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THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN HOW PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY IS PERCEIVED
1. CULTURAL MODELS OF DISABILITY
Culture and customs are known to play a crucial role in shaping the way disability is viewed and
managed within societies. Cohort has traditionally been defined in medical model as a problem
that is a result of the shortcomings of the individual’s physical or mental condition, and it is
society’s duty to correct the flawed person. However, in recent decades, the social model has
been popularized as it sought to explain that disability was not caused by the medical condition
per se but by barriers that labelled disability as inferior and then proceeded to limit and prejudice
individuals with disabilities. By shifting the attention to societal obstacles, it is possible to
explore how cultures create and address disability based on their cultural theories. For example,
the society may see disability as something regrettable or deserving of pity or even as a
punishment from the gods for wrongdoing. Furthermore, people with disabilities are subjected to
certain roles and expectation based on culture which may allow for greater integration into the
community or lack acceptance while others may deny some individuals with certain disabilities
their rights and opportunities especially the women and children. The appendix demonstrates that
cultural relativity in constructivist understandings of disability offers important knowledge about
the nature and eradication of marginalization and stigmatization. Disability is not merely a
product of a different body but of sociocultural values and systems; the focus of advancement is
on changing the fundamental social relations to be accessible and equitable instead of focusing
on medicalization. Campaigns for enhancing the quality of life for disabled persons and
eradicating prejudice also comprise social factors like culture in addition to material structures
including building construction, Information and communication technologies, health care and
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political economic models. Finally, cultural perceptions are the bedrock of culture practice and
institutions; changing conventional notions of disability and coming up with fresh novel
disability conceptual models will foster better policies and openings for people with disabilities
in society.
1.1. Western vs. non-Western perspectives on disability
Western culture has formerly adopted a medical model of disability which postulates that
disability is something wrong with the person and their body that requires correction. This may
be attributed to cultural standard where individualism, work, and the absence of disability are
perceived as ideal. On the other hand, many cultures from the non-western world including the
Asian, African and the Indigenous societies have a more social or even communal understanding
of disability. They are normally of a collectivist nature as people within a family or a certain
community are closely bound together. Disability is therefore viewed in the current society as a
normal state of affairs that needs to be embraced and accepted and not a state worthy of
eradication.
For instance, there is the Dagara tribe of West Africa that strongly holds the opinion that every
individual has talents and skills. An example of a weakness that may be advantageous is if a
person has no vision and yet he or she has good hearing and sense which may be helpful to the
community. This is in contrast with the Western paradigm where disability is defined as an
individual’s affliction which they need to be ‘fixed’ to become normal. Similarly in another
Oriental culture such as the Chinese culture, yin and yang view disability as a part of a
continuum of life. Thus, when it comes to the question of ability and disability, just like joy and
sadness, they are interlinked and cannot exist one without the other. It is such Eastern views that
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promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities as well as acceptance of their conditions rather
than attempting to change or even eliminate them.
In contrast, Indigenous cultures hold positive stories of creation where disability is a part of the
Indigenous people’s history and origin. It is crucial to emphasize that disability is inclusion and
difference, and not the absence and deficiency as is the case in the Western approach where
disability is viewed solely through the medical model. All in all, individualistic European frames
of reference, which locate disability as the concern or a burden of an impaired person, are
contrasted with the more collective, organic conceptions of non-European cultures that recognize
disability as a part of human diversity that should be attended to collectively. Some of the
cultural lenses are more positive than others, while some are negative, however, more awareness
and discussions on the different perspectives will result into more balanced, diverse cultural
views on disability internationally.
1.2. Religious and spiritual interpretations of disability
In the history and in most civilizations of the world religion and spirituality have played a part in
defining and or explaining disability in society. There are many beliefs about disability in
religious cultures and most of them classify disability as sin, punishment for sin, demonic
possessions, rebirth as a result of bad deeds in the past life or lack of faith. For instance, in those
societies that follow the Buddhist or Hindu religion, people have always believed that the
impairment is as a result of sins committed in the previous life. For some followers, it can
promote compassion towards individuals with disabilities because they are punished by
karma. The other religious perceptions present more positive attitudes, which inform the society
that everyone has the same divine value regardless of his or her disability. One such perspective
is delivered by Buddhism, which states that attaching oneself to the outer world and people is
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wrong, and instead, one should be compassionate. In some of the Eastern spiritual beliefs and
practices, some of the disabilities are believed to provide certain positive spiritual abilities or
even sacred powers that ordinary able-bodied individuals lack. Even within these faith groups
there are discrepancies regarding the interpretations of the various scriptures. Some Christians
have seen disability in one way as a sign of God’s punishment or as a sign of sin while others
emphasize on two aspects of faith that include that every human being is made in the image of
God and that the Lord Jesus loves and cherishes vulnerable persons. Previous studies revealed
that religiously endorsed positive attitude toward disability has a positive relationship with life
satisfaction among disabled persons. These examples suggest that religious beliefs in various
cultures play a very significant role in setting the agenda of disability, whereby it becomes a
stigmatized aspect in certain contexts and a source of power, better quality life in other contexts.
Sociologists argue that cultural acceptance of people with disability and tolerance to such a status
depends on the extent to which dominant beliefs or systems of beliefs from recognized religions
promote human rights, rejection of discrimination, affirmative blessings, spiritual gifts, or
blessings for the disabled.
1.3. Collectivist vs. individualist cultural approaches
Collectivist and individualist societies have different approaches to disability due to the
fundamental discrepancies of global perception. The collectivist cultures are evident in Asians,
African, and some parts of Europe where the worth of people is measured based on their ability
to fit into a community or a family. As a result, the lens through which disabilities are seen is
based on how they affect cohesiveness and productivity of the larger social group rather than the
subject’s shortcomings or differences. For instance, the native Asian concepts of disability are
considered shifts in terms of rights and duties or expectations and provisions. Whereas,
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collectivistic cultures of the West particularly America uphold the freedom of the self and their
accomplishments. Disability means someone’s bad luck or fate and while the term “Focus” might
be ambiguous, it is a reference to the difficulties that disabled people experience when trying to
live on their own in an ordinary community.
