MxMIndia

Tag: shruti pushkarna

  • Society tends to see a disabled person not as an individual with unique characteristics and varied interests but as part of a ‘collective’ grappling with challenges of daily existence, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Is the media guilty of making assumptions about the disabled?

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Last Thursday I attended an online session (thanks to Covid, we are all high on Zoom) where a renowned journalist and television news anchor was in conversation with a group of around eighty visually impaired people. It was a heterogeneous mix with regards to the participants’ geography and demography.

     

    And no the talk was not about blindness. Or Disability. Or any of the safely assumed stereotypes that are fluttering in your mind as you imagine a person with dark glasses and a white cane.

     

    Us humans, we love to ‘assume’. If our neighbours are not chatty, we assume they are antisocial or just weird. The guy drinking a little too much in an office party is an assumed alcoholic (maybe even a wife-beater, if he has a grouchy face). Similarly, a blind person is often assumed to be uneducated, unemployed and uninterested in the happenings around.

     

    These assumptions are derived from personal biases, misconceptions, limited imagination and a compulsive urge to judge another.

     

    The society tends to see a disabled person not as an individual with unique characteristics and varied interests but as part of a ‘collective’ grappling with challenges of daily existence.  Their curiosities in politics, news, films, music, art, sport, et cetera are often overlooked.

     

    I must confess, even after having worked with visually impaired people for four years now, I logged into that Zoom session with my own set of ‘assumptions’. I wasn’t sure of how this audience would respond to a discussion on the ‘Changing Face of Journalism in India’.

     

    But except for a comment or two on the meagre news coverage of issues facing the disabled population, there was no mention of blindness or any impairment throughout.

     

    Listening intently to the speaker unfold three decades of journalism, inquisitive minds jumped up with a flurry of questions about present day media ownership, state of governance, future of news, journalistic values (or the lack of it) in the age of fake news, sensational vs. empathetic reporting, overly-opinionated prime time debates and so on.

     

    A few aspiring journalists in the audience asked about the possibility of independent reporting in a world where business owners seemingly rule the roost.

     

    The discussions were gripping and surprisingly similar to any living room chatter on the state of affairs vis-à-vis media and politics. It was a refreshing exchange of views between several informed citizens. Amid talk of right-wingers, left-liberals, cricket and politics, disability was pushed to the background. Blindness became irrelevant to the discourse.

     

    24×7 news television has created an army of experts who debate endlessly on almost anything under the sun. Social media has empowered people with opinions, turning them into influencers.

     

    But why aren’t persons with disabilities invited for discussions and debates on issues of national interest or problems that affect an average Indian?

     

    Do we think the disabled are unconcerned with anything outside of their personal environment? Do we presume that it doesn’t impact their lives? Do we deem them incapable of comprehending such issues?

     

    There seems to be a line separating what concerns ‘us’ versus ‘them’. While the able-bodied are fortunate to be born with the ‘mainstream’ tag, the dis-abled not only battle with their confines but also for an equal opportunity to engage on matters beyond ‘special needs’.

     

    The strong influence of media shapes the minds of people irrespective of their disability. And yet the industry adheres to stereotypes, clueless of the realities and transformations on ground.

     

    One wonders if the media is genuinely ignorant or brutally indifferent towards this section of the population?

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

     

  • There’s a lesson in ‘acceptance’ to learn from those who have lived with limitations longer, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Hamstrung by Lockdown Restrictions? Imagine the Reality of the Disabled!

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Past few days the media coverage is abuzz with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide and the usual fallout discussions on mental well-being. According to a recent news report, around 300 Indians have killed themselves during the coronavirus lockdown. Uncertainty around the medical and economic scenario is shooting up anxiety levels.

     

    A couple of weeks into the lockdown, I started witnessing social media posts on keeping the mind healthy, practising yoga (or any other form of exotic sounding exercise), eating healthy, taking breaks, frequent video calls to friends and family et cetera. As a natural response to being ‘locked up’, a host of solutions popped up (some free, some for a price) to adjust to these ‘abnormal’ times.

     

    For the first time, a majority of the population has been ‘confined’ in their homes. Their freedom curtailed. Options and routines upended. The inability to carelessly step out for a meal, go shopping, catch a movie, workout in the gym or do anything outdoorsy has left them hamstrung.

     

    Choices matter. A lot. The pandemic has made us realise this. But is everyone fortunate enough to choose?

     

    The other day a friend asked me how my parents were coping with the situation. That got me thinking. My mother has stayed indoors for most of her life because of a chronic illness. Her limited mobility left her with very little choice to step outside on her own. But she is happy. She is well-adapted to her idea of normal. If anything there is an upside to the current situation because she now has family around 24×7. Faces and voices fill up an otherwise empty home.

     

    What do the current restrictions mean for those stuck inside their homes for years because of a disability, an ailment, old age or any other dependency? As per Census 2011, persons with disabilities combined with the elderly constitute around 13 crore of the total population. The actual latest numbers would be significantly higher.

     

    For most persons with disabilities, access to offices, schools, colleges, shopping malls, restaurants, cinema halls, places of worship (and all other public spaces mentioned in the recent government guidelines), has never been easy. Senior citizens find themselves struggling with stairs and other barriers. An unfriendly environment and apathy keeps them constrained to their familiar territories.

     

    Obvious choices of education, employment and entertainment are not available to them. Spaces and activities we (able-bodied) take for granted are off-limits for them.

     

    Do they develop any mental issues from this denial of movement or access? Have they accepted and adjusted to their reality? Do they experience depression and suicidal thoughts contained within the four walls?

