Thursday, May 21, 2020

Dream of Digital Accessibility in India is miles away for persons with disabilities


DREAM OF DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY IN INDIA - MILES AWAY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Accessibility is basic human rights recognized by United Nations conventions on rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD). The Government of India has ratified UNCRPD in 2007 and amended disability laws and regulations by passing “Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD”) act in 2016. Ministry of electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India has also designed Government of India Guidelines for Web accessibility (GIGW) 2010 and adapted National Electronic Access policy in 2012. In 2015, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India has started Accessible India Campaign (AIC) under which the government has started making thousands of websites accessibility compliant for the benefits of persons with disabilities and others. Digital Accessibility that covers websites, mobile applications, and multimedia content accessibility is one of the 3 components of the campaign.

Although relevant government officials are claiming that they have made around 200+ portal accessible; unfortunately in reality none of the government website is accessibility compliant. the website of “Accessible India Campaign” itself is not accessibility compliant. Then what more persons with disabilities can expect from the digital accessibility component of the campaign? Crucial websites for persons with disabilities such as Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, MSJE, Government of India (DEPWD), Universal Disability Identity Card (UDID), National Handicap Development Corporation (NHFDC), “Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities (CCPD)”, Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) are having severe accessibility issues today. Very important websites for students and researchers with disabilities like MHRD, UGC, NAAC, Svayam, Svayamprabha, Shodh Ganga, CBSE, NCERT, e-Patshala, etc. are highly inaccessible for persons with disabilities.

It is highly disappointing that none of the Indian university/Institutes including top Central universities, IITs, IIMs, AIMS, NIITs etc. websites are accessibility compliant to any basic accessibility guidelines. Students with disabilities cannot fill up online forms, check their examination results or use educational resources on any of such websites. Also none of the corporate websites that people use every day was accessible for persons with disabilities. E-commerce websites such as Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Zomato, Dominoes, and FoodPanda are so inaccessible that they cannot order items without the assistance of able- bodied persons. People also face several issues while using Paytm, Phone/Pe applications. Only Google/Pe App is accessible to them. Persons with visual impairment face lot of challenges while booking cabs on Ola and Uber Apps. Users with disabilities cannot independently do their travel bookings on Make My Trip, Yatra.com, Redbus, IRCTC websites. Persons with disabilities cannot create their profile and search jobs independently on Naukri.com, monster.com. None of the online banking services are accessible for persons with disabilities to do any banking transactions independently. They have to share their important financial information to the person who is assisting them for banking transactions which is highly risky and vulnerable.

Unfortunately several Corporates in India have also not yet understood business case for digital accessibility. They hardly consider 70 million customers with disabilities and their business potential or buying capacity. They treat accessibility compliance as charity for persons with disabilities rather than attracting them towards accessible products and services and improving their customer base.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) foundation has digital accessibility as one of the crucial vertical. However their own websites has several severer accessibility issues as if they have deliberately created barriers for screen reader users. Thus Digital Accessibility programs are just a show for several corporates like Wipro, TCS, Infosys and Cognizant like organizations which provide accessibility solutions to others. These organizations have not even made their own web services accessibility compliant to their employees with disabilities. They have Equal Employment Opportunity policy on paper. How do we then expect that they will provide accessible products and services? Several international companies adhere to accessibility standards and regulations in other countries. But when they provide services and operate in India they ignore accessibility compliance.

Severity of inaccessible environment is experienced intensely in the current pandemic situation. persons with disabilities cannot ask assistance from peer team while doing work from home. The digital content is not fully accessible for persons with disabilities in India. Despite laws, policies, guidelines, and mandates, persons with disabilities are deprived of all the essential services.  Their frustration is so high that they feel highly dependent while living in an Independent Nation.  It would be very much convenient for all the persons with disabilities to use digital services independently with the use of assistive technologies if those services are designed and developed with the consideration of universal design approach. They can use screen readers, screen magnifiers, speech recognition like assistive technologies to interact with the websites and digital content without any other’s assistance. Actually they can enjoy very high level of independence if all such web services would be accessibility compliant.

