Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Features Editor
JAWS often drop at the mention that so and so, who is physically challenged, is pregnant.
The assumption is that because they are visually impaired or use a wheelchair to move around, they don’t engage in coitus
Social attitudes are inclined towards the belief that people with disabilities (PWDs) are incapable of having children of their own.
Communities fret about how a woman in a wheelchair will carry a pregnancy full term or how they will cope with the demands of a new-born once the baby arrives.
It is a big deal when a man decides to date or marry a woman with albinism or any other disability. Many concerns informed by ignorance are raised. Families worry about whether or not the children born from that relationship will have the same disabilities and if their clan will be “tainted” as a result.
Society somewhat views people with disabilities as inadequate and incapable yet they’re wholesome human beings, just like everyone else.
Persons with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs as other people but they often face barriers to information and services.
According to the World Health Organisation, the ignorance and attitudes of society and individuals, including health care providers, raises most of these barriers, not the disabilities themselves.
“In fact, existing services usually can be adapted easily to accommodate persons with disabilities. Increasing awareness is the first and biggest step. Beyond that, much can be accomplished through resourcefulness and involving persons with disabilities in programme design and monitoring,” says WHO.
In some parts of Gwanda South, the problem goes beyond access to information on HIV/Aids or sexual reproductive health issues.
PWDs are hidden from society as families are embarrassed of them and refuse to acknowledge them as a part of the community. Some are kept in granaries, away from the public gaze.
There’s so much stigma around disability with many attributing the cause to witchcraft or infidelity.
Headman for Ward 16 under Chief Mathe in Gwanda South, Nyakallo Makhurane said communities are harsh towards people with disabilities. “I discovered that there are many people with disabilities in our communities who are ignored and some of them are being hidden in kitchens and granaries. Some people still believe there’s no need to send a physically challenged child to school,” said Headman Makhurane.
He continued: “People with disabilities are also talented and they can achieve great things if they’re given the opportunity. It’s important that everyone learns sign language, right from primary level, going up.”
A woman with albinism spoke about how a group of touts taunted her for her lack of melanin.
She said it was a condition she didn’t choose to have and was hurt by being referred to as “munhu akamenywa/umuntu ohlutshiweyo”.
More needs to be done to educate communities about how to co-exist with people with disabilities and as much effort needs to be put into ensuring they have access to sexual reproductive health information and services.
There’s an information deficit on HIV/Aids among PWDs which needs to be addressed.
All too often, the SRH of persons with disabilities has been overlooked by both the disability community and those working on SRH.
This leaves PWDs among the most marginalised groups when it comes to SRH services yet they have the same needs for SRH services as everyone else.
Experts say persons with disabilities may actually have greater need for SRH education and care than persons without disabilities due to their increased vulnerability to abuse.
Mr Pick Nkomwa, the director of Nkomwa Foundation Trust (NFT) — an advocacy organisation for PWDs, said many factors impede access to HIV/Aids information and SRH services for PWDs.
“There are communication barriers for people with hearing impairment, where there’s misinterpretation of information leading to the issuing of wrong treatment. Important stages such as counselling and allowing them to choose their paths are skipped because there’s no one to explain to them. At the end of the day, they don’t get to make their own decisions,” said Mr Nkomwa.
Attitudes among service providers, he said, hinder people with disabilities from accessing important information and services.
“People with disabilities are regarded as asexual and are not expected to have any sexual feelings. The attitude lowers the already low self-esteem in people with disabilities leading them to shy away from seeking information. Some health centres are inaccessible due to their proximity and infrastructure. Some people with disabilities stay in remote areas where they’re far from health centres.
“The infrastructure might also be a barrier in the sense that it might not have ramps to cater for wheelchair users or with slippery tiles unsafe for people using crutches,” said Mr Nkomwa.
Information, education and communication materials on HIV/Aids and SRH are not printed and communicated in all accessible formats such as large font and Braille, thereby excluding persons with visual impairment, he said.
There’s no disability budgeting by implementers of HIV/Aids and SRH services hence it becomes difficult to implement the programmes and reach everyone. Self-discrimination by persons with disabilities is also problematic. There’s also low education among PWDs and in most cases, the materials will be written in English,” said Mr Nkomwa.
He said there was a need to introduce disability studies from early childhood education.
“The modules should be compulsory from primary to tertiary level. This will address the attitudinal barriers. Sign language should be a compulsory component to service providers and stakeholders. Intensive and vigorous disability sensitisation in communities, among service providers and stakeholders is also essential,” said Mr Nkomwa.
He urged Government to expedite the enactment of the Disability Bill into an Act in order for the provisions to become binding to all citizens as well as public and private institutions.
“Government also needs to ratify the African Disability Protocol. HIV/Aids and SRH materials should be in vernacular so that they can be easily understood by PWDs in remote and marginalised communities. It’s also important to involve PWDs in material development on HIV/Aids and SRH.”
According to the 2022 Population and Housing Census Functioning Preliminary report, about 1,2 million people are living with functional difficulties in the country.
The difficulties which affect 9,2 percent of the population include difficulties in seeing, hearing, walking or climbing, remembering or concentrating, self-care and communication.
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa recently said women account for 718 899 (59,6 percent) of that population.
She said Matabeleland North has the highest number at 11,4 percent while Harare has the lowest number at 5,2 percent.
Rural areas have 74 percent of persons with varying degrees of difficulty in performing activities while urban areas account for 26 percent of that population.
The challenges to SRH faced by persons with disabilities are not necessarily part of having a disability, but instead often reflect lack of social attention, legal protection, understanding and support.
PWDs often can’t obtain even the most basic information about SRH therefore they remain ignorant of basic facts about themselves, their bodies, and their rights to define what they do and don’t want.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, PWDs may have little experience relating to and negotiating with potential partners.
“Persons with disabilities may be denied the right to establish relationships, or they may be forced into unwanted marriages, where they may be treated more as housekeepers or objects of abuse than as a member of the family. As a group, persons with disabilities fit the common pattern of structural risks for HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted infections e.g. high rates of poverty, high rates of illiteracy, lack of access to health resources, and lack of power when negotiating for safer sex.” — @Yolisswa.
Online Reporter