These diverging cultural paradigms result in contrasting perceptions concerning the entitlements,
responsibilities, and accommodations of disabled individuals. Collectivism entails resorting to
families as the primary care givers along with orthodox methods focusing on restoring harmony
between the physical, mental, and social aspects of the culture. This fact is closely connected
with breaking up the group solidarity. Promises focus on the delivery of supplies to families with
members who have disabilities. Whereas individualism ties disability to the notion of the
autonomy of the disabled person and the rights of non-discrimination. Government programs
provide specific personal adaptations or assistance to enable an individual to live more
independently and engage in a more active role in the community. It is important to understand
that there are always tradeoffs between community care and rights of disability that make
ongoing discussion and debates on the reform of disability policies at home and abroad.
Subculture significantly influences perceptions from medical perspectives with a focus on
‘healing’ of afflictions than social perspectives modifying situations to accommodate the
disabled in their productivity, understanding how various cultural construction of health,
community, and person impact disability policy is important to promoting culturally sensitive
and moral policies in diverse cultures.
1.4. Historical evolution of cultural disability models
The nature and approach to disabilities vary depending on the culture and the period of time.
This is where we see disability being associated with sin or as a sign of being punished by the
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gods. For example, it is believed from the biblical perspective that disability is a way of
punishment due to one’s sin. These religious and moral attitudes to disability endured for
centuries, which affected both, the social isolation of people with disabilities and their legal
oppression. In the eighteenth century, Europe’s advancement of the Age of Enlightenment led to
the change in attitudes about the disabled as an inherent biological abnormality and flaw. This
idea was further taken forward to the eugenics movement of the early part of the twentieth
century which aimed at eradicating disability by employing genetic isolation and forced
sterilization. On the other hand, the social model of disability developed in the 1960s defined
disability as the result of numerous restrictions stemming from societal, environmental, and
cultural factors rather than as a result of the medical condition. This reformulation led to the
disability rights movement around the world campaigning for integration and accessibility. More
recently, the cultural model has explored how disability identities and their experiences are
constituted through contextually specific cultural conceptions or ‘‘culturally informed disputes’’
concerning the body and self. In totality, dominant cultural paradigms of disability have shifted
through historical stages from sin to bodily pathology and more recently to difference that is
socially and culturally imposed. Documenting these transitions reveals how disability
conceptions emerge in and interact with broader cultural presuppositions and expectations for
disability as a constantly negotiated matter of social identity between personal agency and
structural constraints. An appreciation of this interdependency helps extant initiatives toward
constructing social models of disability and enabling inclusive societies.
1.5. Impact of colonialism on global disability perceptions
The colonization process has had a tremendous influence on the way people perceive disability
in different parts of the world. When Europeans began to enter and take over other societies in
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Asia, Africa, and the Americas during the 15th to 20th centuries, they also introduced and
instilled their European cultural attitudes towards impairments. These colonial notions ascribe to
disability a medical model approach as if disability is a flaw that is inherent in the disabled
person biologically and cognitively. Policies informed by this medicalized approach were
commonly formulated by colonial administrations with the aim of confining those deemed
aberrant and undesirable in segregated ‘asylums. Segregation also had its economically
motivated goal – it isolated disabled individuals from the working population. Such policies and
practices arising from colonial medical models not only perpetuated disabling attitudes in the
colonized populations, but also propagated the cultures of disabling belief systems and practices.
This is still observable in the current generation as many post-colonial states have adopted and
are yet to reform the disabilities policies that are full of medical model and its verdicts of
abnormality. However, policy was not the only way in which colonial legacy impacted disability
culture and identity. Pessimistic assumptions of physical, mental and moral predestination
rendered disabled individuals as corvids of social oblivion. Internalization of oppression became
the norm as dominated societies internalized colonial perceptions of the disabled and their place
in society. Disability, before colonialism has been existent, but colonial powers put new meaning
to disability which still exist today, although gradual progress toward pluralistic relativistic
models are made. There is still a cultural aspect of disablement that occurred during colonization
in the once colonized world. Change persistence is evident which complicates the reform
process.
2. CULTURAL VARIATIONS IN DISABILITY EXPERIENCES
Disability is a cross-cultural concept since it is experienced and perceived in diverse ways across
various societies. A culture which one culture may deem as a disability, other may not even
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perceive it as a disability but rather as a difference or even as strength. As the author of the
article Behuniak (2011) puts it, some people such as the Deaf community do not even consider
deaf people as disabled but as a disabled people community. First, the studies have shown that
there is a lot of variation between and within cultures about what the people consider as
impairment. Whereas western societies’ policies and perceptions of disability have been shaped
largely by medical and rights-based paradigms, other cultures have more collectivist and even
metaphysical, or even, fatalist orientations towards disability. In this aspect, family and
communal perceptions also present variability, some societies tend to view disability care as a
kind obligation of the family, while some cultures and societies perceive it as a personal or
societal concern. Such as, while the process of stigmatization and discrimination is evident in a
variety of cultural contexts, it also differs between them. It becomes possible to argue that in
order to gain a comprehensive understanding of what disability means around the world, one
needs to abandon Western ways of thinking about disability and understand how people with
disabilities and their communities understand disability and respond to it. All in all, the impact of
culture on raising a definition of disability and entailment that corresponds to the cultural
standard is highly significant, such cultural awareness of this diversity through the intercultural
interactions could be useful in further broadening perceptions and practices concerning the
disability for the future. It is one glimpse to be aware that there are many diverse disability
standpoints and norms across cultures and it is the insight for developing more tolerant and
socially inclusive conceptions of disability.
2.1. Family dynamics and caregiving across cultures
Families of disabled people have different patterns across cultures and systems for a managing
their relations. In contrast to WNFs that can offer care in a parent role or delegate it to
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professional caregivers, non-Western and collectivistic cultural norms draw on extended families
and communities. For instance, in Asian, African and South American society, grandparents,
aunts/uncles, cousins and even other neighbors are involved in care-related tasks (Smith, 2021).
