Md Jahangir Alam, executive member of the Visually Impaired People’s Society (VIPS), said he could not exercise his voting rights in the last two elections as he was informed that his vote had already been cast.
He said: “I was unable to exercise my voting rights in the last two elections. I was told that my vote had already been cast."
He was speaking at a roundtable discussion titled “Incorporating Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act in the Election Manifestos of Political Parties” held in Dhaka on Thursday.
Organized under the Samatar Bangladesh campaign, the primary aim of the discussion was to ensure the political inclusion of persons with disabilities and to call for the incorporation of disability-related commitments in party election manifestos.
Representatives from various political parties, rights activists, international organizations and members of civil society joined the discussion.
Shahed Mohammad Ali, acting editor of Samakal, moderated the discussion.
“In the upcoming election, we want to see short, medium and long-term plans for persons with disabilities included in the political parties’ manifestos. Ensure our participation from the grassroots to the national level,” said Jahangir.
Ayon Debnath, campaign adviser of Sightsavers, presented the keynote, highlighting that the Government of Bangladesh has signed and ratified nearly all major human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The government has also taken steps to incorporate these international obligations into national law through new or amended legislation.
The Ministry of Social Welfare (MoSW) holds the primary responsibility for disability inclusion, coordinating and monitoring the implementation of these frameworks.
“However, the Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act (Disability Act), 2013 and the National Action Plan (NAP) on Disability, 2019, require active participation from multiple ministries and government departments, and a stronger role from political parties is essential,” he said
According to Debnath, significant gaps remain despite efforts, particularly in political leadership. Full implementation of the Disability Act and the NAP is crucial for realizing the rights of persons with disabilities in Bangladesh in line with the government’s commitments and goals.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Standing Committee member of the BNP, said: “Excluding persons with disabilities from economic development is our failure. We have always kept them within a charity model. We placed the responsibility solely on the Ministry of Social Welfare and did not create any structural involvement in other ministries.”
He said that people with disabilities have immense potential, especially in the IT sector, what’s needed there is budget allocation and political will.
He said: “If we make the state structure inclusive, they will naturally be part of the mainstream.”
Ruhin Hasan Prince, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) said that although we achieved a country named Bangladesh through the Liberation War, many of its promises were not fulfilled.
“The Liberation War was fought based on three core principles: equality, human dignity and citizenship rights and social justice. If we can guarantee these three values, persons with disabilities will no longer be considered a marginalized population, because, above all, they too are citizens of the state,” he added,
Dr Abdul Ahad, joint coordinator for Medical Affairs of the National Citizen Party (NCP) said that they are working to bring persons with disabilities into the mainstream of politics and as part of that effort, they have established a political wing composed of and operated by persons with disabilities.
He further said that ensuring the political rights of persons with disabilities is one of NCP's key objectives.
Salma Mahbub, executive director of Bangladesh Society for the Change and Advocacy Nexus (B-SCAN), said: “In the changing context, some political parties are showing interest in working with persons with disabilities, which is encouraging. I urge political parties to include persons with disabilities as a recognized affiliate organization, just like other wings of the party.”
Md Saidul Haque, executive director of Blind Education and Rehabilitation Development Organisation (Berdo), said: “It must be ensured that the National Committee for the implementation of the Disability Rights Act 2013 functions effectively. As employment opportunities are limited, the government allowance should be increased to a respectable level.”
Amrita Rejina Rozario, country director of Sightsavers Bangladesh, said: “For the past two years, Sightsavers has been running a national campaign called ‘Equal Bangladesh,’ in which more than 30 local Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) are participating. The goal of this campaign is to ensure the proper implementation of laws and the national action plan formulated for persons with disabilities, as well as to guarantee access to education, healthcare, employment and political participation.”
Fazle Siddique Md Yahya, director and deputy Secretary of the National Disabled Development Foundation, said: “It took us 50 years to get the disability act and the National Disabled Development Foundation Act 2023.”
He addressed this as shameful.
The roundtable recommended that political parties commit to disability rights through election manifestos by strengthening laws, training leaders, nominating disabled MPs, allocating resources, forming parliamentary caucuses, enforcing accessibility, raising awareness, improving coordination, collaborating with disability groups and ensuring accessible campaigns to promote inclusion and equality for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh.