Indonesia’s inequality toward ableism
Disability is an issue that touches many lives in Indonesia. There are at least 10 million people with some form of disability.
This represents 4.3% of the population, based on the latest census which almost certainly understates its prevalence. More than 8 million households, or 13.3% of the total, include at least one person with a disability. Disability affects not only people with a disability themselves but also their families. Households with a person with a disability have a lower monthly expenditure per capita, with female-headed households being particularly vulnerable.
Most common disabilities arise from difficulties with vision, hearing and walking. Diseases and accidents cause the vast majority of disabilities (76%), compared with 17% caused by congenital factors.
This means that many disabilities are preventable and there is scope for policy to improve outcomes.
People with disabilities in Indonesia have lower educational attainment, worse health, fewer economic opportunities and lesser access to public services than people without disabilities.
The average years of education of a person without a disability is 6.5 years. However, for someone with a moderate disability, it is 4.4 years, and for someone with a severe disability, it is on average only 2.8 years.
The majority of people with disabilities in Indonesia do not use assistive devices
(e.g. hearing aids, walking aids, etc).
For people with limited vision, 80% of those who report that they need
glasses also say that they do not have them, and 28% of those who say they
need a white cane do not have one. Of those with hearing impairments who
say that they need a hearing aid, 91% do not have one. Given that hearing is
one of the most prevalent conditions (12% of people with a disability),
improving access to and use of hearing aids has the potential to considerably
improve the daily functioning of many people living with a disability.
Access to prosthetics is also very low in Indonesia. For people with a difficulty using their arms, fingers, legs or with a physical deformity who need prosthetics, on average across these categories of disability less than 25% of people who could benefit from having a prosthetic are able to access one. The policy has been hindered by a scarcity of information about the specific barriers facing people with disabilities and how best to address them.
Access to education
Access to education and other social services remains a problem
for people with a disability in Indonesia. Of 37 million people
with a disability, only a few have succeeded in completing
education up to the university level.
Some cannot access education at all, being rejected by
public schools, even at the kindergarten level. These
struggles also continue during their education where
necessary facilities are not provided. The same problem
repeats itself when they move on to higher levels of education, with the need to move around to find schools that are ready to accept their conditions.
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Although efforts have been made toward inclusive education, in reality only a few people with a disability enjoy this. Parents of children with special needs often have no option but to accept that their children must be relegated to special schools. The problem is that such schools do not have an appropriate curriculum designed to accommodate the needs of each student due to the lack of resources, which leads to the students receiving inappropriate and inadequate teaching.
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In these schools, children with physical disabilities, cognitive
impairments, developmental delays, behavioural issues, and learning
disabilities are grouped in the same classroom. With no curriculum,
and reliance on teachers’ individual lesson plans, none of these
children has a chance to receive a full education.
The teachers teach students a preschool level curriculum, such
as colour identification, and counting from one to 10, year after year, regardless of the fact that some students are able to study with their age groups.
Not only do the schools undermine their intelligence and ability, but they also cause academic setbacks, making them unable to move forward. When these individuals can make it to higher education levels, they are frequently channelled into certain fields that are considered suitable for them.
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In addition, due to their lack of education, many Indonesians with a disability are left with limited choices and access to highly valued and well-paid employment. They are also frequently denied certain jobs because they are perceived as incapable. These problems have caused a large number of people with disabilities to be significantly less financially stable than their counterparts. It is not uncommon that employers to have no idea how to accommodate workers with a disability. In many circumstances, there is clear discrimination with qualified candidates nonetheless sidelined due to limited experience in accommodating employees with a disability.
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However, it cannot be denied that with increasing efforts by the government, the private sector, relevant institutions, the general public, and people with a disability the issue of discrimination is starting to emerge
in the public sphere, which could bring a positive response from the government.
For example, in 2014 people with a disability were given a special quota to enter the civil servant (CPNS) – amounting to 300 seats across different ministries and agencies. A number of public agencies also began to promote employment opportunities for people with a disability.
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Nonetheless, policies enacted in Jakarta are often not conveyed properly in local areas. In the case of CPNS, for instance, the fact that only 10% of the 300 allocated seats are actually given to people with a disability is because the minimum requirement for an applicant is a bachelor’s degree. The policy disregards the reality that very few people with a disability have the privilege of attending university.
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A path towards an Indonesia that is more inclusive of people with a disability requires effort from all facets of society. The first thing is to revamp the curriculum at special needs schools and to properly incorporate inclusion principles into the education system so that attaining proper education for people with a disability is no longer impossible. There is also a need to get rid of the idea that people with a disability are only fit and able to perform service jobs. With the advancement of technology, the gap between people with a disability and their counterparts is increasingly shrinking.
It is time for them to be encouraged to participate in the workforce, especially in high-earning and respectable jobs. People with a disability in Indonesia will be empowered and independent if they are able to work and have a stable source of income. In this way, their financial and social strata will also be lifted, and Indonesia will become a better country.
