ost houses of worship in Indonesia do not provide adequate facilities for the disabled, making it difficult for disabled Indonesians to engage fully in religious rituals.
“The government must guarantee that all houses of worship are accessible to the disabled. If not, the government is violating human rights," said Dria Manunggal director Setia Adi Purwanta to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Dria Manunggal is an NGO that focuses on the rights of disabled people. Dria Manungga refers to disabled people as "diffable," a blend of the words "disabled" and "ability."
Dria Manunggal has so far cooperated with Baitul Makmur Mosque in Bantul, a Buddhist temple (vihara) in Sleman and the Hindu temple Pura Jagat Nata in Bantul. In Yogyakarta, the NGO has cooperated with Protestant church Gereja Kristen Jawa (GKJ) in Wirobrajan, Catholic Church Hati Santa Perawan Maria Tak Bercela in Kumetiran and a house of worship for the faith group Sumarah.
“There are two obstacles the diffable have to face in houses of worship. [Mobility issues] like tall stairs and the absence of interpreters for the deaf,” Setia said.
Setia, a blind man, said the government should encourage the development of facilities for the disabled in houses of worship as they had done for other buildings through legislation.
The caretaker of Baitul Makmur Mosque in Bantul, Dodik Junaidi, said the cost of building facilities for the disabled was not high, only about Rp 2 million (US$154). The mosque now has a guiding block for the blind, special access for wheelchairs and seats in washing rooms for the disabled.
“We welcome those in wheelchairs to go inside the mosque with the wheelchairs. We don’t prohibit the wheelchairs by saying they’re dirty," he said.
Priest Yosef Krisetyo Nugroho from GKJ Wirobrajan said his church had a special lane for wheelchairs. The church also provides a TV to facilitate the hearing-impaired.
“In the near future, we will provide special rooms for those in wheelchairs,” he said.
Wiwin, a Muslim woman who is physically disabled, said she was happy with the new facility at the Baitul Makmur Mosque. Wiwin said the facility made it easy for her to get down from her wheelchair to wash herself before prayer.
“Before, it was difficult to enter the mosque because I had to go up tall stairs,” Wiwin said.
The head of the Yogyakarta Mosque Affairs office in the Religious Affairs Ministry, Anis Wain Muttaqien, said houses of worship were obligated to provide facilities for the disabled. (evi)
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