     

    As per news reports and medical studies, the lockdown period has led to a 20% increase in cases of mental illness. 82% of Indians are suffering from stress and hence the need for mental healthcare. We are struggling to sustain in just three months of confinement. The media is voicing people’s concerns of feeling trapped, restless and isolated. Why has the society remained indifferent to the mental struggles of the disabled, the elderly or the chronically ill?

     

    If it’s ignorance then surely coronavirus has given us an opportunity to understand their perspective.  Imagine their reality and be more inclusive in our approach. There’s also a lesson in ‘acceptance’ to learn from those who have lived with limitations longer.

     

    If a pandemic cannot enthuse any empathy in us, I wonder what will.

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

  • If the disabled are not included in the disaster management scheme of things, that’s 26.8 mn people wiped off the country’s face in an instant, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Is the Battle for Inclusion being fought with an Exclusive Mindset?

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Shruti PushkarnaIn the past, I have written a few pieces on accessibility and the rights of persons with disabilities to be part of all that is mainstream. As I began to pen down my thoughts, I realized that ‘disability’ is always looked at as a ‘separate’ domain. By governments, by businesses, by non-profits, by educationists, and even by advocates of ‘disability’. When all stakeholders are guilty of looking at the subject as separate from the rest of the society, then how can we single out anyone and pin the onus of change?

     

    I also realised that amid the current crisis, a new normal is emerging and unfortunately persons with disabilities are not part of this discourse either. Old habits are shaping new, existing policies are being extended to incorporate new rules but the approach remains the same. One of looking at disability separate from the rest, as the other which needs ‘accommodation’ or needs to somehow ‘fit in’.

     

    Retrofitting is at the root of all things that continue to remain inaccessible. An idea that is designed for a majority and leaves out the vulnerable minority will never be able to cater to everyone’s needs. The makeshift solution is either inadequate or temporary. Patches begin to surface as more people start accessing it. And then the scuffle for revising and revamping ensues.

     

    Build a mall without an elevator or a ramp. Then renovate it to make it ‘accessible’ for someone on a wheelchair. Build a home with a narrow staircase and no handrail. Then renovate it for older family members to move about independently. The list goes on.

     

    The amount of time, effort and money wasted in refurbishing, can easily be saved with planning for ‘all’ at the very go. But like I said, this is an outcome of how we think as a society. Our minds are tuned to box people and issues before they can be found a befitting solution.

     

    Even non-profit organisations that are working towards the ‘overall upliftment’ of our society, define disability as a unique cause. Charities focused on areas pertaining to education, child trafficking, women empowerment, unemployment, elderly care etc. don’t include it as a component in their primary programmes even though disability is a cross-cutting issue.

     

    Similarly, while formulating policy, the objective is to create a new set of rules rather than making all existing policies disabled-friendly. While the former is exclusive, the latter can obliterate the need for separate departments, divisions and units to address the needs of a section which is a mere subset of the 1.3 billion populace.

     

    The disabled community has always stayed on the peripheries because of the lack of access to mainstream environment (both physical and virtual). There are crystal clear demarcations between able and disabled, normal and abnormal, them and us. And the current crisis has made the bitter reality even starker.

     

    Let’s take the case of ‘education’, which is a fundamental right of all citizens as per the Constitution of India. For any student with disability, getting into mainstream mode of learning has never been easy despite the Right to Education Act and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in place. Schools and colleges have been disrupted due to the recent coronavirus pandemic. Examinations have been called off and all forms of imparting and evaluating education are taking place online. This brings the average disabled student face-to-face with the ‘access roadblock’, where most don’t have personal devices or a stable internet connection. Thousands of students in their final year are at the mercy of their university to complete their graduation. Are they expected to drop out because the system simply doesn’t acknowledge their existence?

     

    The government’s latest offering, the Aarogya Setu app, is inaccessible. This when the intent is to have the app installed on every phone. Digital payment apps and online banking websites continue to discount a user with screen-reading software. Online meeting platforms like Zoom, Skype, Webex, Google hangouts have certain inaccessible features. Be it regular television via set-top box or OTT platforms, entertainment content isn’t entirely accessible.

     

    Our reality is changing every day. We are facing unforeseen crisis in the form of a virus, cyclone, flood, earthquake and so on. If the disabled are not included in the disaster management scheme of things, or are left out of the newer ways of existence, that’s a huge number (26.8 million to be precise) wiped off the country’s face in an instant.

     

    Are we okay to live with that? Or can we use this as an opportunity to pause, rethink and design all physical and virtual spaces/services keeping the needs of each citizen in mind?

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • Is it really so difficult or expensive or time-consuming to grant equal access to all spaces and services, asks Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Is our understanding of ‘accessibility’ limited by an ableist approach?

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Four years ago, when I started working with visually impaired people with the objective of including them into the mainstream, I was introduced to a whole set of new terminologies. It took me a few weeks, maybe months to become abreast with the domain lingo and issues. I guess this happens in every profession where you are working within a niche. Back in the days of journalism as well, there was a fair bit of ‘education’ involved every time one was expected to write on a new subject.

     

    Among the many new terms thrown at me in the workplace, in meetings and at events, the most frequently used were ‘accessibility’ and ‘inclusion’. With time, my understanding evolved and I figured these were key to the rights being advocated for persons with disabilities. And this wasn’t an easy battle against a society largely governed by ‘ableism’.

