“Caution: Beware of Natives” – a sign along the highway.
“Whites Only” – a sign on a bench.
“Europeans Only” – a sign on a train wagon.
“For European Children Only” – a sign at a local public swimming pool.
“European mothers with babies in arms” – a sign outside a local park.
“This Beach Is for Use of White Persons Only” – a sign at the beach.
“White Area” – another sign at the beach.
“Taxi Rank for Whites”– asign at a local taxi rank.
“No Dogs or Blacks Allowed” – a sign at the entrance of a public toilet.
“Black, Coloureds & Asians”– another sign at the entrance of a public toilet.
Everybody that lived through the colonialism or apartheid will remember the above racist signs. These signs carried the message that white people and the native people of Africa were not the same. These signs carried the message that white people and the native people of Africa were not equal. These signs carried the message that white people and the native people of Africa did not deserve equal treatment. These signs carried the message that white people and the native people of Africa did not deserve equal access to goods and services in the city. They reinforced segregation instead, and made access to certain goods and services in the city a privilege to white people only, and not to the native people of Africa.
By Edmore Masendeke
Most, if not all, of these signs disappeared with the dawn of independence in African countries. This followed a new social dispensation in which access to all goods and services in the city was no longer a privilege to white people only, but a right for both white people and the native people of Africa. But another form of discrimination fell through the cracks and society readily embraced it. This kind of discrimination is not the one that is characterised by overt barricades, but it does have the same effect of restricting the movement of some members of society and limiting their access to certain goods and services in the city. If anything at all, this discrimination is just as vicious, if not more so, as that spawned by apartheid and colonialism, and sadly those affected the most are minority groups, and disabled people* in particular.
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According to Progressio, there are about 1.5 million disabled people in Zimbabwe, which is more than 10% of the country’s total population. This is a group of people with various needs when it comes to issues of mobility and access. However, society has not always met these needs. Focusing on the issue of mobility and access in the city, we see that the infrastructure, facilities and services within the city were designed with little or no consideration of the needs of disabled people. Therefore, some disabled people live with restrictions in movement and limited access to goods and services in the city.
Following are a few illustrations of how this plays out in real life and how it looks like there are signs to restrict the movement of disabled people and prohibit them from accessing these goods and services in the city.
- Inaccessible Pedestrian Sidewalks
A number of pedestrian sidewalks do not have ramps. Others have ramps, but the paving stones are loose, have cracks on them or there are open drainages along the roads and sidewalks. Therefore, some wheelchair users, people with mobility challenges and people with visual impairments cannot navigate the city by themselves as they need assistance to cross the street, particularly climbing from the street to the sidewalk, or to move along the sidewalk. Disabled people who have no one to assist them when they move around may not enter the city for this reason alone. So, for these people, it is as if there is a sign at the entrance to the city that reads: “Able-Bodied People Only.”
2.Steps at the Entrances of Shops and Buildings
Similarly, you will find steps at entrances of a number of shops and buildings. Therefore, some wheelchair users and people with mobility challenges cannot enter these shops and buildings by themselves to access goods and services as they need assistance to climb the steps at entrances of a number of shops and buildings. Disabled people who have no one to assist them to climb the steps may not enter these shops and buildings. So, for these people, it is as if there is a sign at the entrances of these shops and buildings that read: “No Disabled People Allowed.”
- No or Dead Elevators
Just as you will find steps at entrances of a number of shops and buildings, you will also find no elevators or dead elevators inside a number of shops and buildings. Therefore, some wheelchair users and people with mobility challenges cannot access goods and services on other floors as they need assistance to climb the steps these other floors. Disabled people who have no one to assist them to climb the steps may not enter these shops and buildings. So, for these people, it is as if there are signs inside these shops and buildings, which read: “Able-Bodied People’s Area” and “Disabled People’s Area.”
- Inaccessible Shop Aisles and Fitting Rooms
In addition to not having ramps at the entrance, some shops have inaccessible aisles and fitting rooms. Therefore, some wheelchair users cannot move through the shop aisles to pick the goods they want from the shelf. In shops that sell clothing, fitting rooms are usually too narrow for someone to enter into to the fitting rooms with their wheelchairs. In addition, there is usually no chair or stool to sit on whilst changing (due to the assumption that all customers can change whilst standing up) and the hooks for hanging clothes on while you change are usually up there (due to the assumption that all customers are of a certain median height or taller). Not being able to move through the shop aisles to pick the goods they want from the shelf and not being able to enter and use the fitting room by themselves prevent some disabled people from accessing certain goods and services in the city. So, for these people, it is as if there is a sign at the entrance to the shops that reads: “We Sell to Walking Persons Only.”
