Last month, the “Disabilities Act”(Bill 8/2010, hereafter referred to as “disAbility Bill”) got ratified by President Nasheed. This disAbility Bill was a direct result of ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability or CRPD. One of the things that CRPD urge ratified countries is to pass legislature supporting rights of PWDs. It also made it compulsory for the state to form a “Committee on Rights of People with Disabilities”(CRPD: Article 34, Clause 1). So the disAbility Bill which got ratified on 9th July 2010 consisted a “Council to Protect the Rights of People with Disabilities”(<–Person first Language not used there!, hereafter referred as “the Council”) and has representations from;

1. President’s candidate
2. Ministry of Health and Family
3. A Doctor from Maldives Medical Association
4. A Psychiatrist
5. A Non-governmental organization
6. A Person with a disability
7. A Parent of a PWD

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