Mohamed Juman Shareef
'Disabled people should have equal rights to enjoy the benefits of cultural advancement'.
'Disabled people should have equal rights to enjoy the benefits of cultural advancement'.
On 3rd December it was International Day for Disabled People. The theme for 2008 is ‘Decent Work for Disabled People’. This week volunteers from Handicap International, the Ministry for Higher Education, Employment and Social Security, Jamaluddin School, and the Open Society Association (OSA) have been conducting company visits around Male'. The visits allowed dissemination of information and the opportunity to discuss the issue of disabled people in the workplace in the Maldives. The companies came from a variety of different fields including the media (Haveeru), fishing (Island Enterprises), tourism (Villa Hotels), delivery services (DHL), UN, construction, wholesale, law firms and public affairs.
The visits aimed to introduce to company directors and human resource managers to the situation for people with disabilities in the Maldives. It allowed a valuable exchange of ideas and opinions on the attitudes and prejudices held among the Maldivian community. The issue of accessibility was raised in terms of those with disabilities as employees as well as people with disabilities as customers. Companies were encouraged to consider disabled persons in their recruitment and employment and to provide opportunities for on the job training. Finally, the company managers were asked to make commitments to furthering the cause for people with disabilities by providing internships and sponsoring in the future.
The visits were extremely valuable; many of the people in high positions were positive and willing to make changes to accommodate disabled people. However, the exercise highlighted that the Maldives is at a very early stage in its development towards providing a service for disabled people to get work. The discussions also showed that overall attitudes of society towards disabled people are still under-developed and there is a strong need for greater awareness about the rights of disabled people to live and work equally in the community.
2 comments:
Another area in which the OSA could get involved is organizing a gathering between all stakeholders in the health care in discussing the importance of a Bill of Patient Rights. I think this is urgently needed in order to let a fair go for the public and as well as the health personnel involved.
This is a good first step for the country and indeed a good first exercise upon businesses.
Post a Comment