‘Disability’ as a generic term embraces a wide range of conditions. But however widely or narrowly the term is applied, the Bahá’í community advocates fair treatment and social policies for all, according to their needs.

Human beings are, in Bahá’í understanding, essentially spiritual beings located within the material creation. Every individual has God-given talents and capacities that cry out to be nurtured and allowed to flourish. This can and should happen within the workplace, in the family, through formal education, and through informal association with friends and mentors. Parliament, government, business and voluntary organizations all have their parts to play in avoiding and rooting out all forms of prejudice and discrimination and ensuring that these talents and capacities can thrive.

Beyond this, the entire material world is a ‘school’ in which the soul learns what it is and why it exists; here we develop the spiritual qualities and virtues that we need in this life and the next. By meeting the challenges the material world throws at us, we can learn and grow in ways that benefit us and are of service to the wider community.

The Bahá’í approach to social policy is rooted in concepts of justice, service, and the use of a consensus-building approach to decision-making and the transformation of conflict. This is based on a belief in the essential unity of humankind. These concepts have been applied from the earliest days of the Bahá’í community in fields such as human rights, fostering of racial tolerance, and promoting the equality of women and men. This reflects a fundamental belief that society should be ordered in such a way that every individual, whatever his or her gender, race or physical circumstances, should have every reasonable opportunity to fully develop his or her potential, live a rewarding life, and make a positive contribution to society at large.

It is not long since many people with disabilities were condemned to depend on charity, whether from family or from wider society. Socially, and often physically, they were denied access to the wider world. Now, developments in science, medicine and technology increasingly make it possible for most of those with disabilities to live as more-or-less full members of society. They hold out the hope of further possibilities for overcoming once intractable conditions. The Bahá’í writings broadly anticipate and encourage these developments. At the same time we must learn to live with these developments and the impact they will have on our society: all too often our social consciousness lags behind the consequences of our technical abilities.

Many issues need to be addressed within the wider vision provided by the Bahá’í writings of human life and its value. They envisage a world in which the enormous capacity of humankind: ‘.... will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, .... to the prolongation of human life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race.’

The common impression of disability is of major and obvious problems such as blindness and being wheelchair bound. In fact people with these conditions are only a minority of the disabled population. The Disability Discrimination Act in the United Kingdom, some of whose provisions are already in force and the rest of which will become fully effected by October 2004, recognises a wide range of physical and mental disabilities which have a substantial and lasting effect on a person’s ability to carry out activities of daily living. It also makes clear that different disabilities will require different measures, while expecting that those providing a service to the public will take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.

The Bahá’í community in the UK welcomes this approach. It is working hard to ensure that people with disabilities can participate fully in its activities, whether at national, regional, or local levels. A strategy group within the National Assembly, the elected administrative body, is working with people of various disabilities to ensure that facilities are accessible, and is educating and assisting local Bahá’í communities in their responsibilities.

At the same time, we recognise that what needs to be learned goes beyond merely complying with an act of Parliament, vitally important as that is. We believe that it is essential to ensure that the Bahá’í community and its culture are open and accessible to all, whatever their particular needs.

As the many implications of the concept of the unity of mankind, set out more than a century ago as a core Bahá’í teaching, take hold in the world at large, Bahá’ís believe that the obligation, both moral and socially necessary, to ensure the full integration wherever possible of the disabled and disadvantaged into society will be increasingly recognised. An inclusive and united society cannot exclude any section of its people, and neglects this vital fact at its peril.

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