Asad Rafi: An Accessible Karachi
Pakistan is not very friendly to the wheelchair-bound people, as physically challenged people need to socialize freely. Asad Rafi says there is a need to improve their accessibility by changing the mindsets, changes which are required at hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, educational institutes and even at clinics as most of these places almost never have ramps that would allow such people to enter their premises. He further emphasizes that laws are needed to bound builders and commercial shops and businesses to facilitate wheelchair bound people. 10% of our total population consists of people who are cooping with disabilities but they are almost never seen around because usually they are kept confined to their houses as they cant get on a cab, or board a bus on their own, they cant even enter any restaurant or park without someone’s help. They feel like they are not welcome in society. We should facilitate for them, we should keep them under consideration when building parks or clubs so they can socialize and do some of their daily tasks independently.
An Accessible Karachi
Karachi being my home city, I have got used to facing all types of challenges but at times it can be very frustrating and annoying. I have become a motivational speaker now and visit various schools, universities and corporate offices for giving lectures. I can tell you from first-hand experience that getting to these venues is no easy task! I recall going to one of the leading business schools of Karachi to deliver a lecture. On arriving there I found out that there was no ramp or lift available. My lecture was on the 2nd floor and my chair had to be lifted by helpers. To say the least, this was not an enjoyable experience for me. During my lecture I made sure to emphasize the point that the building was not wheelchair friendly. Now, I always make sure to find out that the building where I will be giving my lecture is wheelchair friendly.
Similarly I face problems when going to restaurants that have stairs and do not cater for physically challenged people. My chair has to be lifted at such restaurants, which is quite a nerve wrecking experience. Once I remember being invited for dinner at a restaurant that was in a basement. As there was no lift, I refused to go there. Similarly, it was impossible for me to go to a leading café in Karachi because of the non-availability of a lift and I missed out on all the fun. I can also talk about the leading cinemas of Karachi as not all cater for the physically challenged. It requires great effort and determination from people in wheelchairs to go anywhere. We can also not rule out the risk of injury physically challenged people can have while their wheelchair is being lifted or carried.
These in my opinion would be the main reasons why we do not see people with disabilities in public places. One important thing which I forgot to mention is the lack of toilets, for the disabled, at public places. At the leading hotels in Karachi we do not find a wheelchair friendly toilet, which causes a lot of discomfort for me. I am lucky to own a car and have helpers with me to take me to all kinds of places. What about disabled people who don’t have this help?
Indeed, lives of average disabled people who cannot afford the luxuries of life are definitely affected by their inability to go to places that are not wheelchair friendly. Another thing I have noticed is that people tend to stare at a person in a wheelchair when he goes out in public. This makes the person in the wheelchair feel very unwelcome as if they are not a part of society.
On the other hand when I travel to England it is totally wheelchair friendly and I do not have to think about this problem at all. All of their public transport including buses and taxis having ramps thus making it easy for the physically challenged people to travel in them. I can go on and on with the various advantages their shops, cinemas and restaurants have as they cater fully for people with all types of disabilities.I feel that the main difference between England and Pakistan is the attitude of the people and the way they think about physically challenged people and how they show their feelings. People in England appear to be very caring and more humane in every way. In Pakistan, like I wrote earlier, people tend to stare at you. Although I do feel that people have started to understand the rights of the disabled society of Pakistan.
The basis of the lectures I give is to help make Karachi into a wheelchair friendly place. We need to make wheelchair ramps at restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas, hospitals and the list goes on. As most of the outlets have a flight of steep high stairs for accessibility and almost all the physically disabled people couldn’t reach these outlets in a wheel chair, walker, or crutches, this is a Social/Legal Discrimination of the Physically Disabled People.
Right now, individuals in wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches are restricted to a few outlets which are accessible. If there were universal standards for things such as at least one ground level entrance, a usable bathroom for the physically disabled, trained assistances to help them enter the outlet, and wider doorways, people with wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches will no longer be shut out as potential customers. We need to construct an accessibility and a Disabled friendly bathroom in their concern premises for barrier free accessibility for the Disabled Community.
In my opinion the most important factor would be to change the mindsets of people in recognizing the disabled community as a part of society and not be neglected as people who are unable of accomplishing anything. They deserve the right to enjoy life and live on their terms. They should be allowed to work in offices, so that they are able to show what they are capable of achieving.
The way forward:
In order to make Karachi accessible we need to provide wheel chair ramps, lifts and make wheel chair friendly bathrooms. Physically challenged people need access to mix with all segments of the society. There should be a provision for making ramps at all public places including restaurants, cinemas, shopping malls, offices and hospitals. Ramps would be beneficial not only for physically challenged people but also for older people. We can do a favour to all physically challenged people, if we can tell the owner of a restaurant when we go for lunch or dinner to provide ramps. This would do a world of good to people in wheel chairs.
We definitely need to change the mindsets of people as mentioned by me earlier. We would need to contact architects and the builders. There should be laws for builders before constructing a building to provide access to physically challenged people. Ramps need to be constructed and parking places for wheelchairs needs to be provided. A lot needs to be done if we are to compete with the West. Over the past couple of years, I have seen an improvement in the attitude of people towards people in wheel chairs. I feel progress in Karachi towards physically challenged people is being made in the right direction.w