     

    As I grasped more specifics of ‘access’ and what it meant for close to 15% of the global population, I realised that the general understanding remains sketchy (to say the least). So I thought of spelling out some basics today, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

     

    On October 1, 2007, India ratified the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). In its Article 9 on Accessibility, UNCRPD states the need “to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life”. This principle is one among those which form the basis of empowerment in the Rights to Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD) 2016. The law mandates the government to ensure equal access to the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, technology and services in both urban and rural areas. In promoting access, the government must ensure elimination of obstacles in public spaces and lay down measures for development of universally designed products and services.

     

    Things like ramps, elevators, tactile markings, braille signage, etc. make the physical environment accessible to people with different needs. This would include indoor and outdoor spaces like offices, schools, colleges, cinema halls, shopping malls, stadiums, airports, railway stations and so on. Physical access is easily understood (and yet overlooked) by most stakeholders. Buses, trains, educational institutions, workplaces, government buildings, even hospitals continue to be inaccessible. Contrary to UNCRPD and RPWD, anyone with a disability cannot independently or directly access a lot of these spaces.

     

    Even less comprehensible is the concept of digital access which impacts the use of certain basic facilities like internet or mobile banking, booking a cab, reading a book, catching news online, accessing social media, participating in a digital meet or watching a movie on an OTT platform.

    Services that you and I use effortlessly are often designed not keeping access for ‘everyone’ in mind. There are clear Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to help make the web accessible to people with auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech and visual disabilities. But a majority of developers (read technology heads) are either unaware or indifferent to basics of universal design. Businesses continue to flourish by targeting 75% population so why halt and bother about the lesser numbers.

     

    Let me describe a problem scenario in the context of daily living.

    In the pre-coronavirus days, I would travel to work using a taxi service. Assuming I’m visually impaired there are several physical and virtual barriers to be encountered in the independent attempt of reaching office. Starting with the smartphone app used for booking a cab. It’s accessible using VoiceOver (or TalkBack) but doesn’t read out all the options so I have to take sighted help to read what’s on my screen. When the cab arrives, I take my usual way out of home but the road is dug up and there are no markings for the temporary work. I either land in a ditch or a good samaritan saves me. I stop on the way to buy coffee and produce my debit card for payment. I’m unable to enter my PIN because the POS machine is touch only, no keypad to feel and enter the digits. Unwilling to share my personal PIN with the cashier, I forego my morning dose of caffeine. On the long commute, I decide to catch up on news but navigating through mobile sites becomes frustrating as my screen reader doesn’t recognize advertisement pop-ups. I’m relieved to reach work, a known territory but soon I find myself struggling and seeking assistance yet again. This time for reading a document which is a scanned image as opposed to e-text

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    In the current scenario, where coronavirus has limited our physical interactions and we are expected to operate, study and work remotely, digital accessibility for disabled people becomes even more critical. Hearing impaired people can’t access important information on TV because all content isn’t available with closed captioning or in sign language. Blind people can’t track the statistical graphics displayed on websites or news channels unless accompanied with voice or text. Virtual meetings are becoming the new professional norm but some of the common platforms aren’t entirely accessible, when it comes to installing the app, joining or scheduling a meeting.

     

    People with different types of disabilities face several challenges on a daily basis. This deters them from stepping out, engaging with others, pursuing education or being gainfully employed. Millions remain ‘excluded’ from the mainstream scheme of things despite being equal citizens.

     

    Is it really so difficult or expensive or time-consuming to grant equal access to all spaces and services? Why do the authorities or private players refuse to comply? The only real barrier seems to be the mindset which is attuned to design for and cater to the able-bodied.

     

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • The needs and challenges of Persons with Disabilities have not been fully considered in the Covid-19 medical crisis and the subsequent logistical breakdown, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Does anyone care about the woes of the disabled?

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    After a month-and-a-half of being locked up in our homes, deprived of social interactions, battling with the rising fear of losing out on existing means of earning, the Hindustani janata is grappling with the classic choice between the devil and the deep sea.

     

    People are fiercely citing numbers in offline and online debates. What is worse, people dying from the virus or those succumbing to hunger? What’s more alarming, the growing rate of positive cases or the spike in unemployment data reported by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.

     

    There are layers to this poor vs. rich, privileged vs. disadvantaged contest. Let me add to the imbroglio. But before I do that, here’s a disclaimer. This is a losing battle.

     

    Either way, no one wins. It’s really about softening certain blows and developing a response system for different kinds of crisis.

     

    Economically weaker sections are possibly the worst hit. The media is continuously reporting cases to emphasise their plight, given no work, money, food or shelter.

     

    While the liberal vs. bhakt media debate rages on, I believe that apart from the health workers, police and all other essential service providers, mediapersons are also putting a lot at stake to show up to work. Just so you and I stay informed of the latest happenings. (Again, steering away from any leanings) the media with its mass appeal can generate awareness and advocate for change in the status quo.

     

    Accounts from Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) haven’t gotten their due share of public attention. This vulnerable group’s needs/challenges have not been fully considered during this medical crisis and the subsequent logistical breakdown.

     

    One must understand that PwDs are at a disadvantage not only because of their impairment/ condition but also due to a lack of access to certain basic services. A majority of this population is denied proper education or opportunities of employment. They are discriminated against and pushed away from the mainstream scheme of things. For many, limitations in mobility coupled with weak economic status has resulted in a nightmarish existence during this pandemic.

     

    A blind person from Washim in Maharashtra didn’t have means to recharge his mobile phone, which was his only connection with the outside world. With no access to the internet, he was unable to use any mode of digital payment. Moreover, he didn’t even have enough money to pay for it. Even though the government announced advance disability pension to be credited into accounts, he hasn’t received his due since December 2019. His complaints to the concerned department have been indefinitely deferred, with all resources currently deployed to deal with coronavirus. Fortunately, a blind volunteer in the district and an NGO provided minimum aid.