These diverse caregiving networks administered responsibilities as well as monetary burdens
across generations in addition to offering psycho-social-emotional support. Also, the modern
society may perceive disability as a personal sin or a divine punishment while the more
traditional society sees disability as one’s destiny or karma (Patel, 2019). They understand such
cultural beliefs as being responsible for feelings of obligation or burden regarding caregiving
among families. The openness of visible disabilities also differs, and this affects both social
inclusion and feelings about the body throughout the life course across cultures. Moreover, the
availability of rehabilitation therapy, equipment, and educational aids also vary greatly across the
globe. While medical facilities in rural villages are inadequate or nonexistent in some cases,
urban municipalities are equipped with improved medical facilities. Hence the development of
secondary conditions which are also in many cases preventable, contributes to disabling families.
Because disability is associated with chronological age, births, deaths, and role changes in
families, a cultural group has a different demographic structure that will affect disability over the
life course than what is seen in Western nuclear families (Zhang, 2022). Lastly, it is also apparent
that differences in the family caregiving attitudes, prejudices, facilities, and demography are
significant across cultures, nevertheless, localized supports for the disability are highly important
for the quality of life and this asserts the fact that culture greatly influences disability.
2.2. Social inclusion and exclusion practices
Cultural perceptions and expectations towards individuals with disabilities are some of the most
powerful factors in as far as social integration or marginalization is concerned. Thus, the
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regularity or irregularity of the new-come body in society determines its acceptance or rejection
based on the prevailing societal norms or stigmatizing religious, medical, or moral beliefs about
the genesis of disability. Socio-cultural perception of disability: For instance, the Maasai people
of Kenya have a spiritual perception of disability as a testimony of one’s spiritual status; disabled
persons are accepted and even celebrated as being blessed by God. In contrast, Chinese
Confucianism has a medical model of disability where it was considered as an imbalance and as
a result it should be fixed to maintain order within society which led to exclusion. Modernization
does account for it; as Western biomedical ideas spread through the global community, spiritual
and religious rationales gradually recede to make way for medicalized perceptions that can lead
to exclusion by fixing solely on the ability to (pathologize in order to) normalize. Besides, it is
crucial to emphasize that the level of disability inclusion is defined not by the beliefs of people,
in/accessibility of the infrastructures and resources, and the availability of social services that
enable independence and community engagement. Physical barriers such as no wheelchair ramps
or information in the form of braille cuts individuals off from society. Mainstreaming policies,
employment quotas and other measures, schooling, easy access to transportation, recognition of
sign language and other institutional provisions help inclusion of disabled populations. Finally,
disability inclusion involves considering difference as a feature of life to be embraced rather than
a problem to solve, in personal and structural ways. Therefore, cultural, religious, political,
economic, and social factors are continuously engaged in constructing experiences of disability
over time as well as in the present through the multifaceted and embodied practice of inclusion
and exclusion. Combined these cultural processes assign or withhold from disabled people
dignity of having valued roles and the means by which they can assume membership in their
communities.
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2.3. Cultural attitudes towards independent living
This has been found that cultural perceptions on disability and independence greatly influence
the lives disabled people leading in different contexts. Studies show that cultures of collectivism,
present in Asia and South America, foster togetherness among family and community members
whereas cultures of individualism, common in American and Europe, encourage individualism
and self-reliance (Goodley 2014). First, these cultural paradigms shape the cultural rules
concerning independent living of disabled persons in society. For instance, in many non-Western
cultures, economically and physically depending on close relatives well into adulthood and even
beyond and continuing to live with parents are acceptable practices and are in fact expected
because of cultural obligations (Zhang 2015). But in neoliberal societies such as the U. S and the
U. K where policy objectives are towards independent living for disabled people as a result of
neoliberal self-reliance, the latter are seen as burdensome and dependent when they continue to
require care from other people (Pothier and Devlin 2006).
Furthermore, some studies indicate that some cultures consider disability a family affair for
which relatives must offer significant care as a normal thing, while other cultural perceptions of
disability as an individual misfortune or burden (Ingstad & Whyte, 2007). These beliefs
regarding whether management of impairment should be a shared family and community venture
or an individual’s obligation inform norms and independence for the disabled. In the end, culture
proves to be a driver of diverse independence orientations, accessibility of social support, and
everyday reality for disabled individuals based on the context. Onward the cultural differences
awareness enables a better comprehension of disability across the globe.
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2.4. Gender and disability in different cultural contexts
Sex plays a vital role to determine how disability is perceived and how the disable persons feel
or experience in different cultures. Disabled women in many developing countries are usually
subjected to unfair treatment on both gender and disability grounds. Sometimes they do not have
an opportunity to receive rehabilitation, medical treatment and get education as it is possible to
disabled men. Also, women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse and experiences
exclusion. For instance, in some of the parts of Asia and Africa, people believed in karma or
other supernatural cause of disability, which make families and communities look at a disabled
female child as a punishment. This stigma denies the disabled girl her rights to education and
denies her the basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care that is often lacking in the
developing world.
However, some cultures are equal in providing care for the disabled and the women are as well
involved in providing care for the disabled in the community. For instance, regarding tribal
members with disabilities, women and men both participate in taking care of those individuals
that require assistance through integration into the tribe. Furthermore, it is important to note that
some Islamic cultures have their legal and religious obligations as regards disabled persons
regardless of their sex that includes charity. But the women in such cultures still have some
issues in terms of resource mobilization which are mostly accessed through male influenced
family mechanisms. Further, there are some cultures in some countries that disallow disabled
women to be married through arranged marriage systems mainly because of the negative
perception towards persons with disabilities compounded by gender inequalities.
It can be ascertained that there is always some correlation between disability status and notions
of gender capability across cultures. Despite the contemporary global disability rights initiatives
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that have sought to fill the gaps for disabled girls and women, they can still do better. Again,
understanding the variability in disability according to gender and culture may help policy
makers create helpful assistance programs and anti-discrimination legislation to offer disabled
people equal chances with reference to cultural aspects. Therefore, it is crucial that future
disability scholarship provides a greater focus on disabled women and their cultural experiences
so as to fill knowledge gaps that stem from the lack of such first-hand perspectives.
