Every year on December 3 — International Day of People with Disabilities in Uzbekistan is celebrated as a holiday of kindness and charity. On this day, festive tables are set, pilaf is made in cauldrons for dozens of people and gifts are distributed to children and adults with disabilities. Many people also distribute food packages to families who have children or elderly people with disabilities.
As always, our society has turned another international day into a real to’y (in Uzbek “wedding celebration”). However, have they thought about the essence of this day? Why was this day introduced? Is it a holiday at all? Is it right to congratulate a person with his or her disability?
The practice of holding the so-called “month of kindness and mercy” (in Uzbek “mehr-muruvvat oyligi”) from November 30 to December 30 has also spread among government agencies. As of November 1, according to official data from the National Agency for Social Protection under the President of Uzbekistan, the total number of registered people with disabilities in Uzbekistan reached 1,013,995. The figure is growing every month — largely following the agency’s efforts to actively certify people with disabilities and put them on the statistical register.
Is this day a holiday? And is there something to celebrate?
In general, government agencies have a standardised approach to the topic and follow a template: “People with visual impairment and disabilities were invited to the holiday. In order to bring joy to the deprived hearts of people with disabilities, a festive table was set for them, and performances were organised. The artists sang songs, which lifted their spirits even more”.
Unfortunately, this pattern is also followed by many organisations that are supposed to protect the rights and interests of disabled people. Such republican organisations as the Society of the Blind, the Society of the Deaf, and the Society of the Disabled also organise charitable actions and events, distribute gifts and food packages. As preparation for the holiday, the so-called agents of these organisations go to large companies and literally extort sponsorship for decorating tables and distributing gifts.
In their activities, they rarely mention the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Uzbekistan in 2021.
Despite the adoption of a convention that promotes social and human rights approaches to disability, the charity and medical models are still widely practiced in Uzbekistan. However, the charitable model of disability has dire consequences in the form of social exclusion and lack of inclusion of people with disabilities in society not once a year, but all year round.
Many representatives of the organisation of people with disabilities do not want to turn this day into another celebration.
“It just pisses me off when they make a holiday out of this day. They set tables, organise concerts, etc. On this day it would be good to demonstrate our achievements in the field of protecting the rights of people with disabilities,” says Natalia Plotnikova, head of the public association of women with disabilities “Opa-singillar” (“Sisters”).
“December 3 is not a holiday at all. Many people call it a holiday and say „December 3 is the holiday of the disabled“. Should we celebrate the fact that we are disabled? Why should there even be such a day? For example, I don’t like it and it would be better if such a day didn’t exist. Yes, when I hear that word, something inside clenches and I think: do we celebrate this day because of being disabled, or should it be some kind of support for us? I am still looking for an answer to this question,” says an activist with a physical disability.
Increased dependency and passivity
I might argue that charity is a good thing, people want to help people with disabilities — what’s wrong with that? But if we dive into this topic, it becomes clear that there are several downsides to a purely charitable approach, especially in the context of helping people with disabilities. One-off handouts in the form of food and gifts can increase people with disabilities' sense of dependency, reducing their motivation to find employment and live independently.
By turning them into passive recipients and objects of charity, we contribute to the formation of a negative stereotype of unfortunate people in tragic situations who are unable to live independently. Often, charitable aid is not always directed to where it is really needed. Moreover, the distribution of such resources is often associated with non-transparency and corruption, which reduces the overall impact.
It is also important to note that the actions timed to December 3 lack a systematic approach to the inclusion of people with disabilities. Such charity is often a one-off measure that does not solve the root problems in society, namely the creation of a barrier-free environment, development of inclusive education, support for inclusive employment, combating discrimination on the basis of disability, etc.
“Instead of celebrating, you can gather people with disabilities in one circle and educate them about their rights, because it is much more useful. For example, give them trainings and seminars about their rights in the laws, and explain what the essence of the social model is both for people with disabilities and for society as a whole. It is possible to organise such discussions, right? Without any celebration,” says a girl with disability.
In reality, many people with disabilities are still unaware of their rights. They do not know about the existence of the law “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other normative legal acts. Many people find it difficult to receive professional legal assistance due to communication barriers. For example, deaf and hard-of-hearing people are unable to protect their rights in court in a timely manner due to the inaccessibility and limitations of sign language interpreters.
“It is necessary to publicise this day, but it is not right to celebrate it. If they want to do concerts or performances, it should be inclusive, i.e. people with disabilities and people without disabilities together supporting each other. It would be appropriate to gather at a round table and discuss current problems in the field of accessibility of infrastructure, education and employment. Or as an option, we could do concerts dedicated to this day and use the money collected for the purpose for persons with disabilities,” suggests Vasilya Kadyrova, a mother of a child with autism and a member of the board of the “Sharoit Plus” Public Association of Disabled People of Tashkent City.
