India's disabilities bill raises hopes of an end to discrimination

More than 20 families came to Shanti Auluck's home in New Delhi with their sons, keen to arrange a marriage with her daughter. But after each visit came apologies and a change of heart. All of the families were put off by the fact Auluck has a son with Down's syndrome.

"There was this feeling that somehow he might have a negative impact on them, that he might rub off on them. There's a lot of ignorance about disability," Auluck said.

Finally Auluck, a mother of two and a doctor of psychology, learned to choose her words carefully. "I'd say yes I have a son. He has a job but he can't go into academia," she said.

For the 40-60 million people with mental and physical disabilities in India, discrimination and stigma are daily occurrences. In a country where social standing – including through marriage – is crucial, having a disability often means being relegated to the bottom of the pile.

"A lot of families keep their disabled children behind closed doors because they are embarrassed," said Auluck, director of Muskaan, a training and work centre for people with learning difficulties.

A long-awaited bill introduced into parliament this month aims to give more disabled people equal rights – including access to education, employment and legal redress against discrimination.

Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, has promised disabled groups the historic legislation will be passed, seven years after India signed the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

"This is a game changer," disabled rights leader Javed Abidi said after one of the many protests and vigils held in Delhi in recent weeks by thousands of disabled people to pressure politicians to pass the bill.

But others fear the well-meaning bill, even if it is passed, will make no difference to the way in which disabled people are treated, in a country where many existing laws are poorly enforced and often flouted.

Negative attitudes towards disabled people, particularly women, are entrenched, especially in poor rural areas where families are struggling to make ends meet and social services are few.

"This whole scenario makes her more vulnerable – she is treated as a burden in the family, as a result domestic violence and sexual abuse is rampant," said Shampa Sengupta, who has chronic depression and has worked with people with learning difficulties in Kolkata for 25 years. "Both at family level as well as the outside world, people think she is dependent."

As a result, forced sterilisation, particularly among women with learning difficulties, are common, as are forced abortions, Sengupta says.

Police are less likely to treat cases of sexual assault against disabled women as seriously, says Sengupta, who is helping a family whose blind 14-year-old daughter was raped, allegedly by a neighbour.

"There is a perception that disabled girls are worth less so they are given less attention by police. Others are very sympathetic, offering her sweets and saying 'poor girl'. But that doesn't mean her case will be treated in the same way as others."

Activist Abidi, who was born with congenital spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, agrees that more education is needed to change attitudes. But he said the bill was crucial to empower disabled people to take action to challenge society's misconceptions.

"This is the start of something. The bill may not be perfect, but nothing ever is, and we are not going to get this chance again," he said, referring to looming general elections that are likely to see the left-leaning Congress party ousted and the bill dropped.

Millions more people are classified as disabled under the bill, including those with autism and multiple sclerosis, which entitles them to government benefits. These groups can also use the bill to fight discrimination across all areas.

"It means people with mental disabilities in particular have the right to hold a job, have the right to open a bank account, and no one can tell them 'no' because of their disability," Abidi said.

Some disabled groups opposed the bill, which would replace a 1995 law, saying it had been watered down from earlier drafts.

But Zorin Singha, who was born deaf, said the bill – which includes making captions or sign-language interpreters available for electronic media – was "perfect" for the country's 18 million hearing impaired.

Singha said he learned nothing when he was at school because his teachers, who were not trained to help deaf students, kept telling him to speak. The new legislation gives disabled people the right to a decent education. "We have been waiting since independence for this, some of us even longer," Singha said.