KARACHI: It is a high time that places like universities are made more accessible to people with disabilities.
These views were expressed by Dr Sanish Sumbul from Darus Sukun, Karachi, while speaking at the second lecture held under the “Distinguished Speakers Lecture Series” by the University of Karachi’s Faculty of Social Sciences.
An official of Karachi University said on Tuesday that the lecture series is an initiative of the faculty of social sciences to highlight and provide the faculty and students with an opportunity to contemplate complex social issues.
Dr Sanish spoke in detail about ‘Disability Etiquette and Protocols’ to raise awareness about people with disabilities and how the society should perceive them in a positive manner.
The purpose of the session was to bring together students from diversified backgrounds to understand core aspects about people with disability (PWDs) and equip them to interact with such people in a better way.
The session covered challenges and needs of persons with disabilities, effective ways to communicate with PWDs and opportunities for PWDs in Pakistan.
In this connection, Dr Sanish pointed out that unlike West we are still not conscious of needs of people with disabilities.
She said that even places like universities, where all sorts of differently-abled people should be expected to visit there are no ramps and accessible environment for PWDs.
“We still think that disability is a curse and stigmatise PWDs by tending to hide them from public’s eye,” she said.
“It is a matter of positively engaging and interacting with them,” she concluded.
