JAKARTA - Most public spaces in Indonesia remain hostile to people with disabilities, with no tactile paving on sidewalks, no elevators or wheelchair ramps at train stations, and no audible signals at pedestrian crossings to help blind people cross the street .
In the streets where there are blocks of handkerchiefs for the blind, street vendors or motorcycles often occupy them.
And for those who are visually impaired or in wheelchairs, rejection by employers is common, even though there is a law that guarantees equal rights to find work.
Ten people with disabilities, representing eight political parties, will contest the legislative elections on 14 February 2024, hoping to become one of the 580 parliamentarians aiming to change such a harsh reality.
In Indonesia, approximately 23 million people are disabled, which is 8.5% of the total population. According to the General Election Commission, around 1.1 million of them are eligible to vote at the polls.
At the moment, however, there is no MP with physical problems.
One of the ten candidates is Sikdam Hashim Gayo, co-founder of the Disabled Youth Center, an organization that advocates for the rights of people with disabilities in education, the workplace, healthcare and public services.
Hoping to represent voters in his home province of Aceh in Sumatra, he is supported by the United Development Party (UDP), an Islamic party.
Sikdam permanently lost his sight in a car accident in 2010, the same year he received a scholarship to pursue a communications degree in Japan.
His plan to study in Japan failed. For the next two years, he struggled to get into Jakarta University and instead attended the Open University.
“They rejected me because I'm blind. This situation is still ongoing," the 33-year-old told the Straits Times. “There is a stigma in Indonesia that if you are disabled (blind, deaf or in a wheelchair) you have to go to a special needs school and you can't go to a regular school of your choice."This is inequality in education."
Despite having a scientific qualification obtained abroad, which today is equivalent to a master's degree, and organizational skills complementary to his training, Mr. Sikdam was able to find a job.
“In my CV I didn't mention that I'm blind, I was invited for a job interview because of my difficult CV. But when I went to the interview they treated me badly. The interviewers were hostile and said it was difficult work, even if I believed in pretending they weren't."
He added: “Because I'm blind, they thought I couldn't do the job and felt uncomfortable about my condition.”
Sikdam received the 2014 Duke of Edinburgh International Award (a global youth development program promoting personal growth, leadership and community engagement) for his support in 2014. Now he wants to “fight” within the decision-making system to ensure that future policies in areas such as employment, education and health “take into account the interests of people with disabilities”.
“From what I have observed, discrimination occurs because people and governments do not understand or care about disabled people,” he said. If elected, he will encourage governors, regents, sub-district leaders and village heads to "open up to people with disabilities and pay attention to their problems."
