![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dis-bill.jpg?resize=300%2C250&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nRabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za<\/p>\n
09 April 2025<\/p>\n
4 minute read<\/p>\n
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When people think of disability, they generally think of a person in a wheelchair, a person walking with a cane, or a visually impaired individual. But there are many with \u201cinvisible disabilities\u201d like psycho-social and intellectual disabilities like autism or mental health issues.<\/p>\n
In the past, persons with disabilities were always marginalized, and with South Africa\u2019s history of apartheid, it was worse for this minority. While \u2018nothing about us without us,\u2019 is the slogan for persons with disabilities, they still face multiple barriers, with a lack of sign-language interpreters in places like courts of law, limited access to jobs, and inaccessibility to public buildings and spaces. Sabiha Majeed, lawyer, researcher and project officer at the Disability Right\u2019s Unit at the Centre for Human Rights based at the University of Pretoria\u2019s Law Faculty, works on raising awareness for disability rights in Africa.<\/p>\n
According to Sabiha, the Protection and Promotion of Persons with Disabilities Bill was ratified in South Africa in 2007, obligating itself to the international convention to act in accordance with the bill. The deadline for the Bill to be domesticated is by the end of April. However, most disable people with \u201clived experiences\u201d are not aware of the bill, and many of those who are do not even understand it. Despite continuous requests to the Lori-Form Commission, the Bill is not available in Braille or in an easy-to-read format.<\/p>\n
Culturally, in Africa, there are many challenges facing persons with disabilities. One instance is people with albinism who are murdered and have their body parts harvested, or are concealed and kept away from others, segregated from their communities, a major violation of their rights.<\/p>\n
Another section of the Bill focuses on \u201cthe right to family life\u201d for children with disabilities to be safeguarded from \u201cconcealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation,\u201d stating further that if the family is unable to provide for the child, the state will have to provide care in a \u201cfamily or community-based setting,\u201d preventing them from being placed in institutions.<\/p>\n
For people with disabilities to access the Bill more easily, it will have to:<\/p>\n
From a personal perspective, Sabiha feels that \u201cwe are all human beings with equal rights\u201d and this has spurred her on to do the work that she does. \u201cStereotypes and prejudices\u201d are harmful barriers that people hold against persons with disabilities. From the time a baby is born, they might face discrimination from the hospital staff. Sabiha advocates for raising your voice and standing up against discrimination for people with disabilities. She says that \u201cdisability is being treated as an afterthought\u201d which is why the public needs to be educated about it. The state need to \u201cpull its weight in terms of its obligation\u201d so that civil society doesn\u2019t have to step in again and again to close the gap that is the government\u2019s responsibility. In conclusion, Sabiha feels that it is important to understand that \u201cpersons with disabilities are entitled to equal and full enjoyment of their rights on an equal basis with others.\u201d<\/p>\n