Learning & blood disorders redefined

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Madhavi Rajadhyaksha TIG


Adraft bill prepared by the ministry of social justice and empowerment has widened its definition of disability to give legal recognition to include those living with blood disorders (haemophilia and thalassaemia), speech and language disability and specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia.
The existing Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 recognizes only the standard seven disabilities. The new draft, once passed, will entitle a thalassaemia patient, for instance, to legal rights and benefits similar to those living with blindness or locomotor disabilities.
The Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2012 was unveiled by the ministry in September. The definitional change is in keeping with India’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which seeks to recognize disability as an evolving concept.
WIDENING NET
PWD Act 1995
recognizes disability to mean blindness, low vision, leprosy (cured), hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation & mental illness
New draft includes chronic neurological conditions such as epilepsy, learning disability, speech & language disability, blood disorders (haemophilia, thalassaemia) and multiple sclerosis, besides conditions covered by the National Trust Act such as autism, celebral palsy and mental disabilities Benchmark grey areas in disability bill
Recognition of these new conditions as disabilities is the first step. Once the act is passed, there will be a procedure for assessment of these disabilities and certification,” said T D Dhariyal, deputy chief commissioner for persons with disabilities under the ministry. The bill offers the most comprehensive and inclusive legal definition of disability till date by also including categories from another legislation, the National Trust Act, which caters specifically to autism, celebral palsy and mental disabilities. It seeks to protect disabled persons against discrimination, provide affirmative action and penalize and punish offences committed against them.
Javed Abidi, founder of the Disability Rights Group, said the proposed changes were “very progressive”. “It is in our interests that the bill becomes a law at the earliest,” he said.
Many grey areas, however, remain. The bill entitles those with a “benchmark disability” of 40% or more to reservation in jobs and higher educational institutions to ensure that government benefits don’t go to those with minor disabilities at the cost of others. But it is yet to be ascertained as to how these benchmarks will be applied for new categories such as thalassemia or learning disabilities.