2.5. Cultural influences on self-perception of disabled individuals
Erikson basic assumption that an individual develops a sense of self or identity from the culture
and the society in which they grow up from. The above-stated impact might be well illustrated
when considering the ways in which people with disabilities perceive and construct their identity
in various cultures. In cultures such as in China and Japan, the importance of collective rather
than individual is put forward, and the disabled people are in a constant state of thinking that
they are a burden to society or do not have their purpose in their community. For instance, Liao
(2021) conducted a study where Chinese wheelchair users were asked questions about their
experiences of feeling that they are a burden to their families; over three-quarters of the
participants felt like they were a burden to their families at least sometimes, and these feelings
harmed their self-esteem. On the other hand, the collectivistic culture in the West perpetuates the
‘rags to riches’ narrative and erases disabled identities through forcing upon them the belief that
disability must be fought at all costs and that it is a condition that needs to be eradicated. In his
article, Davis (2019) points out that this focus on normalcy set by the abler-bodied persons
discriminates and isolates people with lifelong or non-curable disabilities, thus contributing to
the elevated levels of emotional suffering and self-loathing. They also have a pronounced impact
on perceptions due to some religions’ attitudes toward disability, perceiving it as a punishment
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for sins or some sort of moral transgression. Interviews conducted by Gupta (2020) established
that disabled Indian youths raised in Hindu families developed severe feelings of guilt and the
belief that they deserved whatever befell them as a result of their past actions, hence having a
negative impact on their psychological image. Of course, the emphasis of disability studies is
warranted, as the social model explores systemic oppression and exclusion better than the
medical model; however, these cultural discourses that disabled people internalize from within
their communities – burden, overcoming, divine retribution – meaning-making processes that
occur at the individual level within disabled communities profoundly affect wellbeing and should
not be ignored when building a just, inclusive world. The focus should be drawn to how certain
cultural factors such as individualism/collectivism, attitudes toward adversity/suffering or
religion can either have a positive or negative impact on the perceptions of disability of disabled
individuals. This indicates that the knowledge is beyond simple disability models in that it
captures cultural difference in disability.
3. CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN DISABILITY SERVICES
Cultural competence in disability services involves an ability to comprehend how different
cultures conceive disability and how they respond to it. Disability has different meanings to
different cultures, while some cultures perceive disability as the result of sin or moral
transgression, to other culture it is expected outcome of the variety of human experience. It is
important to note that these cultural perceptions determine the extent to which disability is
accepted or accommodated within a particular culture. Disability service providers, who wish to
employ a culturally sensitive approach, need to grasp the above interdependency of culture and
disability.
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They have to realize the cultural bias that they carry with them in terms of disability as it pertains
to the cultural values and practices the culture they originate from. This cultural self-
ethnopharmacology helps them effectively differentiate between their cultural frameworks and
the requirements of different culture consumers. Another aspect of cultural competence is
intentionally growing in cultural awareness of disability perspectives and experiences of other
cultural groups one may come across while designing and delivering services. This can be done
by conducting focus group interviews people with disabilities of different cultural backgrounds
and asking them about their experiences at the cultural-disability intersections. Also, cultural
competence involves the ability to adapt the policies, and the method of program
implementation, based on cultural inclinations in disability. This may include the use of materials
for disabled people to communicate in other forms, having services with regard to cultural
differences, and working with the cultural representatives of that community to ensure that the
service is more pertinent.
3.1. Culturally responsive healthcare and rehabilitation
This has placed the need for healthcare and rehabilitation providers to embrace cultural
competence in disability services; the process of appreciating and being sensitive to cultural
differences and diversity when responding to the needs of people with disabilities. Culture is an
important aspect because it determines expectations on health issues, and perceptions of healing,
physical disability or other forms of incapability, as well as attitudes towards physical therapies.
They respect the diverse cultural beliefs of the disabled since culture influences people’s
perception of why disability occurs and how it should be managed. For instance, some Latino
families may consider disability as destiny or spiritual sin and prefer to consult traditional
healers, so practitioners should incorporate community health workers to overcome linguistic
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barriers if any. Professionals should also appreciate cultural perceptions about touch, feeding,
reporting pain, interdependent and family roles in providing care, as well as prejudices or
discriminations arising from disability. Specifically, the comprehensive support and rehab
therapies should be designed to address language, transportation, work, and other constraints that
may limit access to minority cultural groups. It also includes teaching clients and families how to
manage any increased stigma they would have to bear in their culture in relation to disability.
This is best done gently and using appropriate language to talk about culture-specific ways of
coping and sources of support that strengthen self-esteem and feelings of worth. Scholarly
literature also indicates that culturally appropriate treatment in rehab is more likely to produce
lasting functional enhancement, as treatment strategies accommodate cultural attitudes towards
disability, mobility, family, and community reintegration, understanding how culture influences
perception towards disability and how this can be addressed in offering services and support
interventions is core in the provision of disability services.
3.2. Adapting educational support for diverse populations
Students with disabilities are as diverse demographically as are students without, in terms of
culture, SES, or interest and values, and as varied in types and degrees of disability. One of these
issues is the fact that students with learning disabilities are incredibly diverse, and educators
must address this reality to ensure these individuals are included and supported. For instance, if
the cultural norm of the students’ origin is to avoid or disregard disability, they may need
reassurance when adjustments are made to them, while, on the other hand, students whose
cultural values focus on interdependence, as opposed to independence, may need peer-modifiers
and group exercises. Those learners with disability who come from low-income families may not
be able to afford expensive learning technologies or pay for the assessments, and therefore these
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should be made affordable and the assessments should be done within certain flexible time.
Individuals who experience significant difficulties in communication or behavior require
augmentative and alternative communication, and positive behavior interventions and supports
during teaching. While it is helpful to have specific individual learning plans provided that
specify what kind of accommodations are reasonable, having the student involved in unique
development of these plans enhances self-advocacy crucial for transition. However, beyond these
course syllabi, instructors need professional development in UDL and differentiation to modify
daily, weekly, and unit lesson formats, content, and pacing continuously, for all students, with
little to no accommodations altering expectations. The progress of students and consultants with
families and various specialists guarantees the changes that occur in the development of students’
capacities and difficulties correspond to the current conditions. Appropriate, specific,
meaningful, and systemic educational accommodations are empowering, so that diverse students
with disabilities can have academic and social outcomes that reflect assets rather than a focus on
their areas of need.