     

    Other cases have also been reported from Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh where disabled people have not received the double pension promised by the government.

     

    A blind person in Delhi needed to withdraw money from his bank account to get ration. One would think it’s easy to withdraw money in this digital age. But like thousands of other visually impaired people, he was never issued a debit card or given access to internet/mobile banking on grounds of his disability. This of course is against the basic rights stated in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 and the rules issued by the RBI. Dependent on public transport to go to his bank, few kilometers away from home, he had no choice but to accept ration being handed out by a local NGO. Despite having the money to pay, he was crippled by the discriminatory attitude of the banking sector.

     

    Ill-treated by her kin, a deaf blind woman in Mumbai was desperate for help. She reached out to her neighbours but they declined any assistance. A friend finally came to her rescue and arranged for food supplies and money through volunteer groups.

     

    There are persons with disabilities among the migrant workers and students stranded away from home. The government’s announcement of movement of these people between states has met with its usual set of challenges and criticism. While the media cries foul, questioning the responsibility of the central and state governments, another question to ask is about the arrangement for the safe transit of PwDs.

     

    NGO helplines are abuzz with calls from disabled people across India, desperate for ration, medicines, money to pay for rent, electricity bills and other essentials. Individual and non-profit organizations dependent on donations are not equipped to meet the needs of 2.68 crore (as per Census 2011) PwDs in India. Lockdown restrictions make it even harder to organise help.

     

    It’s imperative to voice these issues being faced by this marginalised section. The situation is here to stay and maybe even worsen. If our systems fail to address the problems at hand, we might soon see a new set of spiraling statistics.

     

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • It might sound strange but coronavirus is not all bad news, writes Shruti Pushkarna. In the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed unified action, individual contributions and immense perseverance to fight a crisis, collectively

    Shruti Pushkarna: Is Coronavirus also inflicting some life lessons at us?

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    It’s been a month since the Indian government announced the official lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. People’s daily conversations now include casual mentions of a pre- and a post-corona world. We are slowly becoming accustomed to a ‘new normal’. It seems that nature has hit the ‘pause’ button on all our plans.

     

    I’m reminded of my grandfather’s favourite phrase, “Man proposes, God disposes”. Never have those words rung so loud in my ears.

     

    Negative sentiments are on the rise, as every news item seems to bring us closer to doomsday. Of course with the exception of promising research and recovering numbers.

     

    It’s a good idea to take a break from the tragic reality enveloping us 24×7. In fact some media platforms are going out of their way to cull out positive stories and courageous, inspiring accounts.

     

    It might sound strange but coronavirus is not all bad news. In the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed unified action, individual contributions and immense perseverance to fight a crisis, collectively.

     

    In the non-profit sector, we’ve seen organisations and individuals come together to ease the challenges faced by vulnerable communities. People are stepping out of their committed areas of work, some even outside of their comfort zones, venturing into unchartered territory. All to help resolve immediate challenges of those trapped in different parts of the country.

     

    This is also a ‘coronavirus effect’, but one which is heartwarming. Chasing government representatives and influential individuals, groups of NGOs are working tirelessly towards ensuring that essentials are delivered to the poor, old, disabled, and the desolate.

     

    In Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and several other cities, volunteer groups are running services for those in need. Individuals from the non-profit sector might have set these up, but people across the board have pitched in. These include delivery services for ration, medicines, other essentials, taxi services for the disabled and so on.

     

    As in the past times of crises, several people have stepped forward to donate. Messages are being circulated in the media as well, asking for help both in cash and kind.

     

    What’s amazing in the current scenario is that people across the country are also volunteering their time to help another. This should give us hope.

     

    For several people who might be feeling trapped in their homes, this is an opportunity to devote time and effort to government and non-government agencies in addressing the needs of every citizen.

     

    As part of the work at the NGO I am associated with, recently we put out a message, seeking volunteers to handle calls from disabled people in states where our helpline is not active. The response was immediate and impressive. Without even a clear understanding of the work expected, individuals were willing to offer support. We were flooded with calls and emails from people eager to contribute in any form.

     

    In a country like India where resources are scarce, it becomes pertinent to channelise them to areas and people with a greater need. And human chains of communication work well with identifying the ground level requirements and prioritising services to those sections or communities.

     

    So far, I’d say that the NGO model of collaboration is not only working well for those benefiting from it, but indirectly inspiring thousands of others to join hands to contribute outside their proximate environment.

     

    Once the lockdown eases up and we get sucked back into our daily routines, the memory of these past months will fade away. However, the lessons we learn from these ‘hard times’ will stay with us forever.

     

    A lot of us are already talking about things we would do differently post-corona, or things we won’t forget from this experience et cetera, but how about each one of us identifies and holds on to at least one such thing. Almost like a New Year resolution, except this might be termed a ‘New World’ resolution.

     

    Well my biggest takeaway is what seems overwhelming individually, is easily handled communally.

     

    So what’s your Covid-19 learning?

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • While guidelines have been issued for the disabled, the implementation is shoddy, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Does the Current Crisis call for Greater Social Responsibility?

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Shruti PushkarnaI must confess I was struggling to write this column as I didn’t want to add to the several critiques circling around on the internet. If anything I wanted to share something positive. But keeping a close watch on the ground situation vis-a-vis persons with disabilities during the Covid-19 crisis, it’s hard to dish out a cheerful piece.

