Celebrating Our Unsung Champions At The Special Olympics

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The successful integration of minority groups in the wider society demands all populations to come together as a nation, in changing their attitudes and providing opportunities to these disadvantaged groups. Celebration and promotion of events such as The Special Olympics are a step forward, in fighting a universal struggle for equal rights and opportunities for all men and women inevitably leading to its improvement and development as a whole,

“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”-Oath of the Special Olympic Games

SO World Games: The Present and the Past

A team of mere 92 men and women represented the spirit of a staggering 1.8 million population at the Special Olympics (SO) Summer World Games, hosted at Abu Dhabi in March 2019. Hur Mushtaq, Shumaila Arbab, Maham Zehra, Amir Ikhlaq, Humna Aslam, and Farzana Rehmat  were among the few who waved their green and white hues in victory at the global platform. Pakistan competed in 10 sports this year and managed to bag 18 gold, 28 silver and 15 bronze medals . In addition to this, two youth teams from the Pakistan contingent also attended the Global Youth Leadership Summit held at the Special Olympics.

Initially geared towards providing a recreational outlet for an intellectually disabled audience, the annual Special Olympics event has evolved tremendously over time, both in scale and scope of impact, ever since its conceptualization by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1962 and inauguration by Anne Burke and Dr. William in 1968 .

The Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP) was later founded in 1989 with its headquarters in Karachi, with a total of 20 athletes registered to its name at the time. Over the years, the numbers grew, and it currently includes over 28 thousand registered athletes. Since its institutionalization, these Pakistani athletes have successfully competed in tournaments around the world, including the World Summer Games in 1991 (USA), 1995 (USA), 1999 (USA) ,2003 (Ireland) , 2011 (Greece), as well as SO Bharat Games in 2006 and 2008 (India), SO Winter Games in 2013 (Korea), and Inaugural Asia Pacific Games Australia in 2013 amongst many others .

Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP) endeavors to provide an opportunity for both aspiring and professional athletes struggling with intellectual disabilities to compete in Olympic like sport activities. SOP operates across the county and conducts training and competitions across the five provinces. It encompasses a year-round training programme which focuses on channeling the energies of the athletes in a constructive way, towards the development of their physical and mental fitness, in hopes to bring them into the mainstream society. Read about Covid-19 and its impact.

SO Games: Why are they so important?

For years, Pakistani athletes have been successful in making their mark in the realm of international sports with achievements in cricket and hockey etc. And the victories at Abu Dhabi by 92 of our most talented and bravest have etched the name of the nation even further in hearts and minds worldwide.

This platform has served to champion the voices of those that are often ignored and shrugged off in the society. The taboo attached to intellectual disabilities especially in the South East Asian nationalities prevents such individuals to assimilate and add value to their community. Since a very long time, such minorities have struggled in their freedoms and rights, fighting silent battles and suppressing basic desires and wants.

Special Olympics has provided a safe place for these men and women to express themselves. Its aim is to instill a sense of belonging and inclusion into its participants. Moreover, the tournament is meant to empower and champion the voices of those who have been historically only considered to be a burden on society and its resources. It attempts to build confidence and independence in this population by providing a level playing field for all contestants.

Additionally, SO promotes the culture of comradeship and friendship amongst a group of individuals that struggles with such sentiments from an early age due to their treatment in society. Because every individual competing is fighting a battle a within, there is a mutual understanding, respect and empathy for each other’s pains and struggles. Such experiences bring the participants invariably closer and create a new-found appreciation of their talents and efforts.

The world often forgets the hardships and struggles of the families of such unique individuals. Not only are the said individuals barred from social integration, but their families and loved ones also find it hard to perform an active role in their communities and circles. A platform like the Special Olympics celebrates the accomplishments of these unrecognized heroes as well and encourages them to interact with other families that are on a similar journey as them. It also gives the families a chance to feel unmeasurable pride in their loved ones as they strive to accomplish something independently; something the athletes can truly and completely call their own.

SO Games: What Needs to be Done?

Efforts like the Special Olympics are part of the bigger struggle of changing the attitudes and perceptions of people at large, regarding certain disadvantaged groups in the society. There is a dire need for removing the stigmas attached to intellectually disabled individuals. Instead of focusing on their weaknesses, society needs to emphasize and celebrate their strengths. They should be absolved of any discrimination or bias and treated like any other member of society.

With so many social movements on the rise lately, especially those fighting for the causes of marginalized and sidelined populations, one can actually feel as if they were witnessing several histories in the making.  While the cries of the disabled population have been soundlessly dealt with by their families within the confines of their homes, their existence is still a reality that demands to be addressed and catered to by the state.

Even though the state continues to abide by international rules and regulations to ensure that the disabled population can enjoy the basic facilities provided, there is, to this day, no absolute, formalized and comprehensive code of law that governs and protects the welfare of this population. The only regulation that addresses this population is that of ‘The Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981’ and that too primarily focuses on just the topic of employment. Till date, no code of law has been published addressing broader issues faced by the disabled population.

The absence of such a holistic law has resulted in an overt inconsistency when using terms to identify and describing the disabled population. Other challenges faced by the state in this regard include the tracking of such populations as public data of disabled individuals continues to be scarce, inaccurate and inconsistent. This stems from an inefficient process of registering as a disabled person, which is currently a long and burdening one, dissuading the disabled populations to register.

SO Games: The Future

Pakistan is yet to fully adopt a uniform law like that by ‘UN Human Rights of persons with disabilities’ in order to deal with its disabled populace. Like the UN convention, such laws can address the proper and adequate schooling, free mobility and independent living, participation in sports and cultural activities, enjoyment of medical treatments and social protection, access to justice, and participation in legal commitments etc. of the disabled populace. The international framework offered by the UN with its ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ offers a golden benchmark for all nations to follow and implement in their respective socio-political spaces . Adoption of such a comprehensive set of laws, geared towards satisfying the special needs of the one ‘invisible’ group of the population, can fulfill our aim to establish a productive society as a whole.

Special Olympics thus serves as one of the many avenues through which the intellectually challenged individuals can feel a part of the greater society. The state can provide other avenues and opportunities, in different sectors of the economy, to cater to the varied needs of such individuals. Such efforts should ideally be centered around increasing the visibility and exposure of such individuals in an environment which is conducive to their learning and growth. Such an environment will make them feel prominent and capable enough to contribute positively to their communities.