3.3. Cultural considerations in assistive technology design
The use of assistive technologies remains supportive in improving the quality of life and personal
autonomy of individuals with disabilities regardless of the culture. However, the importance of
the cultural perspective cannot be underestimated because today there is a tendency to develop
assistive technologies for people with disabilities regardless of their cultural background, which
basically does not take into account the individual characteristics of people of different cultures.
CC-AT takes into account factors such as cultural perceptions of disability, cultural and legal
requirements for the provision of access, economic capital, available support, mode of
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communication, physical and geographical context and beliefs about spirituality within that
cultural group regarding the experiences of disability and using technology.
For instance, prejudice views of disability may lead to the perception of mobility and other such
aids as shameful symbols of impairment instead of essential addendums for enhanced
functioning. If one feels shameful to use hearing aid or cane in a culture, then people will reject
such assistive technologies. It is also important to consider other barriers such as accessibility
codes in public buildings, cost of technologies, culturally relevant social support structures,
bowing as opposed to handshakes, hilly rural areas as opposed to sidewalks in urban areas, and
spiritual beliefs, whereby disability is seen as punishment for past sins, as opposed to a blessing
from God, that affect the utilization of assistive devices. Engaging in cross cultural consultation
approach is helpful in availing necessary input to the assistive technology designers by outlining
the culturally specific factors that might have an impact on the accommodation of disability.
From developing screen-reader software to creating an alternative keyboard or wheelchairs,
incorporating the end-users’ experience rather than the Westernization of disability studies allows
for technologies that can emancipate rather than perpetuate disabled communities across the
globe with different cultural experiences. Awareness of disability as a diverse and complex
human phenomenon that is developed based on various sociocultural factors facilitates the design
of assistive solutions that are culturally sensitive and address the community’s values, practices,
requirements, and expectations.
3.4. Language and communication in cross-cultural disability work
It is therefore important to understand that there are language and communication barriers which
if encountered when working in the disability field across cultures are very detrimental.
Disability related terms and ideas do not fit easily into different languages and cultural contexts.
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For instance, the word “disability” in English language and the disability definition of medical
model prevalent in Western countries have no literal translation and similar connotations in many
other global languages and cultures. Such language differences complicate the process of
meaningful and effective exchange of information regarding disability between and across two
cultures. In addition to terms, ways of interacting with people with disabilities, as well as the
existing patterns of communication regarding them, differ between cultures. In some cultures,
individuals are encouraged to speak when they have a problem, in other cultures disability is
considered a family issue that is not to be discussed. Indirect communications with very little
content conveyed verbally and much content implied by paraverbal and nonverbal cues exist in
some cultures while direct messages exist in other cultures.
Cultural misinterpretation, cultural transcendent translations, and nonverbal communication also
lead to barriers to disability advocacy and services across the world. Impoliteness norms, face
saving and the use of directness of the language, in as much as they are a function of the culture
also play a role in influencing cross cultural communication about disability. Ideally, managing
these various communication and language disparities is highly sensitive and requires keen
consideration to the disability organizations internationally and the development workers.
Culturally competent practice involves awareness and recognition of cultural differences in
disability of language and communication, and the conceptualization of disability. There needs to
be discussions, capacity building through training reciprocal to the disability frameworks’
construction, and constant self-reflexivity about the colonialism inherent in the Western
disability knowledge systems which are dominant in the current global models and
terminologies, understanding and accepting different forms and manners of communication
allows for better multicultural and inclusive disability engagement worldwide.
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3.5. Training professionals for cultural competence in disability services
Many people with disabilities face discrimination, prejudice, and barriers in accessing services
due to their diverse cultural backgrounds, and thus, it is critical to ensure that provider trainings
for health care professionals, therapists, social workers, and other related care givers are
culturally sensitive to achieve effective communication and provision of culturally appropriate
and quality services. Cultural competence training provides providers with knowledge and
authority to address issues of diversity and in particular disability within cultures. Features of
such training include an overview of the effects that culture has on the perceptions of disability
as well as disability prejudice; an appreciation of how culture interacts with other aspects of
diversity including race, color, language, religion, gender and sexual orientation; techniques that
enable practitioners to self-reflect on their own culture and the biases it brings in the disability
context and approaches that provide tangible ways of delivering culturally competent disability
assessments, management plans, adaptations, and It is also helpful to make use of role play, case
studies, and group discussion in which providers are encouraged to consider how they might
address disabled persons and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. Altogether, cultural
competence training that is comprehensive and sustained empowers disability service
professionals to appreciate biases that hinder diverse groups from receiving care and remedial
structural bias within healthcare organizations, establish rapport with patients, and hence, make
precise assessments of patients’ conditions, integrate patients’ cultural belief systems about
health into treatment regimens, and help those with disability in the context of their cultures.
Preparing care providers to support disabled people in a culturally conscious, self-aware and
sensitive way is thus crucial in view of rising diversity within communities, documented
disparities of ethnic minorities with disability, and core principles of disability services to ensure
that disabled people of all backgrounds lead meaningful lives.
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4. CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON DISABILITY POLICY AND LAW
The roles culture as well as norms play a significant role in a society shaping and determining its
perception and treatment of disabled individuals. Depending on a society’s cultural model of
disability, it determines the perception of disabled persons in society, and thus affect the
formulation and implementation of policies, policies, laws, programs, and facilities in relation to
disability rights. Collectivist cultures like China and Japan have perceived disability as
something undeserving of pity, requiring charitable help, and most importantly cared for by the
family or the community. But as these societies continue to become more modern, cultural
changes which promote self-reliance, and utility of an individual bring about the change in
attitude towards disability towards concepts such as independence, productivity and integration.
On the other hand, liberal Western countries have developed disability politics and anti-
discrimination legislation that focus on independence, universal access and integration but
prejudice, discrimination and segregation remain a reality for some forms of disability. Culture
also plays a big role in disability in the perceptions of culture – karma and rebirth view as
presented in the Hindu and Buddhist religions for instance may find a religious explanation for
disability thus affecting social acceptance. A survey of the anthropological studies indicates a
wide variation in cultures and sub-cultures regarding beliefs associated with disability such as
disability being as a curse or punishment to disability as a sign of distinction. Such beliefs result
to feelings and treatment of disabled persons in the community, therefore cultivating society’s
subliminal acceptance of exclusion or enabling. Because of globalization the domestic and
international categories are somewhat overlapped and therefore require one common platform
UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities in order to set standard for common
policies, to define the policy dialogues and to foster the discursive change towards non-
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discrimination of persons with the disability. Finally, in a world where cultures are becoming
more diverse, diversity training and public education shape the cultural perceptions of disability.
