Politicians and Celebrities accused of shunning disability
Politicians and Celebrities accused of shunning disability
November 16, 2023
Saul Utete
Choice News Africa
Bulawayo – Politicians and celebrities are being criticized by several disability organisations for for shunning them and completely sidelining themselves from them as soon as they get into higher offices.
Siboniso Mazula Coordinator of Zimbabwe Down Syndrome Association, who was a guest speaker at the just ended world deaf month commemorations in Bulawayo, blew the whistle during the commemoration and said that, many politicians hid their disability conditions.
Siboniso Mazula of Down Syndrome Association with one of her students. Choice News Africa
Disability is a physical condition that none among the living choose to be, but an involuntary physical challenge which occurs during creation
“The reason why I came with Andile is, even with the Down syndrome community we do have people who are deaf.
It is not easy to communicate with a person whom you cannot understand and who cannot understand you.
So today I did not come here as a down syndrome but as a supporter of the deaf community right through Zimbabwe. First of all sign language is another language to people who have grown up without it.
It is a second language to people who do not know sign language and it is really the answer to those who have acquired hearing lose.
There are some who have grown up hearing but during the course of life due to diabetes, meningitis or any other disease resulted in them suffering hearing impairment or lose.” said Mazula
She said that Politicians and celebrities shun hearing aids devices.
“What I have noticed during my survey is that people seem to be ashamed of wearing hearing aids. You certainly have never seen politicians wearing hearing aids. Even celebrities they are ashamed of wearing hearing aids and deafness is kept private.
Politicians and Celebrities do not want to be known that they have a condition. Let’s say they have a child with hearing impairment or Down syndrome, they do not want it known. They keep it a secret that must not be known that they have children with disabilities.” added Mazula.
Pick Nkomwa Founding Director of Nkomwa Foundation Trust concurred with Siboniso on the stigmatisation of persons with disabilities.
“It is disheartening that we have children with disabilities whose rights are being infringed on daily basis.
In our programming and operations we have noted and evidenced that prominent people holding influential positions in communities do hide their children or they do not want to be known that they have a disability
There is nothing to hide, all have disabilities, why shy or hide your blessing from God.
I call upon communities to shun the pride and all hiding physically challenged children to be exposed. It is evil and demonic.” said Nkomwa
Senator Ishumael Zhou highlighted that the scourge was deep rooted in the society.
“In English they say, charity begins at home but in disability stigma and discrimination to persons with disability also starts in their background.
This is cultural and it is usually embarrassing for parents to have a physically challenged child. More often , many marriage unions have broken up by the birth of a child with disabilities, where the husband will say that maybe the child was not his as there was nobody in the family historically with a disability.” said Senator Zhou.
