Key disability issues to report on during the Indian elections
Issue Ten
Hello, I’m Priti Salian, an independent journalist, researcher and media trainer based out of Bengaluru, a city in South India. Welcome to the tenth edition of Reframing Disability, a fortnightly dispatch simplifying disability inclusion for content creators.
This issue is packed with ideas for disability related election coverage, resources and opportunities.
Let’s ensure that the voices of the disability community are heard this election
One of the reasons this newsletter exists is to provide resources to journalists to better report on disability. Information shared in the previous issues has helped journalists find both data and story ideas. With the general elections in India only weeks away, I present this edition on behalf of the millions of Indians with disabilities who want to see their missing perspectives in the election coverage this time. My piece below, written with input from disability activists, provides data, evidence, and some ideas for coverage.
Nearly nine million (almost a crore) voters with disabilities are registered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) out of a total of almost 97 crore voters. Let’s make sure that the voices of the disability community are heard in this election.
Strong legal frameworks
Over the years, the ECI has worked on equal access for voters with disabilities. Guidelines for accessible polling and voter awareness strategies have been framed. Postal ballots for people with disabilities were introduced in 2019. Last December, the ECI created guidelines for political parties and their representatives mandating the use of disability-sensitive language in their campaigns.
The ECI’s commitment to inclusion is grounded in a strong legal framework. India was one of the early adopters of the UN’s Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007 and has a strong disability legislation, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, enforced in 2017 to work on measures promoting equal opportunities for disabled people.
The RPwD Act specifically states that the “Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and all materials related to the electoral process are easily understandable by and accessible to them.”
With these national and international legal frameworks in place, there’s a lot to anticipate in terms of inclusion. But there are flaws in implementation and persons with disabilities face challenges in availing several services designed for them.
Inaccessible campaigns
Websites of several political parties fail to comply with accessibility requirements like alt text for images, description for links, contrast between background and text, captions for videos, etc. Campaign events are conducted at inaccessible venues without making accommodations for persons with disabilities. That straightaway excludes a large population from engaging with the party’s campaigning and manifestos.
“People with disabilities want to be actively involved and participate meaningfully in the political discourse, not just as voters, but as influencers, strategists, and decision-makers,” said Puneet Singh Singhal, founder of ssstart. This aspect hasn’t been a part of the media discourse at all.
Educating voters and election officials
“Voter education programs should address specific challenges and questions of voters with various disabilities, ensuring they have adequate information about their electoral participation,” Puneet said.
Chennai-based disability activist Smitha Sadasivan added that the electoral offices’ engagement with civil society organisations for disabled people is critical in creating awareness about the electoral process.
“Civil society organisations have access to the community and can answer queries and also create accessible information for persons with disabilities to support the system,” she said.
Lawyer and researcher Shashank Pandey said that it is the media’s responsibility to facilitate voter education and awareness. “During the pre-election period, the news media should also take on the role of creating awareness about the electoral process in accessible formats,” he said.
Polling booth officials often do not guide people with disabilities on the accessibility features of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) because of their own lack of awareness. This raises the question of whether the training of individuals involved in conducting elections is sufficient.
“Since the media isn’t covering them, we don’t see stories of people with disabilities’ experiences at the polling booths or postal ballots,” said Shashank. Such narratives are needed to establish evidence of any barriers, so the processes can be improved, he added.
Shashank also pointed out that there’s a misconception that since postal ballots are available for disabled people, the polling booths needn’t be accessible. Disabled people can exercise their right to cast their vote at polling booths even if they are eligible for postal ballots.
Sometimes, disabled people miss the small window of filling out the form for eligibility for the postal ballot because they are dependant on officials from the electoral office for it, Smitha said. In such a case, the only option is to step out to cast their votes.
Shun stereotypes
News media often highlights the struggles of voters with disabilities using the “despite their disability” phrasing.
A news piece stating, ‘wheelchair-user comes out to vote despite her disability’, reinforces the idea that disability is an individual's problem. Instead, reframing the story to question why only a few wheelchair users come out to vote, ‘despite a large disabled population’, shifts focus to societal inaccessibility and barriers. Such stories can reveal systemic issues and prompt necessary action.
“The media needs to shift away from the narrative of persons with disabilities only being seekers of welfare schemes and a burden on society,” said Arman Ali, Executive Director of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). “We are consumers of goods and services and contributors to the socio-economic development of the country.”
Being a signatory to the CRPD, India is required to include disabled people in its development planning and budgeting. Their needs cannot be seen as exclusive.
“Disabled people and their families are also taxpayers. Why are they kept out of the inclusive development discourse and not a part of policymaking?” said Arman. He emphsised that the media should highlight that the cost of living is higher for a person with a disability due to inaccessible products and services, transport, and physical and digital infrastructure.
NCPEDP recently released a disability manifesto for political parties put together with inputs from almost 10,000 community members.
With a concrete evidence-based background, the manifesto asks for the inclusion of Indians with disabilities under ten heads: budgetary allocation, health insurance, accessibility, social security, socio-political inclusion, economic participation, climate change, gender equality, sports, and education.
Arman said that the media should use the manifesto and question the parties and candidates whether they have included the community’s fair requests in their manifestos. “Candidates should be questioned about what they will do for disabled people. Whether they talk about employment, pensions or gender issues, they should have included disabled people in them.”
This is the first election when ECI’s disability-sensitive language guidelines are being implemented. Non-compliance by candidates can lead to legal consequences. How about monitoring candidates' language on disability for election stories?
Stories of contesting an election
Recently, Paralympic javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia who is a left arm amputee, has been given a ticket by the BJP to contest the election. “Are we going to find stories on his campaigning, struggles and wins in the media?” asked Shashank.
Apart from the disability activists quoted above, Javed Ahmad Tak and Dr. V Janaki have also contributed their thoughts to this piece.
Resources
Politics and Disability Forum
Follow the Politics and Disability Forum, a research and advocacy platform working on the political inclusion of persons with disabilities. Founder Shashank Pandey, quoted in my piece above, and works actively for the political inclusion of disabled people.
One interesting activity of the forum is to send questions on disability issues to the parliament. In the past, the forum has requested information on various issues. One query pertained to whether the parliament keeps records of the number of MPs with disabilities. Another one focused on the evidence used to propose the removal of the disability column from the sixth National Family Health Survey.
Apprenticeship in England
Disability Rights UK’s guide for disabled people, parents and key advisers will be helpful in finding an apprenticeship with an accessible training.
Accessibility tip of the fortnight
Disable auto-play on videos, audios and ads on your website and social media.
Who gets affected?
Users with motion sensitivities or cognitive disabilities. Some may find it confusing or distracting. It may trigger seizures in some.
Screen reader users may be prevented from hearing the content their devices read to them.
What can be done?
Provide a way to pause, stop, hide, or control automatic content.
Opportunities
Guardian’s Positive Action Scheme offers two-week newsroom placements. Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird, an Irish disabled journalist featured in issue nine of Reframing Disability was a participant. Her experiences at the Guardian helped her to figure out what kind of a journalist she wanted to be.
For: Folx from underrepresented groups, including disabled people who are aiming to start a career in journalism. Should have a right to work in the UK.
Deadline: 24th March 2024
Sick magazine is looking for writing and artwork that thinks through the experience of illness and disability in new ways or explores a topic that is framed by this experience.
For: Folx worldwide who are sick/chronically ill/disabled/have a mental illness.
Deadline: 10 March 2024
That’s all folx! Let me know if you make use of the ideas for election coverage or the accessibility tip. Hit reply to share any accessibility challenges you face in your profession. I write back to every reader! See you around on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Warmly,
Priti
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