Ujjala Banik, a person with visual disability, faced exploitation while using an ATM due to the lack of accessible banking features. Relying on someone for assistance, she later discovered he withdrew Tk10,000 from her account without her knowledge.
Despite technological advancements making life easier, accessibility remains a challenge for persons with disabilities due to the high cost of assistive tools, language barriers and uncoordinated efforts among stakeholders.
The issues were discussed during a meeting titled “Accessibility of Persons with Disabilities to Digital Services” on Monday.
The event was jointly organized by Brac, the Bangladesh Society for the Change and Advocacy Nexus (B-SCAN), CBM Global Disability Inclusion (CBM-G), and the Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) at Brac Centre Inn, Dhaka.
Salma Mahbub, general secretary of B-SCAN and the network Protibondhi Nagorik Shangathaner Parishad (PNSP) moderated the program.
The speakers at the event highlighted the barriers persons with disabilities face when accessing digital services which often lead to frustration and prevent them from fully benefiting from the advantages of digital services.
The event organizers presented the findings and recommendations from the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Digital Services project, supported by CBM-G and implemented by CDD, as well as insights from grassroots stakeholders’ consultations conducted by B-SCAN and Brac.
Around 50 persons with disabilities attended the event, sharing challenges in accessing digital services, while government and non-government representatives pledged to improve accessibility for all.
Comments
Photo: Courtesy Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb
Policy Adviser (ICT Coordination and Reform), ICT Division
The process the government uses to identify individuals with disabilities is rigorous. If we link the data from their Suborno Nagorik cards with NID cards, their identity and authenticity are easily established. I believe there should be no further obstacles in accessing services. We must address the outdated policies. The Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act 2013 should also be reviewed.
Photo: Courtesy Salma Mahbub
General Secretary, B-SCAN, and PNSP
Making digital services accessible can significantly improve the lives of persons with disabilities. Government institutions are not making their websites user-friendly for persons with disabilities. Additionally, there is no service policy for those with multiple disabilities.
Photo: Courtesy Broja Gopal Saha
Deputy Director, Centre for Disability in Development
While persons without disabilities have various technological service needs in their daily lives, persons with disabilities often have additional needs. With ongoing reforms, this is an opportunity to make lasting changes by addressing policy gaps for accessible digital services.
Photo: Courtesy Sumona Khan
General Member, B-SCAN
An Application Programming Interface (API) can be used where relevant data of persons with disabilities is stored and can be verified by service providers would help address their needs and ensure accessibility and reasonable accommodations.
Photo: Courtesy Md Ruhul Quddus Khan (Ripon)
General Secretary, Bangladesh National Federation of the Deaf (BNFD)
Disability-related data cannot be verified by employers on any server, leading to the exclusion of persons with hearing disabilities from the job market.
Photo: Courtesy Masuma Billah
Head of Program, Gender Justice and Diversity, Brac
The thing that has come up here about financial inclusion is that banks are not inclusive of persons with disabilities. When our management discussed this, we thought why do we not start this with Brac Bank? We have four training sessions with BRAC Neurodevelopmental Disability Centre (NDD) that we want to scale up. We are working in an institutionally sensitive manner and are committed to collaborating with persons with disabilities.
Photo: Courtesy Vashkar Bhattacharjee
National Consultant, Accessibility Aspire to Innovate (a2i) Program
The Rights and Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2013 mandates digital inclusion and accessibility, supported by a guideline. However, inadequate implementation has left persons with disabilities behind to access digital platforms in Bangladesh.
Photo: Courtesy Md Ehtasham Reza
Deputy Director, Jatiyo Protibondhi Unnayan Foundation
We need to ensure digital accessibility in many sectors. We need to solve the problems through expert opinion with recommendations from those who are facing specific problems. And we can play a role here in creating an inter-ministerial platform to highlight these issues.
Md Saddam Hossain
Assistant Director, Department of Immigration and Passports
Three types of biometric features are accepted for passports: fingerprints, iris and facial image. If any of them are missing, the reason for this has to be mentioned following the international standard. Here, we add medical certificate as a proof. Linking Suborno Nagorik cards to the national database simplifies the process.
Md Zahid Hasan Chowdhury
Assistant Director, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
Persons with disabilities are facing challenges in SIM registration. As per the existing rules, one has to provide NID cards and fingerprints for SIM registration. Adding Suborno Nagorik cards to the SIM registration process can resolve these challenges faced by persons with disabilities who cannot provide fingerprints.
Rezwana Hossain
Divisional signal and telecom engineer (telecom) at Bangladesh Railway
We were not previously aware of the problems that persons with disabilities are facing in terms of online ticketing and date selection. So if we can inform the higher authorities through a letter, we can solve it.
Yead Rahman Nirzhar
Project manager at the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority
We have introduced the Rapid Pass, which will work as one card for all transport and in the future. But we want experts' cooperation on making this card accessible to persons with disabilities.
Md Zahidul Kabir
Lead in the Disability Inclusion Unit of Brac
The Suborno Nagorik Card is not integrated with any digital services of the government. This card lacks digital integration, preventing online verification for services.