CABAR.asia
Tajikistan:
No privileges, no rights
No privileges, no rights
People with hearing impairments have few social benefits in Tajikistan. They complain about the lack of special schools, shortage of textbooks, and lack of legal privileges. And experts working with them are concerned with the fact that many paid services aggravate their difficult life even more.
According to official data, over 30,000 people in Tajikistan have hearing impairments, including 3,500 children. The coverage of such children by education is very low – only 27 per cent of hearing-impaired children attend school. They also have problems with access to higher education, as there are no privileges for this category of people in the country.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, Tajikistan has only three boarding schools for this group of children, two of which are republican and one is local.
Bayon Rakhimov, who has worked as the chair of the department of pedagogy and psychology of Tajik State Pedagogical University for many years, in his analytical article wrote about his concern about a small number of specialised preschool facilities and special schools for hearing-impaired children. Professor of pedagogy noted that almost 90 per cent of hearing-impaired children do not have the opportunity to study at higher educational institutions of the country.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, Tajikistan has only three boarding schools for this group of children, two of which are republican and one is local.
Bayon Rakhimov, who has worked as the chair of the department of pedagogy and psychology of Tajik State Pedagogical University for many years, in his analytical article wrote about his concern about a small number of specialised preschool facilities and special schools for hearing-impaired children. Professor of pedagogy noted that almost 90 per cent of hearing-impaired children do not have the opportunity to study at higher educational institutions of the country.
A local boarding school for hearing-impaired children is located in Bobobdzhon Gafur district of Sughd region. Currently, it has 313 pupils. The republican boarding school for hearing-impaired children located in the suburb of Dushanbe, in the Rudaki district, has 216 pupils, the republican boarding school for deaf children in the same district has 384 pupils.
In addition to these institutions, Dushanbe has the state specialised general education school for hearing-impaired children with nearly 150 pupils. There are also schools with classes for hearing-impaired children in the cities of Khudzhand and Bokhtar.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, sign language teacher of Pedagogical University, head of the Centre for Language and Sign Language Development in Tajikistan, only 27 per cent of deaf children attend school in Tajikistan.
In addition to these institutions, Dushanbe has the state specialised general education school for hearing-impaired children with nearly 150 pupils. There are also schools with classes for hearing-impaired children in the cities of Khudzhand and Bokhtar.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, sign language teacher of Pedagogical University, head of the Centre for Language and Sign Language Development in Tajikistan, only 27 per cent of deaf children attend school in Tajikistan.
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"The coverage of hearing-impaired children in Tajikistan reached 1,245 persons in 2021. However, we admit many children, but fewer children finish school. For example, in 2021, 14 persons finished the boarding school for hearing-impaired children in the Rudaki district. However, 60 persons were admitted," Kuvvatov said.
The availability of specialised schools for this category of children is very important, while attending regular kindergartens and schools is ineffective, he said.
"Inclusive education does not work for hearing-impaired children. In 1988, this moment was emphasised at the International Congress of the Deaf," Sattor Kuvvatov said.
"Inclusive education does not work for hearing-impaired children. In 1988, this moment was emphasised at the International Congress of the Deaf," Sattor Kuvvatov said.
- The republican boarding school for hearing-impaired children
Photo: CABAR.asia - The boarding school for hearing-impaired children is located in Bobobdzhon Gafur district of Sughd region.
Photo: CABAR.asia - The republican boarding school for deaf children
Photo: CABAR.asia
Are there enough books for hearing-impaired people?
Until 2015, the country did not have books in Tajik sign language. Specialists have developed it and introduced Tajik words in it.
Sattor Kuvvatov, one of the authors of the "Signs and gestures" book, said to CABAR.asia that the Tajik sign language differs from others because other languages do not have many Tajik words.
The first book "Signs and gestures" was published in 2015, the second one in 2020.
In addition to these two books, Sattor Kuvvatov together with other authors have developed and published books "Alphabet for hearing-impaired people", "Pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", "Reading for hearing-impaired people",
Sattor Kuvvatov, one of the authors of the "Signs and gestures" book, said to CABAR.asia that the Tajik sign language differs from others because other languages do not have many Tajik words.
The first book "Signs and gestures" was published in 2015, the second one in 2020.
