Imagine a university student using her wheelchair on a damaged pavement in Lahore. She knows the route well. She knows where to slow down, which curb requires extra momentum and how to keep her bag balanced. A stranger notices her and assumes she is struggling. Without asking, he grabs the wheelchair handles and begins pushing. The unexpected movement throws her off balance and turns the chair towards the road. The stranger believes he has helped, but the student has experienced a sudden loss of control over her movement and safety.
This situation explains the difference between respectful assistance and unwanted interference. A good intention does not automatically make an action safe or kind. When someone takes control of a wheelchair without permission, the user may feel frightened, embarrassed or treated like a child. The first rule is therefore simple: never touch a person or their wheelchair without consent.
Disability is not a minor issue in Pakistan. The 2023 census counted 240.46 million people and recorded 7.45 million people under the category of disability. It also recorded 23.17 million people with a functional limitation. These figures represent about 3.1% and 9.6% of the counted population respectively, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The categories use different definitions and should not be added together, but both show that disability affects millions of people.
Older figures were much lower. The 1998 census reported a disability rate of about 2.5%. In 2012, the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund published the results of a survey covering about 80,000 households in 23 union councils. Its disability evaluation report found some degree of disability among 8 in every 100 people surveyed and severe disability among approximately 1 in 130. However, this was not a national census, so its findings should not be treated as a final estimate for the entire country. The differences between these numbers show how results can change according to the questions, definitions and areas included in a survey.
A wheelchair is more than an object. It is a mobility device controlled by its user and part of that person’s personal space. Wheelchair users learn how their chairs respond to slopes, holes, turns and changes in weight. An unexpected push can disturb that balance, cause a fall, increase pain, damage the chair or move the user towards traffic. A stranger is unlikely to know the person’s medical condition or how the chair’s brakes, footrests and other parts work. Specialist mobility equipment can also be expensive and difficult to repair or replace. Even minor damage may leave someone without independent mobility for days or weeks.
Pakistan has a strong tradition of charity, and helping others is widely valued as a moral and religious responsibility. The problem is not generosity. It begins when a disabled person is treated as an opportunity for someone else to perform a good deed. This approach places the helper at the centre of the situation while the disabled person’s judgment becomes secondary.
A rights-based approach shifts the focus from rescuing people to removing barriers. A wheelchair user facing a staircase does not need to be lifted like a child; the building needs a safe ramp or lift. A student who cannot enter a classroom does not lack determination; the institution lacks accessibility. A passenger who cannot board a bus does not need pity; the transport system needs to include different mobility needs. In each case, the main problem is not the person’s body but an environment designed without them in mind.
Infantilisation also appears in ordinary conversations. At restaurants, hospitals and ticket counters, staff sometimes speak to a wheelchair user’s companion instead of addressing the user directly. This wrongly assumes that a physical disability affects the person’s ability to understand or make decisions. Some people also offer exaggerated praise when a disabled adult shops, studies or travels independently. Although intended as encouragement, such attention can turn an ordinary activity into a public performance. The person may then feel pressured to smile and appear grateful, even when the attention is uncomfortable.
Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 5 July 2011. The convention supports dignity, personal choice, accessibility and equal participation. The ICT Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2020 also protects dignity, privacy, mobility, accessibility and independent living. This particular law applies to the Islamabad Capital Territory, while the provinces have their own responsibilities and legal frameworks. The Act describes independent living through freedom, self-control, choice and self-determination. Taking control of someone’s wheelchair without asking works against all four principles.
Offering help respectfully takes only a few seconds. Pause before intervening and ask, “Would you like some help?” If the person says no, accept the answer without insisting or standing nearby to watch. If the person says yes, ask how you should assist. Do not assume that you know the safest way to push, lift or position the chair. Wait for clear instructions and touch the wheelchair only when the user gives permission. Speak directly to the person, do not lean on the chair, and do not move it or hang belongings from it without asking.
Sometimes the most respectful action is to step back. Disabled Pakistanis are students, parents, professionals, customers, voters and citizens. They know their bodies and equipment better than strangers do. Genuine support does not remove their control or demand gratitude. It begins by asking, listening and respecting the answer.
