A group of civil society organisations under the banner, United4Change, working in the field of leprosy across India and globally, has started an online petition onwww.change.orgto seek help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the passage of the Eliminating Discrimination Against People Affected by Leprosy (EDPAL) Bill 2015.
The Bill seeks to scrap several obsolete laws, including an 1898 Act, which discriminates against leprosy patients.
The group has urged the PM to take concrete steps to end discrimination against people afflicted with leprosy and take action on report 256 of the Law Commission of India.
“There are 14 laws that discriminate against people inflicted with leprosy, leaving them with no option but to beg for a living. These laws are also used to file for divorce, charging higher life insurance premium, and not allowing them to travel in trains and obtain driving licence. Leprosy patients are sometimes thrown off the land on which they live. They are often sacked from their jobs and their children prevented from going to school,” the petition said.
The petition seeks to get 50,000 signatures.
Dr. Vineeta Shanker, executive director, Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation, said, “This is a great opportunity for all concerned with the stigma and discrimination of leprosy-inflicted people, to push for a change that they have been working for. The government has taken the first step; it is up to us to ensure that this culminates in the passing of the EDPAL Bill quickly.”
