Mumbai session aims to educate disabled people about their legal rights under RPWD Act

Over four years after the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act came int effect, there is still lack of clarity and awareness about its provisions among the disabled community. A session in Mumbai hosted by the Blind Graduates Forum of India aims to address that.

Are you being denied equal opportunities at the workplace? Or do you want to report a case of abusive language being used against you? Get to know what your rights are as a disabled person at an awareness session organised by the Blind Graduates Forum of India (BGFI) in Mumbai.

The session is on 14 March and will focus on the legal provisions for the safety and security of disabled persons. Speaking to the audience is Uday Warunjikar, senior advocate of the Bombay High Court. Warunjkar has represented issues of the disabled community in many important cases including the recent one relating to inaccessibility of rupee notes. Warunjkar will be speaking about safety provisions under RPWD Act but other relevant laws too.

Lack of clarity among many disabled people about legal rights

Such sessions are critical believes Amar Jain, a visually impaired corporate lawyer.

Many people know there is the RPWD Act and that legal provisions exist but there is always a difference between how things work out practically on the ground and the procedure. This means people often end up getting taken for a ride. Such sessions are important as they impart training and also encourage the disabled community to speak up about the issues they are facing at the workplace. – Amar Jain, Lawyer

In popular perception talk about security and safety provisions tend to be associated with women. In fact, this is a holistic issue that concerns all genders and needs to be highlighted especially among the disabled community.

Zoher Kheriwala, who owns a textile and tailoring business in Mumbai, is looking forward to the session. Zoher is blind from birth and says he finds many aspects of the RPWD Act complicated. “We can’t understand all aspects of the Act and such sessions will help demystify the concept”. He is especially interested in finding out more about what the law says on abuse. “We face much discrimination and abusive remarks and I want to find out how one can take action against that. For social chance to happen, we need to know what the legal options available to us are”.

Stigma over seeking legal/police help persists

Amar says regular sessions like these will also help counter the stigma attached to seeking legal help. “There is a lot of stigma that is attached to seeking legal remedies or even a simple thing like going to the police stations. The idea is to communicate that this is a perfectly OK thing to do. In fact, it is your right”.

The session is on 14 March at The Victoria Memorial School for the Blind in Tardeo, Mumbai. The venue can be reached by buses 124, 125, 63 from the Mumbai Central Railway Station. The bus stop is located opposite to the bridge exit of the station. You can also get to the venue by bus number 63 from the exit of Byculla West Railway Station.

To know more, call Santosh at +91 99307-75758 or Zoher at +91 90297-29579.

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