People with disabilities(PWDs) have urged government as well as corporate organisations to always treat them as humans by giving them equal rights and access to employment opportunities and priviledges.
Speaking to journalists during a Road Walk held in Ado-Ekiti to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism and the International Day of PWDs the Executive Director, Disability Not A Barrier Initiative (DINABI), Olajide Funsho said the event, which was supported by Disability Rights Fund was to create awareness about the plights of the PWDs.
Themed: “Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ And ‘Amplifying the Leadership of Persons With Disabilities For an Inclusive and Sustainable Future’ the event was attended by some leaders and members of other Civil Society groups in Ekiti.
Olajide who used the ocassion to commend the Ekiti State government’s support to the PWDs family also urged it to do more in coming years.
He said, “we are doing this just the tell the general public that we are also human and we should be treated like others human beings too.Opportunities should be given to our members just like others and there should be no discrimination in terms of gender and employment. We have seen situations where corporate organisations and even government, in some cases discriminate against us during recruitment. Of course, I know Ekiti Stare is different in this regard but we are still asking for more .These are some of our demands.
“PWDs in Nigeria have been excluded in every strata of life, be it in governance, education, employment, healthcare and the rest.
“We are using the opportunity to express our concerns over some of these things and also call on relevant government agencies, private sectors to also prioritize the Inclusion of PWDs in their programmes and projects.
“More importantly, we are also campaigning against GBV. Women and Girls with disabilities are facing even much more violence. It is becoming very rampant in our society in recent time ,and due to the nature of our disabilities, often times it is difficult for our members to report such cases.
“We are using this medium to sensitize them and call on government to do more for us so that our people will know where to report cases of violence and harassment .”Olajide said.
Also, the Disability Desk Officer with NSCDC, DSC Yemisi Ajejuwon charged the PWDs to always speak up and report cases of violation of rights to the appropriate authorities in the 16 LGAs.
She equally warned the PWDs against abandoning reported cases midway but ensure they pursue them to logical conclusion.
Bankole Yemisola, Women Coordinator of JONAPWD in the State urged members of the society to treat its members as human beings adding that the JONAPWD are committed to end GBV among women and girls in the State.
Read the full article here
