Recommended Reading for January 6th

Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post.

Interesting posts, weekend of 1/3/10: Great linkfest at Feminists with Female Sexual Dysfunction.

WECT News: Michigan man lost wheelchair on Greyhound bus to Wilmington

Garth Ulmer was so excited to visit Wilmington he bought his Greyhound bus ticket six weeks in advance. But when he arrived in North Carolina, his excitement turned into frustration.

The Greyhound made three stops during his commute to Wilmington from Detroit. He said the bus workers were very accommodating when he would get off the bus to use the restroom.

When the bus made a final stop in Raleigh, Ulmer’s wheelchair was gone.

United States Forces Korea: Soldiers assemble wheelchairs for children

To help the Iraqi government build civil capacity and essential services, U.S. Soldiers here recently assembled wheelchairs for the local children’s hospital in Al Kut. The 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment troops were happy to assemble the urban-style wheelchairs, specifically designed for use on rough terrain.

The Guardian: Disabled people in Katine targeted in HIV/Aids awareness campaign

National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda [NUDIPU] distributes information on HIV/Aids prevention to end ‘myth’ that people with disabilities are not sexually active and are free from infection. […]

According to Suleiman Kafero, the NUDIPU’s programme assistant on disability and HIV/Aids, most materials being distributed by other development organisations did not cater for disabled people, despite this group being particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and infection. […]

PWDs also experience stigma and marginalisation when it comes to accessing medical services and education about the virus.


CVT at Racialicious: A Broken System Part I: Unconstitutional

What aspect of U.S. life wraps all the forms of oppression and inequality into one tidy little package? What system successfully keeps women, people of color, LGBT, religious minorities, people with disabilities, and people in poverty “in their place” more effectively than any other? Why, the education system, of course.

2009 in review from Disability News Information Service in India: “The year that was…”

It has been fourteen long years since the Disability Act was passed and we are still fighting for our basic rights. The outgoing year may be another statistic, another number but yes, it did have its fair share of hopes and heartbreaks and elations. The struggle of an average disabled citizen of the country still revolves around access, education, employment and health. Two years since India ratified U.N.C.R.P.D. and the XIth Five Year Plan was unveiled, we still have a long, long way to go. Access is still dismal, education is still not inclusive, employment is as good as nought and the less said about health the better.

D.N.I.S. spoke to a few disabled rights activists, about the hits and misses of 2009 and how they would rate 2009 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The overall average rating was 4.9. Though not so cheerful, a few did have positive things to say about 2009

Deccan Herald: Proposed amendments to Disability Act upsets NGOs

Many allege that the Act passed by the Indian Parliament in 1995 does not align with the United Nations Convention for Rights of Persons With Disability (UNCRPD) that calls for a rights-based approach.

“Having signed and ratified the Convention, India has an obligation to orient its laws towards it,” Kanchan said. […]

“It was then that we brought to [MSJE Minister Mukul Wasnik’s] attention the flaws, substantial ones, that still existed in the so called ‘Amendments’ document being floated around by the Ministry,” said Abidi [Javed Abidi, Convenor of Disability Rights Group and Chairman of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled Persons (NCPEDP)].

“We then proposed that what India needs now, rather what the 70 million disabled people of India need now is a brand new, modern, forward looking, 21st century law. We even proposed a name. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Respect for Dignity, Effective Participation and Inclusive Opportunities) Act.”

One thought on “Recommended Reading for January 6th

  1. 2009 in review from Disability News Information Service in India: “The year that was…” has no link target.

Comments are closed.