Swaziland National Association of the Disabled
Report of the CIB Expert Seminar
on Building Non-Handicapping Environments
Harare, Zimbabwe, January 16-18, 1992
Phillip Dhlamini, Swaziland
The Interim Committee which was elected in February
1990 at Mountain Inn has been working very hard, even though there had been
many difficulties which were a setback in our progress. The committee has
held many meetings where strategies of approaching the government were discussed.
On October 26th 1991 we had a national meeting with a very good attendance,
more than what we expected. It was a great success in that the participants
were very active and they were the ones who seemed to dominate the discussion
without being pushed into the discussions. They complained of the treatment
they receive from the public and the government and many others. They also
expressed concern about the fact that the one day for the meeting was not
enough, instead they demanded that a two-day seminar be held next time,
which we hope to hold very soon. The main object of the meeting was to give
a report on what the committee has done.
I am pleased at this juncture to announce to you all that our struggle has
been rewarded. On the 22nd of November our organization was finally registered
as a recognized organization of the disabled people. To us, this is a great
achievement. We have started planning or at least working to hold another
national meeting which we hope will be a success with the co-operation of
the Head Office in Bulawayo.
Draft points on legislation
These are some of the points we would like to appear in our legislation:- Accessibility in buildings, i.e. shops, banks, government offices, hospitals, etc.
- Equal opportunities in employment and education and training.
- Transport, disabled people should be allowed in public transport.
- Disabled people should be allowed to own property and be allowed to get loans.
- Disabled people should not be discriminated against, i.e. women with disabilities have the right to marry and to have children.
- Society should be held responsible. Should there be a disabled person in the family, they should not be hidden.
- Organizations of persons with disabilities should be run by them because they know their own problems.
- Women should have government protection against exploitation by men.
- Men should not be deprived of their rights to be family people.