OSCE-supported training on inclusive public transport for persons with disabilities in Tajikistan
A two-day training course for public transport employees to improve their understanding of persons with disabilities who use public transport was organized in Dushanbe on 29 and 30 November 2018. Marking the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the event was organized by the League of women with disabilities “Ishtirok” with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.
The course brought together 15 employees of transport authorities and representatives of disability rights organizations. The training sessions aimed to sensitize participants to disability, reduce prejudice, and enhance their knowledge of rights-based approaches to disability issues and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
During the practical component of the training, the participants learned to work with persons with disabilities at bus stations in Dushanbe. The state motor pool of Dushanbe supported the event by providing a bus with low entry and a ramp for wheelchair users.
“Thanks to this training course, both, persons with disabilities and bus drivers gained a deeper understanding of each other, and realized that they can work together to remove the existing barriers, ” said Sitora Kurbonova, Head of the Public Organization “Safoi Konibodom” and one of the trainers of the event. “We understood that it is not always the driver’s fault if they don’t stop where disabled persons can get on or off, or provide audio announcements for persons with poor sight. The next steps we can take together will be geared towards enabling a better access to public transport for persons with disabilities.”
Friederike Behr, Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, said: “The training helped to remove existing prejudices about disabled people in the community. This is no less important than the practical exercises we had.”
Similar trainings will be conducted in the cities of Khujand and Bokhtar in December 2018.