By Our Reporter
Shillong: Violence against women is on the rise in the state and even women with disabilities are not spared by the heinous criminals.
This was evident from the recent rape case at Rangthong, West Khasi Hills, where a mentally retarded girl was raped by unidentified criminals.
Condemning this act, the District Level Initiative (DLI) West Khasi Hills District, a conglomeration of five self help groups of People with Disabilities has demanded the State Government to take serious note of the incident and book the criminals without delay.
“We urged the government under the leadership of Dr Mukul Sangma to fully implement the People With Disabilities (PWD) Act, 1995 and the United National Convention on the Rights of People With Disabilities (UNCRPD) to ensure the rights of specially abled persons are protected”, the DLI spokesperson said.
Discussing the matter at a meeting held at Bethany Society here in Shillong on Wednesday, the five groups including Bethany Society-Mawkyrwat, Nongstoin Social Service Society, Sister of Our Lady Fatima-Nongkasen, Agency for Sustainable Development Initiative, KJP Synod Sepngi-Mairang, and the Wellspring Social Service Society-Mairang asked the state government to realize the pressures and difficulties, people with disabilities face.
Referring to the PWD Act of 1995, the DLI has urged the government to introduce a special section of the law stating that about three percent of all MLA schemes must be reserved for the people with disabilities.
Meanwhile, the conglomeration has also extended its gratitude to the chief minister for implementing the Chief Minister’s Social Assistance Scheme for Differently Abled persons which will be released on June 11 this year.