In addition to these two books, Sattor Kuvvatov together with other authors have developed and published books "Alphabet for hearing-impaired people", "Pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", "Reading for hearing-impaired people",
Sattor Kuvvatov
Photo: CABAR.asia
Photo: CABAR.asia
"Speech development for hearing-impaired people", "Methodology of teaching and pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", and "Oligophrenopedagogy".
Sattor Kuvvatov
Photo: CABAR.asia
Photo: CABAR.asia
Until 2015, the country did not have books in Tajik sign language. Specialists have developed it and introduced Tajik words in it.
Sattor Kuvvatov, one of the authors of the "Signs and gestures" book, said to CABAR.asia that the Tajik sign language differs from others because other languages do not have many Tajik words.
The first book "Signs and gestures" was published in 2015, the second one in 2020.
In addition to these two books, Sattor Kuvvatov together with other authors have developed and published books "Alphabet for hearing-impaired people", "Pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", "Reading for hearing-impaired people", "Speech development for hearing-impaired people", "Methodology of teaching and pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", and "Oligophrenopedagogy".
Sattor Kuvvatov, one of the authors of the "Signs and gestures" book, said to CABAR.asia that the Tajik sign language differs from others because other languages do not have many Tajik words.
The first book "Signs and gestures" was published in 2015, the second one in 2020.
In addition to these two books, Sattor Kuvvatov together with other authors have developed and published books "Alphabet for hearing-impaired people", "Pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", "Reading for hearing-impaired people", "Speech development for hearing-impaired people", "Methodology of teaching and pronunciation for hearing-impaired people", and "Oligophrenopedagogy".
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"We have developed the sign language teaching programme and guidelines for teachers of Tajik sign language, which were approved by the Ministry of Education and Science. In 2021, we updated the Sign Language Dictionary of 2,000 words that covers all historical facts and other information. This book will be available for studies in September 2022," Kuvvatov said.
According to the specialist, this is not the limit and more other books and workbooks should be developed, especially for high school. Biology, geography and other books, which are in short supply now, should be prepared.
No privileges
Hearing-impaired people can hardly be admitted to universities. The National Testing Centre does not provide any privileges to them because of their 3rd disability group, while their level of knowledge does not meet the centre's requirements.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, the curricula of schools for hearing-impaired children differ from the ones in regular general education schools. Moreover, their world views are not the same as of ordinary children.
According to him, in 2018, only one of 15 hearing-impaired school leavers who applied to the Pedagogical University was admitted. The other fourteen children could not pass the admissions test.
They do not have any privileges in admission. In 2021, one person was admitted to the Pedagogical University, in 2020 two persons, and now there are only five hearing-impaired students studying there.
Unfortunately, there is no general statistics of the number of hearing-impaired students of Tajik universities. On February 4, 2022, Tajik Minister of Education and Science Mukhammadyusuf Imomzoda was asked this question at the press conference dedicated to the 2021 results, but he failed to provide relevant information.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, the curricula of schools for hearing-impaired children differ from the ones in regular general education schools. Moreover, their world views are not the same as of ordinary children.
According to him, in 2018, only one of 15 hearing-impaired school leavers who applied to the Pedagogical University was admitted. The other fourteen children could not pass the admissions test.
They do not have any privileges in admission. In 2021, one person was admitted to the Pedagogical University, in 2020 two persons, and now there are only five hearing-impaired students studying there.
Unfortunately, there is no general statistics of the number of hearing-impaired students of Tajik universities. On February 4, 2022, Tajik Minister of Education and Science Mukhammadyusuf Imomzoda was asked this question at the press conference dedicated to the 2021 results, but he failed to provide relevant information.
The society does not feel empathy for the hearing-impaired people
Malika Shokhimardonova is a second year student now. She is studying in fine arts course. According to her, at first she had difficulties with communicating, but she tried to share her opinion. After a while, she got used to going to college and her course mates learned to understand her. But not all know the sign language.
"I draw portraits by order. My portraits cost over 60-70 somoni (5.32-6.32 dollars) depending on their quality," Malika said.
"I draw portraits by order. My portraits cost over 60-70 somoni (5.32-6.32 dollars) depending on their quality," Malika said.
Malika Shokhimardonova
Photo: CABAR.asia
Photo: CABAR.asia
The portraits created by Malika are her main source of income; they help her continue education.
