TEHRAN — Iranian Welfare Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari has asked mayors to experience going to work on wheelchairs for a day to see whether the city is disability friendly for physically challenged people. 

“I ask [Pirouz] Hanachi [Tehran mayor] and mayors of other metropolises to go to work on wheelchair to see if it’s possible or not. If not, they should start making cities accessible for such people,” YJC quoted Shariatmadari as saying. 

He made the remarks on Monday over a ceremony held on the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

“Even the hall used for celebrating this day is not accessible for people with disabilities, and this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Shariatmadari regretted. 

The minister further suggested that people with disabilities should have a representative at governmental entities such as Majlis [Iranian Parliament] and the Welfare Ministry. 

One third of the budget at Iran’s Welfare Organization should be allocated to rehabilitation services for people with disabilities, he added.

The law on the rights of people with disabilities is good but most importantly it should be implemented and NGOs active in this field should ask for the proper budget allocation for the law, Shariatmadari highlighted.

He went on to say that in order to address problems of people with disabilities they should gather together quarterly instead of once a year. 

The population is aging and the number of people with disabilities is bound to increase accordingly, so that insurance coverage for better health services for them is a must, he concluded. 

International Day of Disabled Persons

According to the UN website the annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
 
This year’s theme focuses on empowering persons with disabilities for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable development as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda pledges to “leave no one behind”. 

Persons with disabilities, as both beneficiaries and agents of change, can fast track the process towards inclusive and sustainable development and promote resilient society for all, including in the context of disaster risk reduction and humanitarian action, and urban development. Governments, persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, academic institutions and the private sector need to work as a “team” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

MQ/MG