Stop stigmatising and making mockery of our conditions - GFD to journalists

Members of the Ghana Federation of Disabilities (GFD) have bemoaned how people, especially most radio presenters make mockery of their conditions when there is a crime committed by any of their members.

Peter Anomah- Kodie who is the programme manager for the association said it was very worrying how people usually make a mockery of them.

He also said they prefer to be addressed by their names rather than their conditions.

"We are human beings just like any other normal human being. Just as we have individual differences, some challenged persons are bound to commit crimes just like everyone else. We are therefore pleading with people to mention names instead of using our conditions to describe them. I am a blind person, and there may be any other blind person who could commit a crime. The person has his name just as I have my name which makes us unique.

"When you fail to use people's names, but rather use names such as the blind man, the death and dump, the crippled, the 'ofiri gyato', the 39-40 and so on to refer to people who have committed certain crimes, it affects us badly. It creates certain impressions and also gives bad tags to innocent people who are in the same conditions. It also makes a mockery of us, hence our plea on people especially presenters to desist from such," he said.

One thing he further complained about is stigmatization.

He said it was time people stopped stigmatizing them and started considering them in most activities since most of them have special talents.

"When there is any activity or any special assignment, people shouldn't underrate us. We're pleading, we mostly perform better when we are given the chance. We pray people stop stigmatizing us," he said.

On her part, Martha Quofi, the Gender Chairperson for the association said most of them have their talents impeded due to stigmatization.

She entreated Ghanaians to always get closer to most of these challenged persons instead of distancing themselves from them.

All these were said during a media briefing on the capacity building and training program that is being held in the Ashanti Region for women and girls with disabilities.

The program which aims to focus on their right, is also set to deal with cross-cutting issues affecting persons with disability in Ghana.

The theme for the program is "Implementing Essential Pro-Conditions to Advance The Right Of Persons With Disabilities in Ghana".

The training which started on Monday, October 30, 2023, is expected to end on Friday, November 3, 2023.

Further highlighting the course, Peter Anomah-Kodie said they aim to address some specific issues affecting persons with disabilities that lead to societal withdrawal.

"We are seeking to get societies which are very inclusive for persons living with disabilities. To do that, there is the need to build their capacities and this is the kind of training program we are here to offer them," he said.

He added that they also seek to build the capacity of their members by influencing advocacy, legislation, and policies among others in favour of persons with disabilities.