Malika Shokhimardonova
Photo: CABAR.asia
Photo: CABAR.asia
Malika Shokhimardonova is a second year student now. She is studying in fine arts course. According to her, at first she had difficulties with communicating, but she tried to share her opinion. After a while, she got used to going to college and her course mates learned to understand her. But not all know the sign language.
"I draw portraits by order. My portraits cost over 60-70 somoni (5.32-6.32 dollars) depending on their quality," Malika said.
The portraits created by Malika are her main source of income; they help her continue education.
"I draw portraits by order. My portraits cost over 60-70 somoni (5.32-6.32 dollars) depending on their quality," Malika said.
The portraits created by Malika are her main source of income; they help her continue education.
Shermurod is a 54-year-old hearing-impaired man. He said that he attended regular school for two years, but mockery and his educational retardation, as well as misunderstanding by teachers hindered him from finishing it.
"There was a lot of work back in the Soviet period. I worked at the service centre and had a comfortable income. Now I do not work and my pension is small," he said.
According to Shermurod, development of new technologies have a positive impact on the mind-set and world view of the hearing-impaired young people.
"They have access to information on the internet. I see young people speaking the sign language with each other via smartphones, having fun on the internet and in mobile phones. We didn't have such opportunities. I haven't even learned the sign language," Shermurod said.
Sadbarg, mother of 6-year-old Sukhaili, said that her son stopped hearing at the age of six months old due to high temperature.
"Now he can say easily only four words – "papa", "mama", "sister" and "brother", and we don't understand the rest. We can hardly understand what he wants. We live in Shokhmansur district (one of the four districts of the city). There is no specialised school near our house. We have been treating him for six years, visiting doctors, healers, mullah. But there's no result!" she said.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, the main problem of hearing-impaired children is their late admittance to specialised schools.
"There is a nuance that when hearing-impaired babies are born, parents go to a doctor. The doctor tells them that their baby is deaf, and they shouldn't worry as he would speak in 7-8 years. He says don't teach him the sign language. But this is not based on solid ground. The doctor must advice to parents to teach children to use sign language during a conversation," Kuvvatov said.
According to him, he opened the Centre for Parents' Support in 2005, and in 2006 he started teaching the sign language in ten regions of Tajikistan. Currently, 240 children and their parents have learned the sign language and established the communication within the family.
"There was a lot of work back in the Soviet period. I worked at the service centre and had a comfortable income. Now I do not work and my pension is small," he said.
According to Shermurod, development of new technologies have a positive impact on the mind-set and world view of the hearing-impaired young people.
"They have access to information on the internet. I see young people speaking the sign language with each other via smartphones, having fun on the internet and in mobile phones. We didn't have such opportunities. I haven't even learned the sign language," Shermurod said.
Sadbarg, mother of 6-year-old Sukhaili, said that her son stopped hearing at the age of six months old due to high temperature.
"Now he can say easily only four words – "papa", "mama", "sister" and "brother", and we don't understand the rest. We can hardly understand what he wants. We live in Shokhmansur district (one of the four districts of the city). There is no specialised school near our house. We have been treating him for six years, visiting doctors, healers, mullah. But there's no result!" she said.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, the main problem of hearing-impaired children is their late admittance to specialised schools.
"There is a nuance that when hearing-impaired babies are born, parents go to a doctor. The doctor tells them that their baby is deaf, and they shouldn't worry as he would speak in 7-8 years. He says don't teach him the sign language. But this is not based on solid ground. The doctor must advice to parents to teach children to use sign language during a conversation," Kuvvatov said.
According to him, he opened the Centre for Parents' Support in 2005, and in 2006 he started teaching the sign language in ten regions of Tajikistan. Currently, 240 children and their parents have learned the sign language and established the communication within the family.
"According to some estimates, 94 per cent of hearing-impaired children are born to hearing parents. Their parents do not know the sign language. Therefore, they cannot communicate with their hearing-impaired children. Other family members have the same situation. Imagine the environment where these children are raised. They think they are useless and unwanted for both family and society. Accidents happen because of that," professor Bayon Rakhimov wrote in his article.
The audience forgotten by the media
Hearing-impaired people have no access to information on TV as the state television does not accompany news with sign language interpretation. Important information is unavailable to this group of people via the media. Until last year, Dzhakhonnamo TV (state republican TV channel) had had a sign language interpreter, who provided sign language interpretation of some news.
