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2 - Disability Studies: A Disciplinary Overview
- Edited by Toyin Falola, Nic Hamel
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- Book:
- Disability in Africa
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 17 June 2021
- Print publication:
- 15 March 2021, pp 47-72
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- Chapter
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Summary
Currently an estimated 15 percent of the global population (or one billion people) are classified as having one or more disabilities, thus making those with disabilities the world's largest minority group. Common characterizations of disability tend to resemble that of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which define disability as “any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).” Under this view, a disability may affect a person's mental health, relationships of various kinds, hearing, thinking, vision, learning, movement, remembering, or communicating. Such definitions, typically referred to as pertaining to the “medical model,” have been roundly denounced by scholars and activists in disability studies (sometimes referred to as “critical disability theory”), for focusing too heavily on the body and mind while largely ignoring disability's various social dimensions. Alternatively, disability studies advocates for a primarily “socio-political-cultural” approach to the concept of disability. This often involves distinguishing between “impairments,” which are conditions that affect the body or mind, and “disabilities,” which are environmental conditions that affect the well-being of people who have (or are thought to have) impairments. Disability activists and scholars frequently emphasize the fluid, contingent, and temporal natures of disability, which are unavoidable for any individual, for long-term aging and exposure to basic life dangers will cause every individual to experience disability at some point. Consequently, before one encounters one's disability, one is often said to be merely “temporarily able-bodied.”
Early scholarship on disability studies adopted the medical/social distinction developed by the 1960s and 1970s activist movements in the United Kingdom and the United States, coining what is called the “social model.” Essentially, the social model makes the claim that disability is a social construction, and therefore when social barriers are removed and universal access is achieved, disability would cease to exist.
Conclusion: A Research Agenda for African Disability Studies
- Edited by Toyin Falola, Nic Hamel
-
- Book:
- Disability in Africa
- Published by:
- Boydell & Brewer
- Published online:
- 17 June 2021
- Print publication:
- 15 March 2021, pp 405-422
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
We will now summarize the current status of those with disabilities in Africa, with Kenya as a starting point, in order to determine how disability studies in Africa should progress. Kenya in particular is worth examining first because it is considered one of the more progressive African countries when it comes to disability recognition and disability rights. Yet, even so, there is notable room for progress. In 2009 the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in Kenya reported that among Kenyan students with disabilities, 90 percent either did not go to school or did not receive minimal accommodations for their needs. The year 2009 was the last time the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology released this report, which means that about a decade's worth of the most updated information on Kenyan children with disabilities is missing. It is vital to uncover the most recent statistics in order to understand any improvements that have been made and to calculate what further improvements are still needed. The dearth of information on disabled children in Kenya reflects a greater problem. Research on disability affecting both children and adults in low-income countries is scarce, which means that research on disability affecting those of all ages across the African continent overall is scarce.
This fact is startling, considering how prevalent disability is in the world and specifically in Africa. In 2011, the World Report on Disability reported that the number of people with disabilities in the world rises as the world population ages. According to the United Nations, in Africa alone there are about eighty million people who have some sort of disability, and this number is likely to increase over time. This makes it all the more essential to gather relevant statistics on disabled individuals, young and old, across the African continent so that the lives of future generations can be sustained and enhanced. It is incumbent upon individuals involved in the disability studies field to spread their influence and knowledge to Africa so that disabled Africans and their stories are no longer ignored.
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