4.1. Comparative analysis of disability rights legislation
This type of legislation also differs greatly depending on cultural and national frameworks for
the disabled. Many scholars have compared their findings that aim to explain how cultural
factors influence the various countries’ policies on disability laws and policies. For example,
Bickenbach (2013) compared the disability legislation in the United States that have provisions
based on the civil rights and non discrimination with several European and Asian countries
where the emphasis of policy was on the entitlement and benefits. He explained that what
America practices represents the civil libertarian culture based on individualism, self-reliance,
and choice; on the other hand, social welfare is the collectivist culture, which aims at justice and
protection of the weaker sections. Besides, there are cultural and religious dimensions
concerning disability. Campbell (2009) carried out research in India, and looking at Hindu
culture, the beliefs about karma lead to the idea that a person is disabled due to his or her sins.
Therefore, the Indian policies that existed before were more focused on charity rather than
empowering and providing equality to the females. However, as Dalal stated (2006), India has
attempted to move toward a human rights approach to disability legislation due to the global
pressure that forces the country to align with the international norms. Such examples show that,
although certain patterns can be identified, classification of national disability policy frameworks
based on rather crude cultural dichotomy is likely to lead to gross oversimplification. The actual
efficiency of the policies, as well as the comparison of rights, also matters alongside the
protection of the rights as provided by the constitution and the existing laws. Mansell and
Beadle-Brown (2005) also pointed out in their multinational comparison of reforms that an
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actual procedure of turning policy ideas into practice that would encompass disabled people’s
inclusion and integration is highly contingent upon the issues of grassroots implementation and
accessibility hurdles, suggesting that the works beyond the acts are crucial for understanding the
subject, again underlining the need for complexity in analysis. Disability scholars have also
begun to better understand that in today’s global environment of transnational legal and norm
borrowing, it is not possible and never was to fully view the approach to disability in any
particular country as exclusively culturally determined.
4.2. Cultural barriers to implementing international conventions
There are numerous cultural factors which can pose a challenge to the application of
international disability rights conventions across the nations/ cultures. The first major
consideration is the much more fluid and diverse cultural perceptions of disability across the
world. For example there are cultures where they believe that disability requires medical
attention or intervention in contrast to cultures that view disability through the human rights lens
and inclusion of people with disability. These differences cause a very different policy and law
views, which makes it impossible to adopt some certain conventions. There are also culture
beliefs as well that have negative perception arising from disability that goes against the general
principles of the modern human rights law; such as disability being a result of sin or punishment
from gods. However, collectivist cultures that engage primacy of social duty over that of the
rights of the person may have a conflict with the rights-based perspective of most of the global
disability policies. There may also be some clashes of beliefs and values in some religious areas
concerning issues such as integrated schooling, employment opportunities for people with
disabilities, and right to independent living for disabled. Bench, cultural beliefs on disability and
equity, gender and age, and perception of fairness may also contribute to societal barriers to
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implementing equity-based disability conventions. Some of the conventions are even based on
the liberal democratic value systems which remain dominant in most conventions are even the
product of the western developed culture. To overcome such culturally entrenched barriers,
litigants, lawyers, activists, and courts need to develop consciousness, engage in more
discussions, and employ a contextualized approach that balances best practices with cultural
sensibilities, the variation in rights and protection worldwide means that there is a need to make
changes globally so that there is consistency in the conventions; however, the overall attainment
of these goals depends on the willingness of the countries to question their conventional practices
and beliefs where necessary.
4.3. Indigenous rights and disability policy
Collective Indigenous identity also entails certain cultural attitudes towards disability, and view
of the world that influences indigenous people’s perception of disability and policy preferences.
For example, as Behrendt highlights, while a ‘social model’ of disability is now embraced by the
majority of Indigenous Australians, this is still a long ways off from the narrow Western ‘medical
model’, which construes disability as something inside a person that needs to be ‘cured’
(Behrendt, 2019). This is in contrast to the more popular approaches to knowledge that are of
biomedical origins, rooted in Western culture. In the same way, indigenous conceptions of
dependency or reciprocity bear with extended family care rather than Western self-actualization
and autonomy concepts in disability policy paradigms (Meekosha, 2011). Thus, we have the
tension between the right to self-governance in disability policies and rights within Indigenous
populations versus homogenization across these populations. For example, the National
Disability Insurance Scheme currently being implemented in Australia still seeks to establish
equality through a universal approach that undermines Indigenous collective decision-making
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and caregiving options as identified by Carey et al. (2017). Similarly, despite various Indigenous
subgroups obtaining self-governance rights in the U. S., Canada, and other countries, critics
observe that Indigenous sovereignty over disability policies and programs that reflect cultural
voices remains partially compromised (Weaver, 2015). There are also ongoing policy discussions
on whether Indigenous traditional healing and spirituality in the context of disability should be
funded or not, or when the proper Western scientific evidence and evidence-based biomedical
interventions only should be provided (Mundel and Chapman, 2010). Therefore, the tension
between the universality of disability rights and standards and recognition of Indigenous peoples’
rights and cultural experiences of disability remains a persistent issue across the numerous
nations and political bodies. Development needs to happen by overcoming this duality and it has
to be done so from a post-colonial standpoint that recognizes community and individuality.
4.4. Cultural relativism vs. universal human rights in disability advocacy
A conflict lies between cultural relativism that emphasizes that culture determines how one
makes sense of disability and humanity and universalism that postulates that some rights are
universal and therefore should apply to everyone, regardless of the culture. This is the reason that
disability advocates and policymakers who wish to assist the disabled in claiming their rights and
being integrated into society face this dilemma. On one hand, both the cultural relativist view is
used to claim that there is no reason to impose extrinsic definitions of disability and rights to
those cultures that have different notions of what it means to be disabled and to have rights.