According to one of the employees of Bakhoriston TV, they had delivered a programme with the sign language interpretation with the support of the international organisation until December 2021. However, the financial support was stopped and this format is no longer used. If they find a sponsor, the TV channel will hire a sign language interpreter, according to the TV channel.
According to one of the employees of Bakhoriston TV, they had delivered a programme with the sign language interpretation with the support of the international organisation until December 2021. However, the financial support was stopped and this format is no longer used. If they find a sponsor, the TV channel will hire a sign language interpreter, according to the TV channel.
Minor privileges
If a hearing-impaired person is recognised low-income, they must be provided by the hearing aid, warning means, video materials with roll titles or sign language interpretation by the state. This is guaranteed by the law of Tajikistan "On social protection of the disabled". However, it is not so in practice.
The only thing that is provided by the state is books. Komilsho Isoev from the Centre for Development, Publication and Distribution of Textbooks of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan, promised to provide free sign language textbooks for the hearing-impaired children or low-income parents.
The hearing loss pension is very low. According to article 31 of the "Law on insurance and state pensions", 3rd group disability person since childhood has the pension at the rate of 60 per cent of the basic pension. The basic pension in Tajikistan is now 207 somoni (18.44 dollars). According to the decree of the President of Tajikistan, the pension to this category was increased by 20 per cent from September 1, 2021.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, to get this pension, hearing-impaired children need to undergo medical examination every year, otherwise the pension will not be paid. However, if a child is born deaf, they cannot restore hearing.
Most of the services are provided on a paid basis, as they are recognised the disabled of the third group.
"In Kazakhstan, the law guarantees that hearing-impaired people can use the sign language interpreter services for 25 hours per year. They can exercise this right if they are not understood in a hospital, public notary office, court or any other place. However, there is no such norm in Tajikistan," Kuvvatov said.
According to Kuvvatov, Tajikistan can use the experience of Finland regarding protection of the rights of hearing-impaired people.
"This country offers five programmes with sign language interpretation. All information is provided in the sign language. Conditions have been created for hearing-impaired children in regular and special schools. Finland's pedagogical, law and medical universities teach sign language to senior students, and, when necessary, teach sign language to protect the rights of the hearing-impaired people," the specialist said.
The only thing that is provided by the state is books. Komilsho Isoev from the Centre for Development, Publication and Distribution of Textbooks of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan, promised to provide free sign language textbooks for the hearing-impaired children or low-income parents.
The hearing loss pension is very low. According to article 31 of the "Law on insurance and state pensions", 3rd group disability person since childhood has the pension at the rate of 60 per cent of the basic pension. The basic pension in Tajikistan is now 207 somoni (18.44 dollars). According to the decree of the President of Tajikistan, the pension to this category was increased by 20 per cent from September 1, 2021.
According to Sattor Kuvvatov, to get this pension, hearing-impaired children need to undergo medical examination every year, otherwise the pension will not be paid. However, if a child is born deaf, they cannot restore hearing.
Most of the services are provided on a paid basis, as they are recognised the disabled of the third group.
"In Kazakhstan, the law guarantees that hearing-impaired people can use the sign language interpreter services for 25 hours per year. They can exercise this right if they are not understood in a hospital, public notary office, court or any other place. However, there is no such norm in Tajikistan," Kuvvatov said.
According to Kuvvatov, Tajikistan can use the experience of Finland regarding protection of the rights of hearing-impaired people.
"This country offers five programmes with sign language interpretation. All information is provided in the sign language. Conditions have been created for hearing-impaired children in regular and special schools. Finland's pedagogical, law and medical universities teach sign language to senior students, and, when necessary, teach sign language to protect the rights of the hearing-impaired people," the specialist said.
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He also said that by 2022, 12 law enforcement, healthcare and education officers will learn sign language in the cities of Pendzhikent, Khorog and Kulyab to protect the rights of the hearing-impaired people, as necessary.
This article was prepared as part of the Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia project implemented by IWPR and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and mentoring program of the Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia project implemented by IWPR with the financial support of the UK Government. The content of the article does not reflect the official position of the IWPR, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Government of the United Kingdom.
Author
CABAR.asia
Editor
Natalia Lee
Design and layout
Akylai Tatenova
Title photo
CABAR.asia
