Sports and Games for Visually Impaired

Through sports and specially conducted indoor games, the people with impairment may have a complete sense of equality and shall have their morale quite elevated. Luckily enough, things have progressed nicely in this regard over the last couple of decades or so, as PWDs, all over the world can be seen participating in various national and international sports competitions. If we talk about Pakistan, we may observe number of example where athletes with disabilities do participate in various games.

Visually impaired cricket is one major sport where the visually impaired cricketers have earned great laurels for Pakistan. These visually impaired cricketers compete at national and international level and have won world cup twice to go with many by-lateral series. However, there are limited sports/game meant for PWDs in countries like Pakistan just because of the unavailability of the required resources. There are rare events based on indoor games in Pakistan conducted for individual with special needs as the main focus remains on the mainstream sporting activities. There are surely a variety of different games which can be managed by PWDs as we observe during special Olympics where the athletes with disabilities stun the world with their capabilities.

Some of the commonly available sports at international level for people with disabilities are cricket, table tennis, wheelchair tennis, chess, judo, special football for the athlete with blindness and cerebral palsy, swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby and cycling. Even in the game like archery, we have many examples where the players with disability can participate. Only recently, two visually impaired archers from Islamabad have qualified to participate in an international event of archery.

On the other hand, the women with disabilities usually experience double discrimination on the basis of their gender and disability, thus, it is equally important to take suitable measures for their inclusion in the sports as well. According to a survey, it has been discovered that 93 percent of the women with disabilities are unable to take part in sport related activities which maximizes their social segregation. By providing women with disabilities the opportunity to participate in various games, we can help them to get rid of the gender stereotypes and negative perceptions associated with them.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, through its article 30, has emphatically emphasized the need to include the PWDs in all recreational activities, mainly the sports. Being a signatory of this United Nation’s convention, Pakistan is bound to ensure the provision of all the rights to PWDs, including the right to sports and games.

Nai Subah believes in the recreational activities of persons with sight loss and, therefore, does play its part in this regard. Number of various outdoor activities keep taking place through Nai Subah’s platform where visually impaired individuals are given fare chances to express their potential and feel confident. The sense of inclusion for the visually impaired during such vibrant activities further motivates them to become productive part of the society.