However, culturally-specific theory of understanding disability and beliefs about it, should be
respected and valued. However, some critics say that if cultural relativism is taken to its extreme
then, cultural prejudice and continued violation of rights in the name of culture is given
endorsement. On the other hand, the cultural relativism theory argues that people with disabilities
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in different cultures should enjoy rights that are peculiar to their culture while the universal
human rights approach posits that people with disabilities in different countries of the world have
some rights that cut across all cultures such as the right to life, freedom, education, work, access,
and participation in their communities and societies. Nevertheless, the notion of universal
disability rights poses a danger of marginalizing or deprioritizing locally relevant conceptions of
community, personhood, normative standards, and self-governance. This is a dilemma that is
familiar to most of the modern disability rights advocacy movements – domestic or international
– and it strives for the recognition of the basic human rights and integration of the ODI while
also respecting cultural differences as to how disability is perceived and addressed in the
different cultures of the world. It is therefore crucial for the two camps to engage in a continuous
thoughtful discussion in order to bring forward policies and practices to support the disability
rights cause in culturally sensitive ways.
4.5. Impact of cultural norms on workplace accommodations
A sensible disability policy and compensation for legal rights at the workplace is influenced by
cultural beliefs and values. The study shows that the cultural beliefs, values and perceived
knowledge about disability – religion, folklore, history or mass media shape a perception about
really needed and reasonable adjustments at work. For example, there are cultures that believe in
disability as a punishment from the gods or fate and therefore there is little incentive for change
in laws or accommodation of disability in the workplace. Other evidence adducing cultural
beliefs that associate efficiency, employability and autonomy of labor with human worthiness
contribute to workplace rigidity and exclusion. Furthermore, it emerges that prevailing media
representations that construe disability in terms of biomedical pathologies instead of difference,
shape cultural expectations that impact organizational design priorities based on the able-body
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norm. These factors make some minority historical and cultural views sensitive to integration of
disabled workers into the workplace while mainstream cultural norms present barriers to equal
employment opportunities using rigid definition of normality or skewed organic function
perspectives incongruent with disability rights provisions. Certain studies compare the oriental
otherworldly religiosity promoting accommodation ethic to the occidental positivist industrial
worldview in crisis over its ability to meet the emerging policy regimes that champion workplace
diversity. Sustained cultural factors like these highlight how appropriate regulation, descriptive
customary practice, and new ideas that have not yet been put into practice if disability
employment disparities, which continue regardless of legislation, are to be addressed in the
future through culturally sensitive policy adjustments and context-specific solutions adopted at
the community level.
5. CROSS-CULTURAL DISABILITY ADVOCACY STRATEGIES
Peculiarities of disability perceptions are different in various cultures because it depends on the
given society’s norms, values, and beliefs. Since culture is a significant factor, strategies for
advocacy to improve the rights of people with disabilities should consider this aspect. An
optimum approach to public health interventions largely depends on the cultural environment of
the target population; therefore, a standardized approach may be counterproductive or simply
less effective. Disability advocacy across cultures then should start with a process of listening in
order to appreciate community perceptions and voices. Engaging locally based Disabled Persons
Organizations and leadership facilitates understanding of the contextual dynamics and fostering
of solutions from the ground up. Public awareness and messaging campaigns should therefore
use real life accounts of disabled persons; this is a way of advocating for the disabled and
making disability more personal. At the same time, advocates can learn and use culture that is
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compatible with the key concepts such as equality, dignity and interdependence. Disability
marginalization might be due to culture’s focus on the weak and incapacitated; this focus’s
organization can be enlisted towards disability’s part. They should also include other priorities of
advocacy agendas which will include but not limited to; poverty, health and education as
perceived by disabled persons. Having tangible results to prove that such actions can bring
positive changes and victories inspire more communities to participate in such endeavors against
prejudice and exclusion. Across the book, self-reflexivity is vital for advocates, as it addresses
the cultural bias of the authors and acknowledges the various forms of diversity within the
disability populations. Not all the PWDs share the tenets of the rights-based approach; there are
those who only want access and aid. Applying anti-paternalism approach ensures disabled
persons are empowered as leaders and partners in the advocacy that reflects their regional
perspective and worldview. Gains may seem modest initially but Accumulate towards the
ultimate vision: a world where all disabled persons are given full opportunities to live a dignified
life and are well-integrated into society. The path is marked by the need for perseverance,
understanding of culture-sensitive and political aspects of disability movements and their
incremental construction based on culturally sensitive foundations.
5.1. Building global coalitions and networks
Establishing relationships and collaboration with other actors is crucial for ensuring progress
toward disability rights internationally. Likely, they can find people with disabilities and their
counterparts from all over the world struggling with the same issues as accessibility,
discrimination, quality of life, etc. However, there is a cross-cultural perspective towards
disability and the way people with the mentioned disorders are treated all over the world. It is
equally important to appreciate these differences and also to find out commonalities that different
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culture encounter. International disability activism involves actively engaging in formation of
cross- disability solidarity, globalization and internationalism that acknowledges the specificity
and the shared experiences of people with disability.
These global partnerships foster cooperation, sharing of information and supporting of
marginalized voices. For instance, the International Disability Alliance is an umbrella
organization that comprises eight organizations international and six organizations regional, in
lobbying for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This
diverse view is helpful in policy recommendations and campaigns as it improves the overall
arguments. International and regional meetings are other ways used to foster united approaches
and messages that are to be taken forward. Regarding the link between disability and other social
justice issues, participants develop cross-cultural familiarity. They assist in changing the
perspective of disability as a major human rights and development issue that aligns with other
larger global processes such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.
Cross-border networks assist disability communities in coming together across a disabled/non-
disabled divide in order to enhance political power and voice. Understanding the role of cultural
identity in the advocacy process relates to how coalitions are built and where common interests
and agendas in identity activism may be found from the grassroots to policy change, it is
imperative to emphasize the importance of the international cooperation to eliminate the
remaining prejudices and erroneous perception of individuals’ potential, which hinders equal
rights and opportunities.
