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Uzbekistan: New Hopes for People With Disabilities |
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Thursday, 19 March 2009"I was born with disability. When I was 15 years old, I had to undergo a special medical examination and was entitled to social benefit. I get 36,000 soums (about $20) a month", says a 33-year-old Gulnara.
She is one of about a dozen women, some sitting in wheelchairs, around a table in a club for people with disabilities (PWDs). Gulnara says her monthly payment hardly covers her weekly expenses for taxi that she has to take to come to the club. A vehicle fit to accommodate her wheelchair charges more than a regular taxi. But Gulnara says she wants to come to the club often, as this is the only place where she feels welcome.
They also have a bakery in the building. But it is not functioning at the moment.
Zora Ubaydullaeva, the coordinator of the club and also the head of the National Association of Businesswomen with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, says she had to close the bakery following an inspection some months ago. She then re-registered her business and is planning to resume baking.
"This is one of few things my girls can do", Ubaydullaeva says about women with disabilities who come to the club. "It is also one of very few ways for them to make a small addition to their meager pensions".
The elegantly-dressed 50-year old is gesticulating with her hands touched with arthritis. Sitting in a wheelchair, Ubaydullaeva tells about plans for the club. She wants to help her "girls" earn money by selling pastry, embroidery and other hand-made products. But the most important thing in her work is to empower women with disabilities.
"They are used to being dependants. I want them to feel in charge, I teach them leadership skills", says Ubaydullaeva, who also coordinates the Central Asian Network of Women with Disabilities.
Ubaydullaeva is one of the most prominent persons among PWDs in Uzbekistan. But her path has not been easy. Years have passed since her first trip to the United States in 2001 as a disabled person where she first learned about opportunities for people with disabilities.
PWDs comprise 10 percent of the world population. In Uzbekistan, they make up only 3 percent, according to the official statistics. PWDs say the number is in fact much higher.
They remain hidden from the public. They seem to live in a world that hardly intersects with the real one. And yet they face real and hard problems. They have to remain confined in their homes as public buildings have no special elevators, ramps and lavatories. No traffic lights for visually impaired citizens can be found even in downtown Tashkent. The buses equipped with ramps for wheelchairs have been introduced in Tashkent only recently.
Many seem to prefer not to think about PWDs.
"Even the doctors who work closely with PWDs and are supposed to be more open-minded and tolerant [towards the disabled] do not know much about problems we face", says a mother of a two-year old boy with Down's syndrome.
Speaking on conditions of anonymity, she says: "Out of sight, out of mind. This motto is often used by many - from doctors to employers to ordinary citizens when they deal with disabled people".
Raising awareness about PWDs is one of the priorities of UN Development Programme's Uzbekistan office that works in collaboration with other international organizations and the Uzbek government.
Following the UN Convention on Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPWD) that came into effect last May, UNDP's office in Tashkent launched public awareness raising campaign called "Unity of Different, Unity of Equal".
"The campaign focuses on four aspects of life and fundamental rights: education, family environment, accessibility, and employment for people with disabilities", says Aziza Umarova, the head of UNDP's Good Governance Unit in Tashkent.
"Ninety thematic billboards have been posted in Tashkent and three other cities - Samarkand, Bukhara and Karshi, while 30,000 posters will be disseminated throughout the country. Colorful billboards in Russian and Uzbek became popular among companies owning billboards and have been approved by hokimiyats (eds: local authority) to be regularly re-posted free of charge throughout Tashkent", Umarova says.
She adds that UNDP collaborates with the Uzbek Ministry of Labor and Social Protection on a joint project ACCESS - Accessibility, Civic Consciousness, Employment, and Social Support for PWDs.
"The project aims at improving social status and opportunities for PWDs in Uzbekistan. One of its main goals is to form a positive image among the public about disability and raise public awareness about the hurdles PWDs face. The project is also actively engaged in promoting accessible environment and creating a system of social support to employment of people with disabilities in the country", Umarova says.
The Uzbek government's signing the UN Convention on Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPWD) on February 27 is seen as a significant event in ensuring PWDs' rights.
It came after a series of amendments to the country's legislation in recent months.
One of the amendments enforces employers to allocate three percent of all quota jobs for PWDs. Another stipulates that all buildings have to be designed and constructed taking into account PWDs' needs.
"We welcome all the changes. They are needed since the opportunities, including the job opportunities, for the disabled in Uzbekistan are still limited", Ubaydullaeva says. "In reality, employers are hardly willing to give jobs to PWDs".
Currently, only 30 percent of Uzbekistan's PWDs are employed. Jobless PWDs receive the average monthly social payment of US$ 30 and can hardly make ends meet. Only 31 percent of all PWDs receive social benefits.
Umarova says UNDP has organized several job fairs to help PWDs with employment.
She also says that at a recent job-fair held in Samarkand on February 27, 140 government and private companies offered 426 work places to 201 job-seekers, including 38 PWDs. Out of them, 71 people received jobs, including 11 PWDs.
Umarova and Ubaydullaeva also say they launched training on leadership skills and inclusion into social life of people with disabilities.
Ubaydullaeva, who trained representatives from regional branches of the National Association of Businesswomen with Disabilities, says she expects that the training will result in growing number of leaders among women with disabilities "who will start activities within their communities to advance their rights for education, employment and participation in social life".
She also says that a 2009 presidential decree on developing outwork (working from homes) for PWDs will enhance their chances of employment.
"We hope things will get better", Ubaydullaeva says. "After all, hope is something we've always had".
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Thursday, 19 March 2009
By Gulnoza Saidazimova
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