Disability Services Helpline to be introduced soon in Pakistan

Disability Services Helpline to be introduced soon in Pakistan

Adil Ali   07 January

Potohar Mental Health Association is leading the initiative to introduce counselling and disability services for persons with disabilities

ISLAMABAD – A dedicated disability helpline providing counseling services to persons with disabilities and their families, and connecting them with to relevant professionals, will start its operations by February 2017.

The initiative is being worked by Potohar Mental Health Association (PMHA), a non-government organization working on mental health of children, youth and adults including persons with disabilities.

“PMHA’s helpline will be the first of its kind in entire South Asia which will also provide counselling and training services” announced PMHA President Zulqurnain Asghar.

Zulqurnain outlined how people with disabilities have to face what he called “attitudinal barriers” laid down by the people around. Often, people with their acts, such as name callings, end up ostracizing the differently-abled bodies.

The point was further endorsed by Ammar Masood, CEO AAAP Communications, who asked visually impaired students to not be led by negativities; instead, he encouraged them to invest in education, which will help them get good work opportunity, resulting into an attitudinal change among the people toward the people with disabilities. He encouraged them to learning talking computers, which will help them connect with the world.

Zulqurnain touched upon physical barriers people with disabilities face, sharing how they are not catered to in major infrastructure plans all over the country.

“As of now, only two of the Metro bus stations in Islamabad-Rawalpindi have accessibility facilities for people with disabilities,” he highlted.

He called upon all governments to translate promises into action. Every year, officials make promises for providing special amenities and facilities for the people who are differently-abled but every year, these promises are not fulfilled, only to be repeated next year. Even the implementation status of various amenities or jobs offered is questionable.

On this occasion, Maliha Husain Director Mehrgarh shared that people with disabilities are more vulnerable to sexual harassment; there is thus a need to inform more and more people about informing them that sexual harassment is now a crime, which can be reported to the relevant authorities.

Farrah Naz Country Representative Country Office Pakistan CBM International graced the event as Chief Guest along with other valuable guests from different walks of life.

Courtesy: TVI

Mental retardation increasing in Pakistan due to cousin marriages: Pakistani researchers

Mental retardation increasing in Pakistan due to cousin marriages: Pakistani researchers

Adil Ali   12 December

A team of 12 Pakistani researchers has concluded that the reason for mental retardation in the Pakistani population is the prevalence of the cousin marriages.

The researchers were from the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU), Islamabad, and they collaborated with the scientists from the Netherlands and the USA for this pathbreaking report on the impact of the cousin marriages. Last Tuesday the report was brought to light and the research already found its place in the prestigious science journal, Nature’s Molecular Psychiatry.

What the report states on the cousin marriages

This research report says that it has discovered 30 genes that were responsible for causing mental retardation and intellectual disabilities in the population.

Vice Chancellor of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Dr Javed Akram hailed the Pakistani researchers for their efforts calling it a ‘landmark discovery’ and also said that the ‘mental retardation is high due to cousin marriages.’ Dr Akram was also part of this team.

Total 121 families with Intellectual disability (ID) were selected mostly from the rural areas of  Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtoon Khawa and Northern areas.

The enrolled families comprise eight ethnic groups, namely Punjabi (68.6%), Siraiki (10.8%), Pathan (9%), Urdu speaking (7.8%) and others (Sindhi, Afghan, Baloch and Kashmiri (3.8%) and each of these families had 2 or more affected individuals and 111 families consanguineous unions, while in 74 families the affected individuals were present in separate sibships

To check the full report and its findings, click here.

Cousin marriages are common in Pakistan but its impact on the population has been a subject of controversy and hardly any debate happens on this. The researchers are hoping that with this report out, the situation may improve and better medical facilities will be available for those affected by it.

Cousin marriages among Pakistanis ring alarm bells even in the UK

Baroness Flather made headlines last year when she said that the first cousin marriages among the Pakistanis were leading to disabilities among the children. She even wanted the couples to undergo DNA tests first to ensure that the issue of incest could be controlled.

She had then called the situation ‘absolutely appalling’ and she especially singled out the Pakistanis coming from its occupied Kashmir.

The British citizens of the Pakistani origin account for a mere 3.4 percent of all births in the UK, yet they account for 30 percent of the children born with recessive gene disorders.

In Bradford, the Pakistani population is mere 15% yet a whopping 55% are married to their first cousins.

H/T: Current Triggers