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5.2. Culturally sensitive awareness campaigns
There is a need to initiate culturally sensitive awareness people across the nations in order to
enhance the cause of disability across diverse cultures. Targeted campaigns need to positively
align with cultural perceptions and practices, knowledge, or established patterns in the targeted
communities in order to foster changes in attitude and behavior. For example, collectivist culture
is founded on the premise of interdependence, and the ability to maintain group unity as opposed
to being independent and unique. Thus while campaigns in these contexts should advocate for
disability rights, they should do so in a way that encourages the potential for all the members of a
community to be able to participate and contribute fully rather than making it seem like the
potentiality of one is in direct opposition to the potentiality of the other. Likewise, awareness
campaigns should consider how various cultures modalities of disability exist and the systems
that excluded them. Possible advertising appeals that could be used for countries with high levels
of medicalization could include using positive imagery of disability while at the same time
refraining from using words such as ‘curing’ people which have negative connotations.
Campaigns are better understood in more social or religious definitions by showing people with
disabilities as part of the community, actively engaging in rites that provide the acceptance of
narrow society. In general, global cross-cultural campaigns should have some common features
but also certain elements that will reflect the culture of the people targeted. Because of this, it is
always possible to find supporters for the cause of universal human rights by appealing to their
sense of common values such as dignity justice and compassion. Linking these with culturally
related practices in the local environment enhances relevance. Campaigns also need to be
originated from the local communities, ensure that maximum disabled people are involved and
give the cultural locals the control over campaigns. This approach of organizing within the
community can be effective in that it avoids external groups to prescribe their own construction
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of disability and advocacy. Effective and sustainable cross-cultural campaigns are not established
but develop out of the interaction between the human rights and disability rhetoric on one hand
and the living cultures of disability on the other hand. This makes it possible for long term
radical attitude and social transformation to be actualized.
5.3. Addressing cultural stigma and taboos
Lack of information, misconceptions and fear are some of the reasons people with disabilities
face cultural taboos. Since the disabled group is a cultural minority, prospects on eradicating
stigma through advocacy must consider isolation, healthcare, and education complications
together with abuse and prejudice experienced by disabled persons. The fundamentals of cross-
cultural advocacy include building a culturally anchored partnership with those in the community
to enhance understanding of cultural perception, culturally grounded needs assessment among
specialized disabled population and culturally sensitive awareness campaigns.
A cross-sectional study conducted in 2020 on disability stigma in rural Vietnam created profound
stigma concerning karma and reincarnation ideas that perceive disability as a retribution for sins
in the previous life. Hearing-impaired and other disability rights activists collaborated with
Buddhist leaders to develop posters and other materials that provide fundamental messages about
rights and equality in line with Buddhist teachings. Outreach activities also empowered
healthcare workers from the minority hill-tribe to conduct need assessments on building more
structures and facilities in the region for the disabled. Gradually, people to people contact made
change possible by defining disability rights as a fight for the sanctity of life as opposed to the
propagation of an anti-cultures.
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The dynamics of stigma’s effects shift with cultural antecedents and predispositions across
cultures, such a complex and community-oriented approach enables, the queer disabled of color
to spearhead transformative consciousness-raising movements grounded in cultural
experiences. This shows that efforts to de-stigmatize go a long way in creating awareness on the
importance of providing equal opportunities to everyone while at the same time respecting their
dignity and potential. By continuing to fight and campaigning on the issues, the prejudice and
discriminations preventing the disabled from having a better life can be abolished.
5.4. Empowering local leaders in disability movements
It is crucial hence to promote disability advocacy by helping the culturally-disadvantaged groups
of people to spearhead the campaigns. Local leaders indeed possess deeper insight of the
impairments or access problems in their own contexts. They can use insider cultural knowledge
to define advocacy priorities and determine which targets will have the most significant
impact. Some of the recommendations that can be gleaned from cross-cultural organizing studies
include the fact that attempts at local organizing by persons of the locality are more effective
than those organized by groups from the global North in terms of sustainability and social
uptake. For instance, Equal Community Foundation for disabled self-advocacy groups in East
Asia that aims to empower people with intellectual disability in Taiwan and Japan have shaped
new discourses for independent living and neurodiversity. These emergent disability culture
movements decry the medicalization of intellectual disability as an unfortunate and hopeless
private misfortune rather than as a variation of human variation. The type of advocacy for people
with disabilities that they promote is not cure or rehabilitation but rather choice and control.
Despite this, the least that locally led initiatives may experience challenges in terms of capacity
or financing, but in such cases, ethical collaborations with other international organizations are
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needed. The disability and human rights organizations in the global North countries can provide
technical knowledge in the process of legal policymaking, funding strategies, and evaluation of
impact to support the indigenous disability rights struggles. It is all about the decentralization of
decision-making for the sake of advocacy agendas to reflect local concerns rather than
assumptions by external actors. The question of post-colonial power dynamics sensitivity has a
lot of importance. The least damaging cross-cultural relationships allow Southern partners to get
new inputs while not costing them their independency or contingency.
5.5. Balancing cultural preservation with disability rights advancement
The tensions between the cultural aspects in maintaining the cultural beliefs and practice while at
the same time seeking to promote human rights and equality for the disabled in other cultures
present a unique set of issue. On one hand, the disability rights movement brings into focus
values that are constructive, otherwise of equality, non-discrimination and full participation in
society which is in contrast with cultural values that socially exclude disabled persons. However,
bringing dramatic changes in some cultures without reference to other cultures’ norms results in
rejection and does not bring changes of belief. Advocates must walk this fine line of getting
people to understand and accept these new ideas while also recognizing the cultural reasoning
that underlies society’s views and identifying which new strategies fit into a shared set of
principles. For instance, the social sharing need which is at the core of most societies can be an
intervention point to enhance dependency and resources for PWDs within cultural and disability
rights frameworks. In the same manner as the purpose God assigns to one whom He created or
karma that may contribute to stigma, the process of redefinition can be employed to find a new
meaning and new roles for disabled people in a community that will not marginalize them but
will use traditions. More importantly, everyone has to be willing to open up and move beyond
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working in isolation to have a discussion on what the common goal should be. Where there are
tensions, gradualism would appear most helpful to avoid complete rejection of human rights
ideas as cultures change through internal social gradualism across generations. In the end, it is
about listening, respecting cultural and disability difference, and understanding how cultural and
disability identity can be used to build systemic change from within rather than having change
imposed from the outside.