Give access to inclusive education
Of the more than one million registered people with disabilities in Uzbekistan, 173,305 are children with disabilities under the age of 18. Unfortunately, many children with disabilities, especially those with physical disabilities and mobility impairments, are in so-called “home schooling”.
“Back in the days when I worked as a school teacher, I often witnessed how principals themselves collected money for home-schooled children, bought gifts and brought them. In the mahalla on such days they would bring macaroni, flour, and oil and say, ‘Today is your holiday, so we have come to visit you'.” The Hokimiyat followed this, demanding photo reports of the process of presenting gifts and foodstuffs," says a visually impaired woman.
Of course, children who are educated separately from their peers will be happy to receive such one-off visits and gifts. But they grow up in social isolation from the very early age, and there are great doubts about the quality of education they receive at home. Officials and mahalla representatives, instead of facilitating their inclusive education in a mainstream school, limit themselves to one-off visits and photo reports.
Promote inclusive employment
Starting from 2023, on December 3, the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction started to organise a national contest “Best Employer” to encourage the best social projects aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities. At this event, not people with disabilities themselves were awarded, but employers who are well aware of the labor rights of people with disabilities and have adapted the conditions in their enterprises by hiring them.
“In my opinion, this was an exemplary example of an event that should be held by Dec. 3. I think that if all government organisations approached this issue in the same way, it would be more correct. Instead of handing out gifts, it would be better to ensure that at least one of their rights is realised in our society. I think it would be much more useful,” suggested Zilola Tashpulatova, coordinator of the Ish Plus project on inclusive employment for people with disabilities.
The only point: I would rename the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction’s competition to “The Most Inclusive Employer” to encourage the employment of people with disabilities in the open labor market. The competitions held in 2023 and 2024 mainly awarded directors of specialised training and production enterprises of the Deaf Society, the Society for the Disabled and the Blind Society of Uzbekistan.
Such specialised enterprises, instead of promoting inclusion, lead to further segregation of people with disabilities in closed workshops, limiting their choices to heavy and already unprofitable manual work with low wages. Instead, we need to change employers' attitudes in the open labor market and encourage them to hire people with disabilities.
How should this day be celebrated?
December 3 is not just another “bayram”. In celebrating this day from a disability rights perspective, it is important to focus on promoting the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities rather than just holding festive charity events.
“They consider the Day of People with Disabilities as a holiday, but what should we congratulate them with? It will be great if social projects related to accessible barrier-free environment are realised, as well as assistance with employment of people with disabilities. It is important to accept the fact that their opportunities are not limited and they can also participate actively in civil society,” the volunteer suggests.
Charitable actions and events are needed to raise funds for emergency operations and other humanitarian emergencies. However, a purely charitable approach to people with disabilities does not solve the accumulated systemic problems in the field of inclusion and social protection of people with disabilities. Here are some ideas on how you can mark the day from the perspective of a social model of disability.
- Educational activities: conducting trainings, seminars, lectures with the participation of experts with disabilities and representatives of their public organisations to inform the general public about the rights of people with disabilities, existing barriers and ways to address them.
- Conduct volunteer actions to improve city infrastructure to make it more accessible to people with disabilities.
- Organise meetings of people with disabilities and their organisations with officials, deputies, and representatives of makhalla committees to discuss the problems of people with disabilities and propose concrete solutions. At such meetings, representatives of government agencies could report to the general public on the work done to realise the rights of people with disabilities and jointly discuss plans for the new year.
- Media and social media advocacy: write articles, make short films and videos, develop a public campaign involving journalists and popular bloggers to tell the stories of people with disabilities, draw attention to the barriers they face in everyday life.
It should not be forgotten that when planning such events it is necessary to take into account the needs and interests of different groups of people with disabilities. For example, events should be held in accessible premises, translation into Uzbek sign language should be provided, and other reasonable accommodations should be made. It is necessary to involve people with disabilities themselves and organisations representing their rights and interests in planning and conducting such events, following the principle “Nothing about them without them”.
The theme for this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities is “Strengthening the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”. The day recognises the important role that people with disabilities play in creating a more inclusive and sustainable world for all. It also emphasizes the importance of the participation of people with disabilities in decision-making processes that affect their lives.
The opinions of some people with disabilities, mothers of children with disabilities and volunteers show that they do not need a “holiday”, they need equal rights and opportunities through the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Uzbekistan ratified the Convention in 2021, and state bodies have undertaken obligations to realise the rights of people with disabilities in all spheres of life.
We urge everyone to look beyond this important day and to work with people with disabilities and their representative organisations every day, striving to create an inclusive and sustainable future for everyone.
The views of the author may not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or those of other organisations mentioned in this article.
Tralsnated by Dilmurad Yusupov.
