Disability Rights 27: Right to participate in cultural life

In addition to the human rights laws in the Constitution of Uganda there are several other rights granted to persons with disabilities (PWDs). These rights are given by law in the Persons With Disabilities Act 2006 (PWDA) which is modeled on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Whether you are a PWD or not, these laws apply to you.

Section 38 of the PWDA says PWDs have the right to take part in the cultural life of the community and the right to access radio and television broadcasts, films, theatres and other cultural activities. Moreover, PWDs also have the right to develop their creative, artistic and intellectual abilities to enrich the community.

On the face of it, this section of the law is about ensuring that theatres, cinemas, television studios, radio stations, art galleries, museums and other cultural institutions accessible to PWDs. Likewise when PWDs are working creatively they have the right to be respected. Their ability to enrich the community with their creativity should be respected. 

This right is about the human right of PWDs to express themselves, express their own culture as disabled people. This right is about disability culture. Wikipedia says:

Disability culture cannot be defined by one specific description or language. It is a complex blending of art, performance, expression, and community. Within this culture, the word "disabled" has been re-purposed to represent a social identity of empowerment and awareness. Like many civil rights movements in the past, disability culture challenges the norms of society, and seeks to counter oppressive entities such as medicalization and institutionalization. Its core values as a culture are reflected in art, conversation, goals, or behaviors. These core values often include: "an acceptance of human differences, an acceptance of human vulnerability and interdependence, a tolerance for a lack of resolution of the unpredictable in life, and a humor to laugh at the oppressor or situation, however dire it may be".

If you are a PWD, you have the right to express your culture.

Ugandan Project helps empower disabled.
In Uganda, people with disabilities are often stigmatized. So Fred Batale took up the challenge and started the Disability Art Project Uganda where he encourages other people with disabilities to develop their art skills.

This law is written like this in section 38 of the Persons With Disabilities Act 2006:

38. Particpation in cultural life.

Persons with disabilities have the right to fully participate in the cultural life of their community and to—

(a) develop and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential for the enrichment of their community;

(b) have access to broadcasting, films, theatres and other cultural activities.