Mumbai: Disability prevalence higher in women than men, finds study

Left Top: Annabel Mehta, Right top: Meera Shenoy, Left Bottom: Arun Kumar, Right Bottom: Prerana Deshbhratar

On International Day of Persons with Disability (December 3), Mumbai-based NGO Apnalaya launched its research report - Disability in M East Ward: Prevalence, Access and Barriers.

Over the last year, Apnalaya worked on a study to understand the prevalence of disability, and the barriers to access, in the M East Ward of Mumbai.

The sample size of the study was 2,137 households and 9,972 individuals. The study used the Washington Group Short Set of Functioning which measures disability as a continuum, falling under the thresholds of Disability 1, 2 and 3.

Disability 1 (D1) refers to some functional difficulty in at least one domain, while Disability 3 (D3) refers to severe functional difficulty in at least one domain. Disability 2 (D2) that falls in between is some functional disability in more than one domain or severe functional domain in at least one domain.

Disability certification was found to be low; only 10.4 per cent of people with D3 had applied for disability certificates and only 8.5 per cent have a disability certificate. This is significant because without a Disability Certificate, no government schemes will be available to Persons with Disability (PwD).

With regard to the prevalence of D3 among social groups, those identifying as ST was the highest with 5.2 per cent, followed by OBC with 3 per cent, SC at 2.9 per cent and general at 1.8 per cent. Unlike the national percentage, the study found disability prevalence to be higher among women compared to men (14.6 per cent female v/s 12.5 per cent male in D1; 2.6 per cent female v/s 1.8 per cent male in D3).

Disability increases with age

In the study, as many as 13.6 per cent of people above the age of 75 were identified as disabled, as compared to only 1.4 per cent of people in the age group of 25-59.

The report was launched by Maharashtra social justice and special assistance minister Dhananjay Munde. Underlining the significance of the report by Apnalaya, he said, "I would like to extend all the support to the people behind this study. Disability inclusion is an essential condition to uphold human rights, sustainable development, peace and security. In your leadership, the department of disability of Maharashtra is committed to eradicate the challenges associated with disability."

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