Wheelchair basketball to challenge negative perceptions of disability in Bangladesh

There are an estimated 16 million people with disabilities in Bangladesh, which is around 10% of the country's population. Access to education for people with disabilities is very limited in Bangladesh. This is because of improper physical infrastructure, lack of proper training among teachers, lack of appropriate teaching and learning materials and lack of assistive devices for both mobility and communications.

Due to the inaccessible construction of various establishments, the mobility of persons with disabilities is limited. This is an important contributor to the exclusion of people with disabilities from mainstream development activities. The issue of accessibility for persons with disabilities in buildings and public transport is still not recognised.

On 13 December 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which does not create any new rights for persons with disabilities, rather it recognises that they have the same human rights as any other person within the community and makes existing rights inclusive of, and accessible to, persons with disabilities. The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for all. 

Sports for Hope and Independence (SHI) uses sport as a gateway for people with disabilities to integrate with society. Sport empowers people with disabilities to challenge their comfort zones and to interact with people in their communities. It helps to reduce negative perceptions about disability as well as giving independence to people with disabilities. SHI started a wheelchair basketball programme to challenge social barriers by education, teaching different skills such as communication, peer activities and physical independence through basketball.