Disability Stigma and Discrimination in Nepal: A Study of Pokhara Metropolitan City

Abstract

Stigma and discrimination attached to disability are not new phenomenon in Nepal. People, irrespective of disability status, have been aware of these phenomena since long history of human kind from socio-cultural perspectives prevalent in Nepalese society. In this context, people with disability have been facing stigma and discrimination in their family and society. There are tremendous disruptions in attaining quality of life of the people. However, there is a dearth of such studies attached to disability, especially in the present contexts of socio-cultural transformation and era of assistive devices. This study focuses on root causes of disability stigma and discrimination in people with disability in Pokhara Metropolitan City. It adopts qualitative research approach, following in-depth interview to people with disability using semi-structured questionnaires in the city. This study investigated that there are heavily loaded stigma and discrimination in people with disability, especially in women in-migrants in their place of origin. It concludes that gender, caste, class, and residence are intrinsically linked with the daily lives of the people. This study has important policy implications in reducing stigma and discrimination, and in attaining quality of lives of the people.