Mumbai: Girls with disability are more stigmatised than boys, and consanguineous marriages (intermarriage among close relatives) — that have linkages to disability — have the support of most men, according to a report titled, ‘ Disability and Consanguineous Marriages’ , documenting cases from Shivaji Nagar, Govandi.
The report is based on a study conducted in August-September 2016, among individuals enrolled in non-governmental organisation Apnalaya’s community-based disability programme. Of the 580 people in the locality registered for the programme, 85 children (29 per cent) are born out of consanguineous marriages.
The study found that 25 per cent of couples in the area were in consanguineous marriages, which had the support of 62 per cent of males. Of these, 93 per cent denied the possible linkage of disability with consanguineous marriages. The reasons cited for consanguineous marriages were marrying children into a known family, with proposals suggested by relatives, a family tradition of doing so, a daughter remaining within the family, and property remaining with the family. Interestingly, 77.4 per cent women do not support consanguineous marriages.
The study also highlights the inaccurate enumeration of persons with disability. A Right to Information response says the M-East Ward has only 1,596 people with disability, which the study says is “extremely disproportionate”, going by the total population of 8.09 lakh. “In our estimate, this number should be around 31,000, given the fact that disability in Mumbai slums is at 5.6 per cent of the population,” it says.
India estimates a mere 2 per cent (2.68 crore) of its population with disability (Census 2011). By global standards, this is a case of “gross undercounting, resulting in under-representation, making it much more challenging for the population to fight for rightful entitlements,” it says.
People with disability suffer even more, in an already-deprived slum settlement, where 68 per cent of people buy and carry water home. There are no pavements or ramps, no special school in the vicinity, the roads are overcrowded, and there is just one toilet seat for 1,460 people. There are no separate toilet facilities for people with disability in the area, it says.