     

    Locked up in their homes, some people are busy forwarding irrational WhatsApp messages, propagating panic via unreliable information. Some are busy competing for a bigger Instagram audience through culinary exhibits or workout videos. And then there are some who simply sit and criticise the ‘other’, including administration, media, politicians, other countries, liberals, bhakts, Muslims, Christians, their next door neighbors and possibly even their pets!

     

    While a person might be struggling to stay alive because of a chronic condition in the absence of a caretaker to assist her or him due to the lockdown, another’s problems hover around having to do dishes or cook their own food.

     

    People are oblivious to each other’s realities. Even at a point of being universally hit by coronavirus, we only care for ourselves or at most our immediate family. That’s how selfish we all are. We don’t pay heed to what’s happening to a daily wager, a blind hawker, a disabled orphan, a thalassaemia patient, a paraplegic or anyone who’s more vulnerable than us.

     

    I want to appeal to the media fraternity to spread awareness and help citizens of India gain some perspective into what another human being could be experiencing at the same time in an alternate reality. Except this one’s not fictional.

     

    There is a need to report stories from across the spectrum. Not just the ones that make for an ‘OMG’ moment, not just the shortlived coverage of immigrants’ mass exodus, but day-to-day accounts of those who get beaten up standing in lines for ration, of disabled people who’ve been abandoned by their institutions, unwilling to take responsibility. Of siblings shunning away their disabled brothers and sisters, of persons with severe disabilities losing out on (an already meagre) means of living.

     

    I work for a non-profit which runs a helpline for persons with vision impairment and we’ve been getting calls from all parts of India. Callers are citing challenges in getting medicines, milk, groceries, or getting curfew passes issued for their caretakers. People with other disabilities are reporting similar challenges, some are even unable to communicate to the cops stationed in different cities that their condition makes visits to hospital pertinent for survival despite the lockdown.

     

    Not that desperate stories from various strata of society aren’t making news but when we speak of a section that is anyway marginalised and faceless, one can imagine how grave their situation is and thus the need for greater emphasis.

     

    Statistics and graphics, updated every few minutes are being shoved at us, highlighting the rising impact of the pandemic. Is this a cricket match that people are tuning in to keep a tab on the latest score? Why do we have so many debates on whether we are in Stage 1, 2 or 3? How about asking some tough questions on how differently should we as a country be prepared for the various stages? What will happen to the weaker sections of the population under different circumstances and imposed measures?

     

    Governments have asked for essential items to be distributed for free to those in need. But no proper procedure has been spelt out. While some places are generously handing out material, others are insisting on a ration card. In the absence of one, people are being asked to apply for it online. What is stopping the media from questioning the administration on how is a disabled person with no smartphone or internet access, expected to apply and produce a ration card in order to get some atta, dal, chawal?

     

    Guidelines have been issued by both central and state authorities for relaxations in the case of disabled population, but the implementation is as usual shoddy given the utter lack of understanding and empathy.

     

    I’m hoping the media can draw attention to such issues being faced by the disabled. Not with the objective of dissing the authorities or the cops or the healthcare workers. But with an intent to help them understand closely what needs to be amended and endorsed.

     

    A list of national and state helplines has been circulated by the government but most numbers are often engaged. Now this is expected because of the fear among people and a lack of resources to handle a problem of such magnitude. We need to think of alternatives. NGOs are putting out their numbers (some even sharing their personal mobiles) as a response mechanism for various communities. If the media widely circulates these resources, a larger population could benefit.

     

    Community efforts need to be backed up by state and national media so we can all join hands in lessening the chaos. These unusual times call for extraordinary efforts from each one of us, whether we are a part of the government, healthcare industry, media, social welfare system or civil society.

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • Spreading awareness about the easily affected (and ignored) sections of the population is critical, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Coronavirus crisis: Have we Overlooked the Disabled Population?

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Shruti PushkarnaIn my last column when I raised a question on whether the media really cares about the disabled population, I didn’t know two weeks later, we would face a more pertinent issue of whether the country is bothered about anyone with a disability in this time of crisis.

     

    Coronavirus has left the entire world panicking today. I’m not going to cite any numbers as there is enough data floating around the internet past few weeks. In fact, it’s exhausting to follow all the reports, statistics and even worse, speculation. Grounded in their homes, people are pulling out all kinds of conspiracy theories behind this global pandemic.

     

    Some imaginable, some outrageous, some totally inane. But underneath all of this, is a feeling of deep anxiety that no one is safe anywhere. Vulnerability is at the root, leaving all human beings equally exposed to an unknown enemy.

     

    I hate to say it like this, but this susceptibility has diminished the lines between the ‘able’ and the ‘disabled’.

     

    If you thought your ‘healthy’ and ‘able-bodied’ status makes you less prone to the virus, revisit some of the news reports and you’ll be shocked. Having said that, I must add it’s true that anyone with an impairment or an existing condition suffers a greater risk of contracting the virus. But unlike humans, Covid-19 doesn’t discriminate.

     

    However, the response mechanism continues to overlook the needs of persons with disabilities. We have been reading reports about other vulnerable sections like the elderly, patients with chronic illnesses but nothing on the disabled.

     

    It’s an established fact that this virus attacks the pulmonary functions of the body. People with certain disabilities like muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or any other condition from genetic abnormalities are likely to have respiratory disorders. Catching coronavirus could seriously imperil their lives.

     

    Is our medical system equipped to deal with disabled people if they test positive or if they need to be quarantined? I’m afraid not. The horrific pictures of isolation centres circling on social media don’t promise ease of access for someone with a physical disability.