I personally believe that the bureaucrats of Indian Government mislead the ministers, persons with disabilities and entire nation at large as they are falsely claiming that thousands of websites are being made accessible and around 200+ crucial websites are now become accessible. In disability consultations, conferences and accessibility training programs, I have continuously pointed out that none of the websites in India can be said accessibility compliant to the standards/guidelines the government has adapted. Last year I personally requested the concerned director, joint-secretary and Secretary DEPWD, MSJE, Government of India who are nodal officers that they should seriously look in to this matter and try to understand digital accessibility barriers of persons with disabilities. I personally found that many such nodal officers are insensitive and incompetent to handle the matter. Lack of their willingness is another concern.

I have observed that several times National award for best accessible websites are conferred to those websites which are highly inaccessible and does not qualify for compliance. I believe that in their understanding web accessibility means providing font resizing, color contrast changing, language-changing features, providing screen-reader access link, on the top of the website. Moreover providing alternative text to all the informative and decorative images as well as providing text only version of the website - that’s only accessibility.

Since last 10 years I tried to sensitize such nodal officers. But they do not want to spend their very important time for such a useless work what they believe. I also offered whatever expertise I have to them for making important websites accessibility compliant for the benefit of persons with disabilities with no any commercials. But no proper response was forthcoming. The digital accessibility related work is with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), Government of India. They have been doing accessibility audit and accessibility compliance work from the Companies which do not have experience of accessibility compliance. Also nodal authorities of digital accessibility in MEITY hardly have proper knowledge of Accessibility guidelines. In fact most of them do not have willingness to learn accessibility, which is the reason that they cannot monitor whether their empanelled vendors have properly audited and remediated the websites for accessibility. Several empanelled vendors who are working for web accessibility compliance with the government are cheating government authorities as they have limited knowledge of accessibility compliance. The government officials along with empanelled vendors of access consulting services are collectively cheating ministers, law makers, 70 million persons with disabilities and the nation at large. Government and corporate organizations are joking with persons with disabilities on the name of digital accessibility.

We can ask for justice through disability tribunals. But Commissioner of persons with disabilities does not know accessibility compliance and its importance for persons with disabilities. Human rights commission and activists never raise such issues as they are busy in designing manufactured issues to trouble the government and create mess. The print media, audio visual media never raise accessibility related challenges of persons with disabilities in their shows and news bulletins as they think that this will not generate TRP to them since this group is a minority. I have never seen any news debate about accessibility challenges of persons with disabilities. Moreover they do not bother that their Web portals, text and multimedia content is not accessible and usable.

We can ask justice in courts by filing Public Interest Litigations. But unfortunately courts web services do not adhere to any accessibility guidelines or standards. How organizations will obey the court orders as their own digital services are inaccessible?

Then what can be done to create barrier free and accessible environment in India?

According to me we all certified accessibility professionals, organizations working for persons with disabilities, lawyers with disabilities, disability activists and users with disabilities should come together and inform the current status of digital accessibility to concerned ministers and Prime Minister’s office as Accessible India Campaign was started with the cognizance of our request and suggestions. We should build good political relations and improve our political status by joining disability cell of political parties, contest elections and try to reach in the legislature to raise our voice.

We all should demand to concern ministry to appoint competent and certified digital Accessibility consultants in each government, non-government and corporate organizations/departments who can guide and drive their accessibility compliance program, Ensure accessibility of venders from government organizations end.

We can start sensitizing nodal government officers and do continuous follow up for accessibility compliance and monitor accessibility programs on our end. We all should demand at least minimum level of compliance and do not compromise with the partial accessibility.

We all the accessibility evangelist should sensitize persons with disabilities about importance of accessibility compliance in their life and its positive impact through social media by writing short articles, sharing relevant news like news Hook, preparing short videos and uploading the same on YouTube, taking opportunity on every conferences and public gatherings.

We should not tolerate inaccessibility of digital services of government and corporate organizations and start filing Litigations against the organizations which are not adhere to the mandatory compliance.
We all should be vocal for demanding minimum accessibility compliance in the products and services that we use routinely.

Finally if people, government and corporate organizations, Universities and research centres, schools and colleges are not responding properly, then we should start strong agitation against them for meeting our demand as digital accessibility is our basic human rights recognized by United Nations and India As well. If we will start doing such things, then we will commemorate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) in real sense. Good thing is that many of us already have started doing so. Thus achieving digital accessibility in India is difficult but we have to put much more efforts and walk miles to contribute in building barrier free, accessible and Inclusive New India where every one will have equal access to digital services.

Dhananjay Bhole,
Accessibility evangelist,
Assistant Professor,
Centre for Disabilities and Inclusive Education,
Savitribai Phule Pune University.