Raising awareness among key stakeholders

17. Assist DPO members to access disability identification cards

The Persons with Disabilities’ Rights and Protection Act, 2013 (DRPA) requires that persons with disabilities who file Section 36 applications have valid identification cards. But many persons with disabilities do not have them. Some have obtained identification cards based on evaluations not by a licensed medical professional, as required by the law. Instead, sometimes the cards are authorized based on evaluations by therapists. Because these cards do not comply with the DRPA’s requirements, Section 36 applicants relying on them may risk their complaints being dismissed.

The experience of USAID’s EPD program is that many persons with disabilities who participated at legal aid camps and were interested in receiving legal aid did not have identification cards. It is important that DPOs inform persons with disabilities about where they can obtain cards and what documents they must bring with them to do so. Not only might persons with disabilities who lack identification cards miss the opportunity to receive welfare benefits, the law does not allow them to present Section 36 applications if their DRPA rights are violated.

Additional Links: USAID Bangladesh • BlueLaw International

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This domain was previously home to a joint report by NGDO, NCDW, and BLAST entitled “Current Status of Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Bangladesh: Legal and Grassroots Perspectives 2015,” produced with funding from the Disability Rights Fund. It is now available here.