BACKGROUND

 

Up to the end of the 19th century, Disability was being viewed with the medical aspect and in a spiritual manner. It was believed that disability occurs as a result of sin. A person with a disability was being treated as a victim of a curse and/or a person with a bad fate. Appropriate information relating to disability was vastly lacking, so people of all levels were not aware of issues relating to disability. The rights of persons with disabilities were not recognized and there was no legislative protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The persons with disabilities were living with deprivation, neglect, discrimination, which resulted in isolation and exclusion from mainstream society. The Government was considering disability as a welfare issue so persons with disabilities were totally excluded from any development initiative, plan, and activities. A very few NGOs were working with persons with disabilities but emphasizing the medical/social/charity perspective rather than giving importance to the rights and entitlements. 

 

In the context of the above situation and experiencing the barriers and denial in personal life, with the aim of promoting rights and mainstreaming disability issues through addressing the barriers and issues of persons with disabilities Khandaker Jahurul Alam (present Executive Director & who himself is a person with a physical disability) jointly with other two persons with disability and two like-minded social workers formed the Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID) as a Non-profit voluntary organization in December 1997.