     

    On a regular day, doctors and hospital staff rely heavily on the disabled person’s next of kin (who is often the caretaker) to assist with any treatment, check-up etc. Persons with intellectual disability find it hard to stay calm alone or among strangers. What happens in this situation where the answer to everything begins with isolation?

     

    As for preventive measures, ‘social distancing’ seems to be the only way of reducing the chances of contagion. There are a zillion videos and posts on social media, both informative and funny on the various do’s and don’ts. But hardly anything (barring a few blogposts by disabled individuals themselves) on how to ensure safety of a disabled person locked down in his or her home.

     

    More importantly, can a disabled person who is dependent on a caretaker even exercise absolute social distancing? Blind people use physical contact to navigate around, how do we eliminate the chances of them picking up the virus in such a scenario. They rely on braille and tactile markings in unknown spaces, feeling their way through things. How can they exercise the ‘no-touching-surfaces’ rule? Likewise, individuals with certain physical disabilities are unable to wash their hands or sanitize their surroundings, as they are dependent on others for activities of daily living (ADL).

     

    While non-profit institutions and individuals engaged in working with persons with different disabilities have been circulating information, guidelines, advisories to small groups and communities, it took a few days for the government to realise that all important material needs to be released in an accessible format for people with blindness, hearing impairment or any other form of print disability. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has finally requested the central and state health departments to issue all Covid-19 related information keeping the disabled population in mind. Meaning, advisories to be made available in audio formats, braille, with subtitles, in sign language, with optical character recognition (OCR) etc.

     

    No doubt the administration is trying hard to counter and cope with this calamity, but we the citizens have an equal part to play. Spreading awareness about the easily affected (and ignored) sections of the population is one of them.

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • It’s a shame that the media in this day and age of technology hasn’t bothered to get a clear picture of what remains inaccessible, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Does the Indian media really care about the disabled?

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    As I write this column with the intention of drawing attention to a large section of Indian population that lives on the margins of our society, I am thinking to myself: Does Anyone Care.

     

    Does the media care? Do parents of ‘able’ children care? Do the politicians or bureaucrats care? Do schools and universities care? Do businesses care? Does the average individual care? And the resounding answer to all these questions is ‘probably not enough’.  Not enough to bring about a revolutionary change in the way persons with disabilities lead their lives or how we treat them.

     

    The other day I was at an event where mental illness and acid attack cases were being discussed. As I heard stories of survivors, of individuals and institutions working towards their rehabilitation, it occurred to me that people who are affected by the issue at some personal level are the only ones attempting to drive ‘change’. Their pain translates into a passion to alleviate the suffering of others.

     

    While effective work continues to happen in small pockets of the country, we need mass campaigns to alter the mindsets of the vast population of over 1.3 billion. In his first term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ‘Accessible India’ campaign in December 2015. He issued a mandate to make public spaces, transport as well as information and technology ‘accessible’ to persons with disabilities.

     

    Several audits have been conducted since and sadly we are far from becoming an ‘Accessible India’ or ‘Sugamya Bharat’. This when we are nearing the deadline of March 2020.

     

    While I didn’t have much hope from the implementing agencies, especially the Indian bureaucracy (as in the government), I thought the powerful idea behind this nationwide campaign would have an impact on the mainstream media and people would become more aware of what is ‘inaccessible’.

     

    But most of us don’t understand what the term ‘access’ means. Even today, most people think that giving access to a disabled individual starts and ends at constructing a ramp or providing a wheelchair.

     

    While people with locomotor disabilities are dependent on ramps, wheelchairs and elevators, accessibility is not confined to these. There are 21 types of disabilities defined in the new Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act. And government and private players are supposed to ensure access to schools, tourist places, banks and other services, information, transportation, entertainment and employment for disabled people all across.

     

    My own friends and ex-colleagues in the media have a limited understanding and like most Indians, they too think in terms of retrofitting solutions. It’s a shame that the media in this day and age of technology hasn’t bothered to get a clear picture of what remains inaccessible.

     

    Like for orthopaedically impaired people, we think of wheelchair access. For the visually and hearing impaired, we think of Braille and sign language. And this is also mostly confined to the physical environment. People have no idea when it comes to digital access. We design for people like us, the ones we call ‘normal’ and we don’t cater to or even factor in all those who are different (or differently abled, as they are hence termed).

     

    There are many mainstream media groups whose websites remain inaccessible to persons with any form of ‘print’ disability. I bet most people don’t even recognise this form of impairment. In 2016, the BJP government had launched an online accessible library for people with print disabilities, including the blind, so they could access books (like school textbooks, fiction, non-fiction) through a web portal. And yet leading dailies have inaccessible news websites and mobile apps.

     

    A couple of weeks ago, surfing through TV channels, I noticed a news bulletin for the hearing impaired. A sign language interpreter who translated all the happenings of the hour in a form ‘accessible’ for anyone with a hearing impairment accompanied the news anchor.

     

    Having one bulletin in a day to my mind is an ‘exclusive’ telecast. The idea of ‘access to all’ is based on the principle of inclusion. By giving access to one group like the hearing impaired, the content has not been made accessible for people with different kinds of disabilities. If we design and develop exclusively for a section of the population, integration into the mainstream society will remain an unrealised dream always.

     

    As the RPWD Act states, for an inclusive and conducive environment, there is a need to make all forms of media accessible to every citizen, irrespective of their disability. This requires a major shift in our approach to creating for all.

     

    Someone with a permanent disability doesn’t only use a ramp or a wheelchair. Anyone with an injury or a senior citizen might need access to the same things in different settings. A couple of years ago, a prominent shopping mall in the capital put huge flowerpots next to the handrails. I saw old people, children as well as the blind finding it difficult to reach the railing. That’s a classic example of lack of access and it’s not limited to one group.

