Physical impairment and disability are considered taboo topics of discussion in most societies. People shy away from addressing the hardships of the disabled community and render them “abnormal” without a second thought. This contributes to the development of disability stigma which robs physically and mentally impaired individuals from enjoying a fair chance to lead a happy and fulfilled life.
The Paralympic Games are a welcome public forum that breaks open social barriers and discriminatory attitudes towards disabled people by inviting them into the fold of a global spectacle.
Paralympics: Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Paralympics is a unique international event held at a regular interval of 4 years. Participation in Paralympics is specifically reserved for disabled sportspersons or athletes suffering from specific impairments.
Disability stigma is a huge barrier that leads to the exclusion of physically and psychologically impaired people from the mainstream domain. Their education, employment, social activity and life, in general, are conventionally treated as a deviation and are not accepted by society. In times like these, the Paralympic games provide stellar opportunities to the disabled community and give them a platform to showcase how diversity is a part and parcel of life.
It empowers para-athletes to exhibit their talents despite their imperfections or limitations. The universal popularity of sports fosters values of diversity, equity and inclusion in its very essence!
Treating The Perceived Oxymoron
The inclusion of disabled people in the field of sports is a brilliant treatment of the perceived oxymoron which is built on the assumption that impaired people are incapable of carrying out tasks independently.
The Paralympic games prove the assumption wrong while presenting a true picture of the disabled community. It shows the world that disability stigma and associated discrimination is nothing short of a stereotype. It also highlights how disabled people can engage in sports activities just like any other “normal” human being.
Spreading Awareness About Types of Disability
The Paralympic forum provides a fair fighting ground for athletes coming from different backgrounds who are battling different impairments.
In order to ensure equity among athletes, the Internal Paralympic Committee (IPC) recognizes 10 categories of impairments that can deem athletes eligible to participate in the Paralympic Games. What’s more is that every disability category is further divided into subcategories to acknowledge the varying extent of impairment across different athletes proclaiming the same disability.
The 10 broad categories of disability include limited/passive range of movement, limb deficiency, ataxia, athetosis, impaired sight, intellectual disability, weak muscular control, difference in leg length, hypertonia and short stature.
Why Paralympics is a Great Platform
The Tokyo Paralympics 2021 has done a fabulous job in attracting much-deserved attention to global para-athletes who have proved their worth by doing the unimaginable.
The top 3 best-performing nations, namely China, UK and the USA, have bagged a cumulative total of 435 medals in different sport categories owing to the wonderful performance of their para-athletes on the world stage.
This goes on to show how Paralympics has successfully given the disabled community a platform to display their talent and courage irrespective of the disability stigma still persistent in today’s society. The global event simultaneously provides para-athletes with a safe space to engage with one another and act as carriers of change as well.
In doing so, the Paralympic Games is breaking long-standing stereotypes and uplifting the disabled community beyond the point of stigmatised community attitudes.
Alas, the highlight of the Paralympic games is not only the talented para-athletes setting the bar high but also the disabled persons behind their TV screens who draw inspiration from the same.
Manisha Ray
A connoisseur of all things wonderful in life, Manisha is a literature major at Delhi University. She is a keen observer and a quiet thinker.