“The campaign for the rights of disabled individuals in recent years has made remarkable efforts towards advocating for the rights of this group in Iran. The actions of this campaign – which is known as the first civil movement for disabled individuals in Iran – have played a significant role in the passing of the Disabled Persons Rights Bill. In this issue of “Peace Line”, we have a conversation with Behrouz Morvari, the director of the campaign for the rights of disabled individuals, to learn more about the activities, goals, and future plans of this campaign. Behrouz Morvari was born into a family of 7, with 3 of his siblings having disabilities due to muscular dystrophy.”

The performance report of this campaign is available to everyone on the following website and channel addresses.

This is a link to a website with the URL “dscampaign.com” and the page number 1736.

This is a link to a Telegram channel called “dscampaign” with the ID number 4971.

As you are aware, in recent years, there has been a slightly increased focus on the rights of individuals with disabilities in Iran. Do you or anyone you know think that you have been effective in drawing attention to this issue and what actions have you taken?

I completely agree with you; in recent years, there has been a new focus on individuals with disabilities and a shift from emotional-sympathetic attitudes to legal-rights discourse. In my opinion, this change has occurred for two main reasons: the first being the presence of social media, which has provided the opportunity for virtual gatherings, and the second being the extensive and nationwide civil activities of individuals with disabilities through the use of social media, which has led to their presence in society and a change in the attitudes of others.

In regards to this section of your question about how effective it has been in drawing attention to this issue, it is better to phrase it as how effective the campaign for the rights of people with disabilities has been; and I must say, without exaggeration and with reference to documents, the campaign has been 100% effective. This is because before the formation of the campaign, there was no civil movement in Iran for people with disabilities and activities were limited to non-governmental organizations. Each NGO had its own specific target groups, but the campaign is not specific to a particular group, disability, or city.

When did the campaign for the rights of people with disabilities start, what results has it achieved, and what are its future goals?

The campaign was formed from early November 2016 and it can be said that the campaign’s activities can be divided into two parts.

The first section is related to the campaign’s actions in the field of cultural awareness and encouraging the target community to participate in social activities. These actions include many things, such as:

Forming a group and gathering individuals with disabilities from all over Iran with any type and severity of disability.

“Introduction and promotion of personal awareness regarding legal issues in the field of disability and advocating based on knowledge of laws.”

Promoting effective ways of influencing changes in laws by presenting practical activities.

“Announcement of the call for sending nationwide letters to representatives of the parliament across the country in several stages, according to campaign plans and in accordance with the subject and time.”

Holding a petition signing event throughout the country (in collaboration with most cities) to familiarize the community with the rights of people with disabilities and deliver the signed petition to members of parliament.

Promoting ways of demanding and following up until results are obtained from executive and legislative bodies.

Organizing conferences, specialized meetings, and dozens of interviews with people with disabilities, their families, and relevant officials towards unity, harmony, and especially promoting a culture of questioning and demanding, and creating a bridge of communication between the target community and officials.

“Dissemination of up-to-date and reliable news, tracking published news for verification, denial or detailed explanations from officials, gaining the trust of the target community and officials, and becoming a strong news source.”

Part two also relates to the legal achievements, which can be divided into two separate cases: the approval of the law on supporting the rights of the disabled and the allocation of a special budget of 1100 billion tomans for the implementation of the law on supporting the rights of the disabled from the Organization of Planning and Budget.

In continuation of your question regarding the continuation of campaign objectives, I must say that the campaign’s focus remains on lobbying with members of parliament to increase the budget for law enforcement in 98, as well as monitoring and following up on legal demands. Alongside these negotiations, the campaign also advocates for the rights of individuals with disabilities.

To what extent do independent civil institutions in Iran have the freedom to promote and raise awareness about the rights of people with disabilities? Do they face any obstacles?

Activities of civil institutions (other than non-governmental organizations) do not face any particular problem within the framework of the country’s laws; at least in terms of campaign activities, no problem or obstacle was created, although no special financial or moral support was provided. Imagine that the campaign needed facilities such as conference venues, specialized workshops, training and promotion of the rights of people with disabilities, and roundtable discussions, but only in three cases were successful in carrying out these activities.

