Most people's memory of World Cup 2010 in South Africa is likely to be, not the football, but the rasping buzz of the vuvuzela. But disabled people are hoping for a more tangible legacy according to Muzi Nkosi, Chair of Disabled People South Africa.
I got involved in disability politics as a youngster in 1981 when I became disabled. At that time, living in the township of Soweto, as young people we were fighting the apartheid government. But also, as disabled people, we came together and we decided, let's form ourselves into a movement, an organisation which would fight for and champion the rights of disabled people. And that became what is now Disabled People South Africa (DPSA).
Apartheid
Life for disabled people during the time of apartheid was extremely difficult. It was double discrimination. Not only was I discriminated against through apartheid as a black person, but also I was discriminated against as a disabled person, because I couldn't access the environment. I didn't even have access within my own home. It would have needed a lot of renovation for me to be able to move around.
So, both as black people and as disabled people we were discriminated against socially, politically and economically. You couldn't access employment as a disabled person back then.
Rainbow nation
With the World Cup having been hosted in South Africa, people were recognising the country as a Rainbow Nation. From my point of view, disabled people are now part of that Rainbow Nation. Since the arrival of Nelson Mandela, opportunities have opened up for us. People tended to shy away from the apartheid regime, shy away from the apartheid thinking and that led to a willingness for greater inclusion of disabled people.
But, for the disability sector, there were still some challenges which are still there now. For example in South Africa we don't have an accessible public transport system. Disabled people are facing a lot of challenges with regard to employment and quite a lot of other issues.
Marginalisation
A report on the place and status of disabled people in South African society was recently published, following research conducted at the University of Johannesburg. It showed that disabled people here are still considerably marginalised. Some of them are living in real poverty because they are not claiming benefits to which they may be entitled due to lack of awareness of their entitlement or even that the benefit exists.
While what the report says is, to a great extent, true and accurate - a lot of disabled people are denied fundamental human rights and it's also true that many of them will not be getting benefit which is due to them.
Opportunities for change are certainly there because in South Africa today we've got very good legislation like the Employment Act of 2008 which advocates for the employment of disabled people. So the opportunities are there, but the challenge is for government and companies both to demonstrate a commitment to the employment of disabled people. And they need to be willing to show that commitment by employing more disabled people. So for me it's to do with attitudes, we've got legislation, we've got a very good constitution, but companies are not observing it.
South Africa is a very diverse nation with lots of different racial and ethnic groups. To some extent this is reflected in the disabled people's movement. But disabled people's organisations tend more to be divided in terms of the services their members need. So people are more likely to group together according to their impairment and the types of support they'll need.
Alliance
We have the South African Disability Alliance. It's comprised of all these different organisations in the country coming together to speak with one voice, trying to develop a common agenda so that when we approach government we do so with one agenda and with one voice. From my point of view as a wheelchair user I'd say that life is not very accessible here. There are still too many places where I simply cannot get in with my wheelchair.
About 50 per cent of places are not very good like that. Maybe another 40 per cent are trying to get better, especially for people who live in cities. But it's still true that, as a wheelchair user, if I don't have a car, how can I travel to my workplace or to town without accessible public transport? I would hope that out of this World Cup would come, from the experiences of people visiting from other countries, something that this Government can learn from and perhaps come up with a pilot project which would then be used. Disability Now
I got involved in disability politics as a youngster in 1981 when I became disabled. At that time, living in the township of Soweto, as young people we were fighting the apartheid government. But also, as disabled people, we came together and we decided, let's form ourselves into a movement, an organisation which would fight for and champion the rights of disabled people. And that became what is now Disabled People South Africa (DPSA).
Apartheid
Life for disabled people during the time of apartheid was extremely difficult. It was double discrimination. Not only was I discriminated against through apartheid as a black person, but also I was discriminated against as a disabled person, because I couldn't access the environment. I didn't even have access within my own home. It would have needed a lot of renovation for me to be able to move around.
So, both as black people and as disabled people we were discriminated against socially, politically and economically. You couldn't access employment as a disabled person back then.
Rainbow nation
With the World Cup having been hosted in South Africa, people were recognising the country as a Rainbow Nation. From my point of view, disabled people are now part of that Rainbow Nation. Since the arrival of Nelson Mandela, opportunities have opened up for us. People tended to shy away from the apartheid regime, shy away from the apartheid thinking and that led to a willingness for greater inclusion of disabled people.
But, for the disability sector, there were still some challenges which are still there now. For example in South Africa we don't have an accessible public transport system. Disabled people are facing a lot of challenges with regard to employment and quite a lot of other issues.
Marginalisation
A report on the place and status of disabled people in South African society was recently published, following research conducted at the University of Johannesburg. It showed that disabled people here are still considerably marginalised. Some of them are living in real poverty because they are not claiming benefits to which they may be entitled due to lack of awareness of their entitlement or even that the benefit exists.
While what the report says is, to a great extent, true and accurate - a lot of disabled people are denied fundamental human rights and it's also true that many of them will not be getting benefit which is due to them.
Opportunities for change are certainly there because in South Africa today we've got very good legislation like the Employment Act of 2008 which advocates for the employment of disabled people. So the opportunities are there, but the challenge is for government and companies both to demonstrate a commitment to the employment of disabled people. And they need to be willing to show that commitment by employing more disabled people. So for me it's to do with attitudes, we've got legislation, we've got a very good constitution, but companies are not observing it.
South Africa is a very diverse nation with lots of different racial and ethnic groups. To some extent this is reflected in the disabled people's movement. But disabled people's organisations tend more to be divided in terms of the services their members need. So people are more likely to group together according to their impairment and the types of support they'll need.
Alliance
We have the South African Disability Alliance. It's comprised of all these different organisations in the country coming together to speak with one voice, trying to develop a common agenda so that when we approach government we do so with one agenda and with one voice. From my point of view as a wheelchair user I'd say that life is not very accessible here. There are still too many places where I simply cannot get in with my wheelchair.
About 50 per cent of places are not very good like that. Maybe another 40 per cent are trying to get better, especially for people who live in cities. But it's still true that, as a wheelchair user, if I don't have a car, how can I travel to my workplace or to town without accessible public transport? I would hope that out of this World Cup would come, from the experiences of people visiting from other countries, something that this Government can learn from and perhaps come up with a pilot project which would then be used. Disability Now
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