     

    In the same mall, a small staircase hampered the access to the washroom especially designed for wheelchair users.  In another mall in Delhi NCR, there are braille signages inside the elevators for blind people’s ease of access. Given the recent Coronavirus scare, I wonder how many visually impaired people are willing to touch and feel the entire elevator wall before they can find the right button!

     

    I have seen media reports in recent years announcing two railway stations, Mysore and Chandigarh, to have become completely accessible. They only talk of braille signages in a huge crowded public space. There are braille markings inside the train coaches for berths, toilets etc. The last time I rode on a train, I didn’t want to use the bathroom, let alone touching things inside it to locate the soap or the flush.

     

    How can places and services claim to be ‘accessible’ when the understanding of the term is so blotchy? What will it take for the media to take responsibility of raising awareness about issues that impact our society?

     

    In the following column, I’ll discuss in detail different aspects of accessibility and small steps media can take to bring about changes in design and functioning to give equal access to information to persons with disabilities.  

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

  • Mainstream media seems uninterested in the grave issues facing the disabled population, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: What’s with the shallow news coverage on disability?

    Shruti PushkarnaBy Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Last week, two headlines on the digital platforms of leading dailies caught my attention. One read, “Two blind HSC students find writers at the 11th hour”. And the second stated, “HSC exams: Finding writers a real test for some”.

     

    Both these news stories highlight one of the most commonly faced problems by any blind student in India. Given their vision impairment, these students are dependent on ‘scribes’ to write their exams.

     

    But before I get into talking about the myriad challenges of finding and dealing with scribes, let’s look at the recent news coverage.

     

    While I was happy that the issue appeared on mainstream media, I was disappointed at the reportage. The stories lacked any indepth understanding of the issue. For an average reader who is absolutely unfamiliar with the issue, the news item merely touched upon how two visually impaired students in different parts of Mumbai were hassled hours before their examination. Though that’s a start for interest generation, the story ends with no detail or perspective on the matter.

     

    Result being, most readers wouldn’t have registered it. Those who did probably went away without processing the gravity of the problem facing blind students.

     

    So what exactly is the scribe problem faced by the blind community?

     

    A majority of visually impaired students in this country who appear for school, college or any competitive exams, rely on writers to volunteer for assistance or hope that the institutions/ authorities would arrange scribes for them.

     

    In the absence of either scenario working out, a lot of them end up paying for scribes, almost like buying themselves a chance to move upward in the educational or employment hierarchy.

     

    In fact there are agents and institutions that offer a variety of writers at different prices, depending on subject expertise. Like the millions of scams festering in the country, scribes (or the scribe mafia as I prefer to call them) are eroding the visually impaired students of their ability to learn or become independent.

     

    And what are the academic or the government authorities doing about it? Zilch. Absolutely nothing.

     

    The education bodies at both national and state level are expected to comply with the central government issued guidelines for visually impaired students to avail scribe facility for assistance, but the ground reality is far from it.

     

    Often state boards and examination authorities issue their own rules days before the exam, paying no heed to the policy set in place by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

     

    The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 mandates for ‘reasonable accommodation’, “to make suitable modifications in the curriculum and examination system to meet the needs of students with disabilities such as extra time for completion of examination paper, facility of scribe or amanuensis, exemption from second and third language courses”.

     

    Last year, a job aspirant in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh lost out on the opportunity of employment because the examiner denied entry to his scribe just minutes before the exam. He had to wait a whole year to apply again. This is just one of the million accounts where students fail to appear or score less in their tests given the shoddy implementation of the law.

     

    The scribe problem isn’t new. It persists through the year, for various exams across all states in the country. And yet majority of the Indian population hasn’t a clue about it. It’s a whole different matter that today enough technology aids are available to make visually impaired students self-reliant when it comes to writing their exams. But that’s for another day, another column.

     

    How come the mainstream media hardly reports the issue in its entirety? Why doesn’t the media question the implementing agencies? Is it because persons with disabilities are not the ‘sensational’ vulnerable group that will garner eyeballs? Especially when it’s far easier to rake up a storm over some fake news floating around on social media.

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • Radio fascinates visually impaired people, because they can easily relate to it and there is no discrimination there, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Time to welcome Diversity in Radio?

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Shruti PushkarnaAs you read this, commercial and state-owned radio stations all across the world are celebrating this day on air. Yes, it’s World Radio Day today.

     

    Surely a medium that has managed to stay relevant for over 120 years (since the first radio device was invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1899) calls for celebration.

     

    With new technology and increasing penetration, the content development business is more dynamic than ever. Radio too has been experimenting with various avatars when it comes to programming models or expansion on digital platforms.

     

    But what hasn’t changed is its devoted listenership, which cuts across culture, age, ethnicity, gender, religion, economics and so on. I start my day with tuning in to my favourite station every morning as I drive to work. You can hear the radio blaring in the local chaiwallah’s shop (no reference to our dear PM here!). Cab drivers, hawkers, housewives, college students, senior citizens, all take in their daily diet of radio content.

     

    Another ardent group of listeners are millions of visually impaired citizens living in different nooks of our country. Did you know that 20% of the global blind population resides in India? That’s around 63 million people according to the World Health Organisation.

     

    And this large section of the population depends on radio for not just entertainment but information. Like several persons with disabilities, blind people are often treated as a burden by their families. Confined in the four walls of their homes, they remain isolated from the society. Deprived of education, they have little or no access to information.

