Living In the intersections of disability and gender: International Day of sign Languages 2021

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed today (September 23) as the International Day of Sign Languages. Sign language which is the main form of communication for deaf people, are an important tool that ensures that the members of the deaf community are able to communicate as well as interact and engage with the world around them. In addition to sign language other members of the deaf community use lip reading as another form of communication. Communicating with community around us is an essential element of being human. Sign languages are like any other language even though they are structurally distinct from other languages.

The ability to communicate in a language of one’s choice is a basic human right that all of us are entitled to. Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka and are known as the national languages as well, while English is the link language. In providing public services, all institutions are legally bound to provide such services in the requested national language. All these provisions relating to language are contained in Chapter IV of the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Like all citizens of the country, persons with disabilities are also holders of rights including the freedom of speech and expression.

However, many decision-makers, service providers, as well as members of the general public do not have a proper understanding of the problems facing the deaf community in our country. To look at this issue from a rights-based approach, as opposed to a charitable approach, it is important to have some understanding on the issues that the members of this community encounter and navigate on a daily basis.

Another key issue is that women and girls from the deaf community have to face even the ‘double burden’ as women and also as person with a disability.

In childhood, it is not uncommon that within the family, deaf girls are treated differently. This maybe a result of poverty, low education levels as well as deeply held ableist and patriarchal beliefs. In the process of socialisation, at an early age, a deaf girl can face different forms of marginalisation. These experiences in childhood can affect one for the rest of their life.

Deaf women face various hardships due to difficulties in obtaining information or the lack of proper access to information. The children who go to the school for the blind and the deaf for education often only have the opportunity of associating with a limited number of other children with disabilities and may not have opportunities to engage with diverse segments of the society. Persons with disabilities should also receive age-appropriate training on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. Persons with disabilities, especially women and girls with disabilities are disproportionately affected by sexual violence. Many deaf women and girls are unable to participate in such awareness programmes, which are often held in Colombo by government or non-government organizations. Furthermore, due to the lack of awareness of their parents, they are deprived of various opportunities and services provided by Divisional Secretariat offices, the Department of Social Services and other relevant institutions. While the Public Health Midwives in the area have a big role to play they often face communication barriers because they do not know sign language.

It is important to be more sensitive towards the issues faced by deaf women when training of family health workers. It is also important to provide formal training on sign language to at least one officer in each Divisional Secretariat office. The same is true for government hospitals. Just as we set up ramps and make these institutions more accessible to wheelchair users for example, we also need to ensure that they are accessible to persons with other types of disabilities. 

In addition to issues related to sign language, persons with disabilities should be treated empathetically and with respect. Furthermore, deaf women who are survivors of violence face many injustices because they do not know they have access to the right information and services. This causes the perpetrators to continue to live their lives without any accountability. Deaf women who are survivors of violence do not find emergency hotlines helpful. Since many lawyers do not know sign language, accessing legal aid is also quite complicated.

In the context of a global pandemic, making such demands may be viewed by some as unfair. However, ensuring the basic human rights of a group of the country’s citizens should be always a priority. My prayer for the future is that we will all be able to live in a country that truly respects all its citizens, and all citizens will be able to access the information and services they are entitled by virtue of birth.

Malraji Wanniarachchi

CapacityDevelopment and Governance Specialist

National Languages Equality Advancement Project (NLEAP)