Parents of children with disabilities held a picket in front of the White House in Bishkek. They demanded to recognize the labour of mothers caring for a child with disability and to increase the amount of social allowances.
«Mother is mainly involved in the upbringing of a child, so she cannot work and will not be able to receive a pension in the future. A parent, who has dedicated herself to a «special» child, vitally needs support of the state in the form of payment for parental labor. Parents of children with disabilities and civil society activists have been promoting the idea for more than 15 years!» the organizers of the picket stressed.
Families with children with disabilities as a rule belong to one of the most vulnerable and unprotected groups of the population. According to the polls of the Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities, more than a half of children with disabilities practically never go outside. More than eighty percent of mothers do not have regular work, and in more than a half of the cases, fathers, the main breadwinners, leave their families forever. Many families survive thanks to children’s disability allowances.
«The Constitution has the principle of priority of the most vulnerable. Children with disabilities are the most vulnerable! A child acquires a disability by chance, and her or his mother is forced to give up everything in her life and take care of him or her. We demand that special children should become a priority in the adoption of the law on state allowances!» said Maria Neboga.
The organizer of the rally was the national network Zhanyryk, consisting of 37 public organizations that promote the rights and interests of children with disabilities and their parents.
«We demand from the government and deputies of the Parliament to support the increase in disability allowances for children under 18, increase the disability allowance for groups I, II, III from childhood till 18 and support the introduction of payment for caring for a child with disability. There is already a package of documents that must be adopted at the legislative level and begin to pay one of the family members caring for a child with a disability from the republican budget,» said the organizers.
«The indifference of others, the long-term empty promises of the authorities — this is all that we have today in our democratic country. When will the majority of the society begin to respect and observe the rights of minorities, which include both children with disabilities and their long-suffering mothers? Has anyone thought that our kids also have rights, a great desire to just live and enjoy life like all other children?» the Chairwoman of Zhanyryk Zaynap Eshmuratova stressed.
Parents are outraged that the interests of children with disabilities as the most vulnerable are not taken into account when discussing the law on state allowances.
