SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2248no legislation that requires such action and none has been taken. In addition parentsoften give priority in health care and nutrition to male infants. Women’s rightsgroups point out that the burden of providing girls with an adequate dowry is onefactor that makes daughters less desirable. Although abetting or taking dowry theoreticallyis illegal under the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, it still is practiced widely.Bonded and unbonded child labor continues to be a serious problem throughoutthe country (see Sections 6.c. and 6.d.).People with Disabilities.—According to regional NGO’s, there are over 90 milliondisabled persons in the country. Neither law or regulations require accessibility forthe disabled. With the adoption of the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities,Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act in 1995, a nascent disabled rightsmovement slowly is raising public awareness of the rights of the disabled. Althoughthe act provides equal rights to all persons with disabilities, most disabled-relatedorganizations admit that its practical effects so far have been minimal, in part dueto a clause that makes the implementation of programs dependent on the ‘‘economiccapacity’’ of the Government. To a large degree, physical impediments still limit mobility,legislation prevents equality, and societal discrimination maintains the statusquo of the disabled.The Disabled Division of the Ministry of Welfare had a budget provision of morethan $38 million (1.65 billion rupees) for the 1998–99 fiscal year for a number oforganizations and committees at the national, regional, and local levels. The Ministrydelivers rehabilitation services to the rural population through 16 district centers.A national rehabilitation plan commits the Government to putting a rehabilitationcenter in each of more than 400 districts, but services still are concentrated inurban areas. Moreover, the impact of government programs has been limited. Significantfunding is provided to a few government organizations such as the ArtificialLimbs Manufacturing Corporation of India, the National Handicapped Finance andDevelopment Corporation, and the Rehabilitation Council of India. Each entity providesspecific services or training, including producing aids and prosthetics, promotingdisabled-oriented economic development activities, offering training tohealth-care professionals and vocational instructors concerning disabled-relatedissues, and providing comprehensive rehabilitation services to the rural disabled.Additional mini-grants are offered to NGO’s that coordinate programs for the disabledto facilitate their physical, social, and psychological rehabilitation and integrationinto mainstream society. During 1998–99, $3 million (130.5 million rupees) wasavailable. However, only half of this amount was allocated due to funding restrictionsplaced on each providing organization and the small number of them thatexist.Two significant programs to benefit the disabled are the National Project to IntegrateMentally Retarded in Family and Community and the National Institute forthe Multiple Disabilities. The first project, launched in six states in 1998, primarilyfocuses on children from the economically weaker sectors and promotes awarenessconcerning the mentally disabled, their problems, and their rights. The second is theMinistry of Welfare, which provides rehabilitation services to the disabled and isfostering greater awareness among communities throughout the country. As a resultof the passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act, there now is a Disabilities Commissionerwho oversees implementation of the act and its protections for the disabled.According to the Persons with Disability Act, 3 percent of positions in official officesand state-owned enterprises must be reserved for persons with visual, hearing,or orthopedic disabilities. The Government provides special railway fares, educationallowances, scholarships, customs exemptions, budgetary funds from the Ministry ofRural Development, and rehabilitation training to assist the disabled. However, implementationof these entitlements is not comprehensive. Although the Governmenthas taken significant steps toward improving the plight of the disabled, its involvementhas been insufficient. The majority of responsibility for caring for disabled personsstill lies with family members and voluntary groups.The NHRC continues to receive complaints relating to harassment, intolerance,and discrimination against the disabled. It currently is gathering information onthese cases and forwarding assessments to concerned NGO’s and government entities.However, this process is slow, and its effects so far have been minimal.The NHRC continued its efforts to improve conditions in mental hospitals and enhanceawareness of the rights of those with mental disabilities during the year. In1997 it commissioned an assessment of conditions at mental hospitals throughoutthe country, to be conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience.The assessment, whose results the NHRC released in July 1999, found thatconditions in mental institutions were unsatisfactory and in need of reform. 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