Right to drive

December 3 is observed as the International Day of Disabled Persons. This day was initiated by the UN in 1992 to raise awareness and promote the rights of people with disability. This year, a crowd of citizens with hearing impairment was seen gathered outside the Punjab Assembly for their right to drive. Pakistan is one of the 26 countries which have not issued driving rights to the deaf. Countries like India, Sri Lanka and Nepal and several Arab countries have granted the deaf community the right to drive.It is widely assumed that as these people cannot hear, they won’t be able to hear the horns and will cause problem on roads. Even though driving is mainly a visual activity and deaf people rely strongly on visual cues while driving, many people argue that these people are unfit to drive. But the interesting point to note is that Arthur James Wilson was the first deaf person to purchase and drive a vehicle in 1896 and is said to be the inventor of side mirrors in a vehicle.Ayesha ArifLahore

from The News International - Newspost http://bit.ly/2GOzVTt