One of the most important concerns for individuals with disabilities is employment. Considering the 3% quota specified in the law for these individuals, to what extent has this issue been facilitated? And if it has not been effective, what are the most important reasons for it?

In my opinion, before discussing the 3% employment quota, I must mention the issue of accessibility to public places, transportation, and streets. Because if these conditions are not met, people with disabilities are faced with limited options for employment and job opportunities. And the 3% employment quota does not adequately address the issue of employment for individuals with disabilities, for several reasons. One of the reasons is that many people with disabilities have not had the opportunity to receive education due to cultural and environmental barriers, and therefore do not have the necessary qualifications to participate in employment exams. The age of employment for individuals with disabilities is also not suitable for many job positions, due to longer periods of education, and they are therefore unable to participate in employment exams. Another reason is the lack of familiarity of many government agencies with the concept of disability and the abilities of individuals with disabilities, and their negative attitude towards them based on the misconception of their incompetence. Furthermore, the implementation of Article 42 of the Law on

In addition to these issues, the failure to implement Article 7 of the Disabled Persons Protection Act of 2004, which in addition to employing 3% of disabled individuals, also includes other measures such as allocating a minimum of 60% of telephone operator positions to visually and hearing impaired individuals, as well as allocating a minimum of 60% of administrative and typing positions to physically disabled individuals, or providing employer’s insurance contributions for disabled individuals, should be mentioned.

How do you evaluate the performance of government institutions related to the realization of the rights of people with disabilities?

In my opinion, the performance of government institutions is not defensible. The fundamental and essential work towards upholding the rights of individuals with disabilities has not been done. The actions that have been taken are so minimal compared to the ones that have not been done that they are not noticeable; including: the failure to implement any of the provisions of the 1983 law on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, the 1987 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the 1994 Cabinet Resolution. However, we hope that with our activities, we will see changes in the performance of government institutions in the issue of the rights of persons with disabilities; just as we have witnessed changes in the past two years.

In your opinion, where does discrimination against individuals with disabilities, which leads to their deprivation in many areas, originate from?

Discrimination reflects a negative attitude towards disability and this attitude stems from culture and society. Unfortunately, we have fundamental problems in the discussion of culturalization. For example, with the broadcast of TV series, movies, and programs about disability, the media constantly reinforces the idea that disability is a punishment for human sins or that people with disabilities are pitiable and there is no program with legal rights content for these individuals, or if there is, it is very limited. The result of these messages in society is the same negative attitude combined with pity.

For example, we have created a bipolar society of individuals with disabilities, titled veterans and disabled, and we look at the former as heroes and the latter as burdens on society, resulting in discrimination between the two. Except for discussions about environmental adaptation and accessibility, there is no common ground in the use of services and facilities between these two groups – who are essentially one class, only with different disabilities.

Or we can mention about employment quotas, health insurance, rehabilitation facilities, early retirement, and support for families of veterans and disabled individuals.

I must say that popular media such as IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) have not only failed to contribute to cultural development in the field of disability, but have also hindered progress and unfortunately wasted the efforts of other media and individuals with disabilities. According to the Law on Persons with Disabilities, IRIB is required to dedicate 5 hours of its programming per week to disability-related issues, but unfortunately they do not comply with this law. Despite numerous campaigns and protests through correspondence, no response has been received and no change in policy has been observed.

As a final question, please tell us what is the biggest problem that people with disabilities face in Iran?

People with disabilities in Iran face two major problems: cultural issues and lack of law enforcement. These two are complementary, meaning that proper enforcement of laws will play a key role in changing attitudes towards them, and a positive attitude will lead to better enforcement of laws. For example, imagine if the police were to fine cars parked under the disabled parking sign (something that is currently done based on personal preference). After a period of time, not parking under these signs will become a cultural norm, just like wearing a seatbelt. Or imagine if all government offices and facilities were accessible and no disabled person needed assistance, and they could ride buses and subways like everyone else and experience a normal life in society. Simply being present in society will bring about the biggest change in society’s attitude towards people with disabilities.

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us to use the peace line.