistan, and how this prevents thousands of disabled people from achieving their full potential.
First, I would like to talk about my mother. She was brilliant, a scholarship student at the top educational institutions in Bombay (St Xavier's School and Sydenham College). She was one of the first women to do the MCom. She was then snapped up by the Research Department of the Reserve Bank of India, where she met my father, got married and moved to Pakistan in 1947.
My mother had chronic problems with her eyes and became completely blind when she was around 40. Overcoming the physical and emotional traumas took some time, but soon thereafter, she was back at work. She was active in the Pakistan Montessori Association, eventually becoming the vice president, as well as in the Pakistan Association of the Blind.........