- Inaccessible Public Toilets
There are not that many public toilets in the city, and most of them are inaccessible: they have steps at their entrances, their entrances are narrow, the entrances to the cubicles are also narrow and there are no grab bars in them. Some public toilets are pit latrines. Therefore, some wheelchair users and people with mobility challenges cannot enter or use these toilets by themselves. Some shops have toilets for customers on their premises, but these toilets are usually as inaccessible as public toilets or even more inaccessible. Some of these toilets are located at the back of the shop or building and difficult to get to or in between stair cases. So, likewise,some wheelchair users and people with mobility challenges cannot enter or use these toilets by themselves. While there are some (a few public)toilets with ramps, wide entrances and cubicles of the right size, you will usually find them in an unsafe and unhygienic state. You will almost always find the floors of public toilets wet, with water flowing from a number of places – a leaking tap, a crack on the toilet, the sewer system and so on – the toilet seats spoilt, the flush system not working and the entire facility badly smelling of urine and faeces. Therefore, it is unsafe and unhygienic for wheelchair users, people with mobility challenges and people with visual impairments to enter or use these toilets by themselves. As such, the lack of accessible public toilets prevents some disabled people from accessing certain goods and services in the city.So, for these people, it is as if there is a sign at the entrances of public toilets that read: “
- Inaccessible Public Transport
In many African countries, including Zimbabwe, mini vans are the most common type of public transport.They are too high for wheelchair users and some people with mobility impairments to get in by themselves. Disabled people who have no one to assist them to get into the mini vans may not be able to access public transport and therefore not enter the city. Some public transport operators do not stop for wheelchair users and persons with mobility impairments because they deem it too much of a hustle to pick up the person and their mobility aid. As such, the lack of accessible public transport prevents some disabled people from accessing certain goods and services in the city.So, for these people, it is as if there is a sign at the entrance to the city that reads: “This Bus Is for Use of Able-Bodied People Only.”
Photo credit: www.newsday.co.zw
Disabled people experience the impact of these structural barriers at different degrees and for different goods and services. Each time that a disabled person faces these structural barriers, he or she is reminded of society’s indifference to the needs of disabled people. This indifference is a reflection of some of the negative perceptions of disability that people hold. The perception that disabled people and able-bodied people are not the same. The perception that disabled people and able-bodied people are not equal. The perception that disabled people and able-bodied people are not equally entitled to equal treatment. The perception that disabled people and able-bodied people do not deserve equal access to goods and services in the city. These perception reinforce the marginalisation and exclusion of disabled people, and make access to certain goods and services in the city a privilege to able-bodied only.
This article focused on the structural barriers that restrict the free movement of disabled people and prevent them from accessing certain goods and services in the city. However, these structural barriers do much more than that. They also stop disabled people from engagingin civic, economic, social and cultural activities such as attending school, going to work, visiting family and friends, conducting business transactions, shopping, participating in leisure activities and going to church. This is the extent of marginalisation and exclusion that disabled people face due to the existence of the above stated structural barriers.
There are no signs needed to restrict the movement of disabled people and stop them from accessing certain facilities, goods and services in the city. All you have to do is to leave things the way they are. This in itself is like erecting big signs that are written “Able-Bodied People Only” or any of the other discriminatory statements suggested above, even though in reality these signs are not there and no one will read them. The alternative is to recognise that there are structural barriers that restrict the movement of disabled people and stop them from accessing certain facilities, goods and services in the city and begin to look for ways of removing these barriers. The first step, of course, is to change any negative perceptions of disability.
Prejudice is embedded in the walls of our cities. Admittedly disabled people, being ten percent of the population, are a minority consistency but then modern society and the very essence of democracy ensures that even minorities are given equal opportunities and access to facilities and benefits. Everybody deserves equal access to everything that our cities have to offer and all our societiesshould, from now on, design, renovate and build our cities in ways thatallow accessibility to everyone, most notably the disabled among us. In the words of Mahatma Ghandi, ‘A Nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.’
* My reference to people with impairments as “disabled people” is deliberate. I am aware that some readers will regard this title offensive because of the person-first language campaigns in the 1980s, which advocated for the rejection of the title “disabled people” in favour of the title “people with disabilities” instead. However, the title “people with disabilities” is not universally acceptable and the title “disabled people” is still the operational term in some countries such as the United Kingdom. They argue that “disabled people” is the most appropriate title because it expresses the idea that people with impairments are disabled by the barriers that the face in life, thus should be called “disabled people.” On the other hand, while the title “people with disabilities” is meant to encourage society to recognise the personhood of people with impairments before their impairments, this title errs in that it gives impairment and disability the same meaning. According to the social model these two terms are not synonymous: an impairment is a human characteristic (deformed or missing body part), whilst disability is the effect society has on people with impairments when they are given little or no consideration. Hence, the title “disabled people” relates to our experience as people with impairments – meaning that we people who are disabled through our interaction with society.
** While this article generalises the effect of structural barriers on disabled people as that of the entire population, it should be noted that some members of this population are not affected by the identified barriers. These barriers mainly affect wheelchair users, people with certain physical impairments and people with visual impairments.