     

    They find a friend in the RJ, solace in music and in that moment, the impairment ceases to be.  As part of my work, in an interaction with a parent, I learned that his 14-year-old blind boy who was absolutely tucked away from the outside world had no skills of communication or the ability to carry out any activities of daily living. But he could sing and dance because he listened to radio for most part of the day.

     

    In this cricket-loving nation, sighted fans may have moved on to mobile devices for live video streaming, but a visually impaired fan still tunes in to the good old radio commentary.

     

    Radio fascinates visually impaired people, because they can easily relate to it. There is no discrimination there, in terms of lack of access.

     

    The question is: are radio producers aware of this audience and their needs? Are they devising any content that is targeted towards the average visually impaired listener? There are a lot of social campaigns various stations undertake. They align with a cause, person or an organisation and garner support through their wide reach.

     

    I feel radio can contribute a great deal by initiating a campaign to sensitise people about the challenges faced by visually impaired people. Or let’s say how to offer help to a blind person you may encounter on a street, on the metro, in a bus or at an airport.

     

    Radio also has the potential to offer employment to blind people. India’s first visually impaired radio jockey K Srikanth started off his career with All India Radio and later worked with the BBC. There are private and non-profit institutions that offer courses in storytelling and radio jockeying. Among the section of blind people that has access to mainstream education and technology, there are many students who opt for media courses.

     

    Not long ago, I’d engaged with a graduate in mass communication from Bengaluru who wanted to become an RJ. He found no luck because he was blind. This young boy was well verse with technology, had acquired all skills of scripting, editing etc. He needed professional training like all newbies do, that’s all.

     

    This year the theme of World Radio Day is ‘Radio and Diversity’.  Perhaps a cue for the radio industry to promote inclusion and educate the society about ‘diverse’ needs of people who are just as equal citizens of India as you and I.

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

  • It’s time for the media to own up and contribute to the transformation of attitudes towards disability, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Listen up, Content Developers

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    At the risk of sounding self-aggrandising, I’d say I’m a fairly empathetic person. Even when I wasn’t working in the disability domain, I was reasonably conscious of the different needs of people. Not like I changed anything around me or was overly vociferous on such subjects, but at least I was ‘aware’.

     

    And that’s what I want to talk about. Awareness.

     

    In my experience, most people end up seeming insensitive towards persons with disabilities out of sheer ignorance. Not necessarily because they are ill-intentioned. Their fault simply lies in their lack of awareness about another’s challenges.

     

    Our reactions stem from what we see and hear. If issues faced by disabled people, or solutions available for them or basic things like how to offer assistance to them becomes common knowledge, our society would score a lot better on the scale of ‘empathy’.

     

    At the root of any change lies the ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’ of what is possible or how it can be made possible.

     

    So how do we change this? Or let me ask, who can change this?

     

    Well at one level all of us can, you, me or the guy sipping coffee next to me. But we need a trigger. And in a country of 1.37 billion, a powerful trigger with a wide reach.

     

    If you haven’t guessed it already, I’m hinting at the media. The all-pervasive forms of media which have crept into our living rooms, dining areas, bathrooms and everywhere. The content we absorb actively or passively has the potential to inform and influence mindsets.

     

    I think it’s time media took some responsibility in such a transformation of thinking. In journalism schools, every student is filled with the romanticism of revolutionary ideas and a couple years later in the money-minting business called media, all of it is replaced by ‘sexy sensationalism’.

     

    Sadly, the only coverage we give to disability is a larger than life approach or a pitiful one. Either make them into heroes or paint them as helpless sorts. We need television content, movies, radio campaigns, and digital content to bring persons with disabilities to life like any other section of our population.

     

    The last movie I recall that portrayed blindness was an action thriller called ‘Kaabil’. Wonderful that we had lead actors playing a blind couple, but the woman was taken advantage of on grounds of her inability to see (not like sighted women don’t get easily raped). And the man turned into a super-hero, out to avenge his partner’s murder. Thrilling one would say but unreal. Now the typical argument would be it’s fiction and that too Bollywood. Agreed. But even a movie like that made blindness trend on Twitter around the time of release. A blind dancer recorded her video and tagged Hrithik Roshan. So it did bring out another side of people with vision impairment.

     

    Apart from entertaining, we need content that will expand our scope of imagination by showing us what we don’t see out there on the streets.

     

    Sticking to the subject of movies, a lot of content available on OTT platforms like Netflix today has audio description for the benefit of visually impaired people. That’s a step in the direction of adding a new subscriber group. More users, more income.

     

    As per Census 2011, disabled people constitute 2.21% of the 121 crore population. Large numbers if we look at sheer economics. A mainstream Bollywood movie has a budget of INR 20 to 50 crore. Over 60 million people are visually impaired in India. Half of that population resides in urban centres. With very little investment at the production stage, movies can have a parallel audio description track, opening up access to a wider audience.

     

    Is this difficult to do? No. Is achieving larger audience not an objective of the filmmaker? Of course yes. Then what prevents it? Ignorance. Also a bit of indifference, if I may add. They never thought of it because they don’t know how visually impaired people can enjoy a visual form of media with a minor tweak.

     

    I could go on with several such examples but I think we can all agree that to bring about a paradigm shift, there is need to make the society aware of what’s possible. And more importantly, we need to replace stereotypes like the ‘wheelchair’, the ‘white cane’, the ‘dark glasses’, the ‘disheveled mouth’ etcetera. And promote new images to align our thinking to.

     

    The next time content developers come up with an idea, they need to ask themselves, what’s in it for a person with disability?

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna