AT A CROSSROADS: Intellectual who showed disabled could do wonders

A man proclaimed by many as probably the greatest scientist of our time comparable only to Albert Einstein passed away last week, sending shockwaves to the world of scientists. This is Professor William Hawking (January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018), a British celebrated theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.

That he achieved so much, despite suffering from motor neurone disease from the early age of 21, a neurodegenerative disease that eventually left him in total paralysis. Despite being on wheel chair most of his life, not being able to write and speak normally but he used to depend on computer for such tasks, he made great inroads in the world of science where his breakthroughs in physics and astronomy changed how we view the cosmos.

It is reported that, when Prof Hawking was at the age of 21, medical doctors gave him only two years to live. Yet, he lived to be 76! The science guru was vocal that governments should prevent disability and protect the rights of the disabled.

What if the good professor was born in an African country? He could have died long time ago, as it would have been difficult to diagnose his ailment. Sorry dear motherland. If he was teaching at an African University, after he got totally paralyzed and lost his voice, would the institution have retained him? You can bet, it is a big No!

Long time ago, some communities in Africa would kill children born with disability. A paper titled “Attitudes and Beliefs about Disability in Tanzania” by Joseph Kisanji documents that in the history of dear motherland “attitudes towards disabled people have been a mixture of persecution as well as tolerance.” The author notes that “modern practices recognize and respect the disabled person as a person first and as disabled second.” But is this the case always?

According to CCBRT, Tanzania has about 4.2 million people living with disability and are “among the poorest and most marginalized in society.” If as a society we cared enough for the disabled- would we still have more than half of children with disabilities not attending school?

Tanzania Federation of Disabled People Organisations (Shivyawata) and other civil society, have been fighting to eliminate social injustices against persons with disabilities, while advocating for their inclusion in social, economic, and political systems. Their dream is yet to be fulfilled. After all every town you go in Tanzania, a good number of beggars are always disabled- the most hapless of the helpless.

In 2004, Tanzania enacted National Policy on Disability, which has gone a long way to protect the rights of disabled. The main aim of the policy was to encourage the development of people with disabilities, empower the families of people with disabilities, as well as reviewing legislations that are not disability friendly, among other things. Some milestones have been achieved including enactment of The Persons with Disabilities Act 2010. According to this law, for example public buildings are supposed to be accessible by the disabled. Yet, there are many other milestones that have not been achieved… we still have many helpless people that are disabled. Some disabilities can be prevented. Much more needs to be done. It would be great to have a Tanzania where the disabled are able to excel in academics, arts and other field.

Saumu Jumanne is an Assistant Lecturer, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE)