By Addlakha Renu:
The topic of sexuality is a major concern for people with disabilities (PWDs). While on the one hand, PWDs are technically entitled to the same rights under the Indian Constitution as other citizens, and no discrimination is allowed on grounds of disability, in reality, things are very different.Two recent events which triggered public outrage and a nationwide debate have clearly highlighted the extent of the utter dehumanisation of persons with disabilities in society. One was the forced sterilisation of women in a home for the mentally challenged in Pune in 1994. The other was when 28 inmates in a private mental asylum in Tamil Nadu were burnt to death 2001. Consequently, instead of giving rights to PWDs and empowering them, a culture of charity and welfare has been systematically promoted in India. And this has been the case since the colonial period.
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act was passed by the Indian parliament in 1995, and it was a landmark. However, since the focus of discussion and activities both by the state and the NGO sector is still confined to enhancing the educational and employment opportunities of differently-abled persons, other critical areas of concern such as fertility, sexual behaviour, and reproductive health have not yet found articulation in the public discourse in this country.
Consequently, their rights to relationships, a family, and having children have been completely sidelined. It is considered to be a secondary concern. Furthermore, negative stereotyping of PWDs as either asexual or sexual perverts finds expression in the media, films, and matrimonial columns, validating how their sexuality is neglected as a priority in their day-to-day lives. There is, in fact, a general social rejection of their sexuality.
Sexuality is an arena of distress, exclusion, and self-doubt for persons with disabilities. Rarely is a person with an impairment conferred a positive or heroic role. Disabled persons are expected to reject their bodies as non-sexual. Disabled people are the perennially ‘ugly’ brothers and sisters. As a corollary to this, their needs for human contact, affection, and intimacy are often ignored. Indeed, many disabled persons and their parents are convinced that sexual experience does not lie in their destiny.In India, conditions are even more terrible when sex is considered to be a taboo subject. I would say the fate of men with disabilities is worse than the fate of women with disabilities.
Addlakha Renu has done research work on gender, subjectivity and sexual identity, where she has focused on how young people with disabilities conceptualise the body, sex, and marriage in urban India.