The inclusion of individuals with disabilities in Asian societies presents significant challenges and encouraging progress. Across Asia, countries are addressing social integration but must overcome the social stigma and cultural biases to make real progress.-By Jill Motley

Asia, home to over 4.5 billion people, has made significant strides in addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities over the past decades. The journey toward full inclusion remains a complex and evolving challenge, but the progress is encouraging.

People with disabilities in Asia often face multiple barriers, including limited access to infrastructure, education, and employment opportunities, compounded by deep-rooted cultural stigmas and social exclusion. Yet, across the region, there is increasing momentum toward promoting accessibility, raising awareness, and enacting policies that enhance the rights and quality of life for people with disabilities. Japan, India, and South Korea are examples of Asian countries advancing disability inclusion and making significant progress.

Recognizing the Need for Progress

Cultural stereotypes and biases, such as the belief that disability is a result of past life sins, are significant factors in the marginalization of people with disabilities in Asian countries. In some societies, there remains a social stigma or lack of understanding surrounding disability. People with disabilities often face discrimination, limited opportunities, or even isolation due to entrenched cultural norms and misconceptions about their abilities. They have high levels of unemployment or underemployment due to discrimination, lack of appropriate accommodations, or inadequate training and education opportunities tailored to their needs. In Asia and the Pacific, there are an estimated 370 million people with disabilities, and their unemployment rate is double that of the general population. In some countries, it is as high as 80%.

While many Asian countries have signed onto international agreements such as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and passed country-based laws, the enforcement of disability rights laws remains inconsistent. In some cases, progressive legislation exists on paper, but the implementation is hindered by bureaucratic inefficiencies, lack of funding, or competing governmental priorities. There are also challenges concerning physical barriers, like lack of accessibility to transportation, buildings, and public spaces. This is especially true in rural and remote areas where infrastructure development is limited. A lack of public awareness slows progress because people do not pressure the government to change or give people with disabilities a voice by joining advocacy movements.

Different Strategies With One Purpose: Inclusion of People with Disabilities

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) developed the 2021-2025 Road Map, described in the Strengthening Disability-Inclusive Development document. The Road Map recognizes that disability inclusion is essential to successful economic development. The ADB is focused on empowering and including people with disabilities through its projects. These projects include initiatives to improve accessibility in education, transportation, and public spaces, as well as efforts to challenge cultural biases and stereotypes. The report says, “In Bangladesh, Mongolia, and Vietnam, for example, ADB is supporting inclusive education for children and young people with disabilities. In Mongolia, ADB is implementing its first loan, which is fully focused on inclusion and services for people with disabilities. Several transport and infrastructure projects that target people with disabilities are also underway in the region, including the Mumbai Metro project. In Georgia and Pakistan, ADB-assisted urban and transport programs have been influential in developing guidance on inclusive design.”

The ADB projects meet the goals of Article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which says, “People with disabilities have the right to access all aspects of society on an equal basis with others, including the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, and other facilities and services provided to the public.” Article 8 says countries must challenge the stereotypes and prejudices directed at people with disabilities.

Changing stereotyping and biases towards people with disabilities requires a concerted effort from both the government and businesses. However, it often begins with advocacy organizations challenging cultural biases and pushing for change. In Japan and Taiwan, assisting people with disabilities is considered a family matter, which often makes disabilities “invisible.” However, some progress is being made. The Japanese government increased the mandatory employment rate for disabled people in private businesses from 2.3% to 2.5% and 2.7% by 2026. The exact figure varies by company size, and companies that do not meet the targets can be fined. The mandatory hiring increase is a good policy for a country with a rapidly aging workforce, forcing people to reconsider the abilities of people with disabilities.

India is particularly challenged because it is estimated that 69% of people with disabilities live in rural areas. The passage of the Rights of Persons Disabilities Act in 2016 is meant to ensure equal opportunities for inclusion for people with disabilities and establish public and private goals. For example, a public sector quota for people with disabilities was increased to 4%, and companies are encouraged to have at least 5% of the workforce be people with 40% or more disability. The 2023-2024 Annual Report published by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities) had committed to spending the year on creating a barrier-free environment in the built environment, transportation system and ICT ecosystem. The last figures on the working status of persons with disabilities were obtained during the 2011 Census; 36% of people with disabilities were working, and 31% of them worked in agriculture. The government is currently updating the statistics.

Notably, the Indian government is striving to change perspectives about disability and said that changing attitudes and perceptions about the abilities of people with disabilities is the biggest challenge.

South Korea continues to struggle to increase the inclusion of people with disabilities, with over 30% living in poverty. However, the government has made impressive advancements in increasing accessibility to public transportation. The government introduced low-floor buses and special transportation with wheelchair lifts and made it mandatory for restaurants and convenience stores to install facilities for people with disabilities. Despite the infrastructure improvements, there remains a need for greater mobility, and the government has publicly declared it would strengthen its support for mobility rights. Currently, elevators are being installed in all 275 stations.

Step One: Change Perceptions

Each country has unique challenges, but they all have a common one. Changing negative perceptions of people with disabilities is difficult. In Asian countries, the stigma is often rooted in religious or philosophical beliefs. A study of four countries in Asia – Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and Taiwan – found that cultural and historical contexts of disability beliefs influence disabled people’s daily lives. For example, in Japan and Taiwan, disabled people are assumed to be under the care of the family, so public services are considered unnecessary. In Thailand and Vietnam, disability is seen as a curse or “earned tragedy” embodying faults from past or present lives. People with disabilities get sympathy but are ignored.

When interviewed, the disabled study participants were all concerned with breaking down physical, social, and cultural barriers because they are entwined. For example, a wheelchair-accessible bus only works well when the driver and passengers are supportive. One disabled person said a bus driver would let non-disabled persons on first until the bus was full and then tell the person in a wheelchair there was no room. This is a simple example of how attitudes, beliefs, and perspectives impact the daily lives of Asians with disabilities. As long as people believe persons with disabilities are only the responsibility of the family or that they should rely on good deeds, the government and society will not fully address their right to equality.