The right to read - World Braille Day
Reading is recognised the world over as an essential ingredient in the composition of any literate society. Indeed it is recognised as a major channel for the acquisition or accessing of information. This right to access information through reading was the focus of the world on January 4, 2017 which marked International Braille Day.
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Today there is an estimated 285 million people worldwide who are blind or partially sighted. According to computation from the last population census, about 300,000 of these persons are Ghanaians living in Ghana.
These people, just like their non-sighted counterparts, also have the right to read and access written information. However, the question here is whether there exists information in a format that can be accessed by these people.
Braille, a medium of reading
Across the world, the Braille is accepted as the medium of reading and writing for blind people. Braille is a system of six dots arranged in various patterns to allow for interpretation as letters of the alphabet and numerical figures. It is read with the pad of the fingers.
Through this medium, blind people in schools, homes and work places are able to read and write. It is equal in value to handwriting or print for sighted people.
Thus, braille is to blind people as print is to sighted people. It is not a code to be deciphered but a simple method of reading that was invented as a result of the innovation of a visually impaired man, called Louis Braille, who wanted to read as much as anybody else.
Although the way in which blind and partially sighted people develop literacy skills may differ, the goal is the same: to use reading, writing, and other literacy tools to gather and understand important information and to convey important information to themselves and to others.
Since the braille was invented almost 200 years ago, the world has seen a lot of changes. However, the need to access information for education, leisure and various purposes has even increased.
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Inclusive Education Policy
The need of blind people to read or access information has been recognised by our educational system with the adoption of the Inclusive Education Policy.
Progressive bodies such as the World Blind Union, World Intellectual Properties Organisation and of course, the Ghana Blind Union, are at the forefront of a national and international campaign for the recognition of the right of blind and partially sighted people to read or access information.
However, the truth is that this situation can only be brought about by a legal provision that allows blind people the right to put published works into formats that can readily be accessed by those who need such information in formats such as the braille as well as large print and audio.
Marrakesh Book Treaty
Dear readers, I am referring to the Marrakesh Book Treaty. This is a treaty which was signed in 2012 by the government of Ghana in Morocco but unfortunately has not yet been ratified. The right of these persons to have reading materials in accessible format is in line with the provisions of our own 1992 Constitution, the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disability, the Sustainable Millennium Goals and the National Disability Act.
It is estimated that worldwide, less than five per cent and in developing countries, less than one per cent of all published works are accessible to blind and reading disabled people. As a result, blind and reading disabled people are virtually denied access to the books in the libraries, in the universities and schools, the communities and even the bookshops.
It is this situation that the Marrakesh Treaty seeks to address.
Since the year 2012, the Ghana Blind Union (GBU) has been pushing for the ratification of this treaty. Even as Ghana opens a new page of its development, we call upon all parliamentarians, ministers of state and well-meaning Ghanaians to help end the ‘’book famine’’ by ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty.