First-ever Braille Version of 1973 Constitution Released

News Desk

Islamabad: The first-ever Braille transcript of the fundamental rights stated in the Constitution of Pakistan was inaugurated at the National Institution of Special Education, Islamabad on Wednesday in the presence of visually impaired children and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Member Parliament Asiya Azeem inaugurated the braille transcription during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the 1973 Constitution organised by the Directorate General of Special Education of the human rights ministry.

Braille is a system of touch reading and writing for blind persons in which raised dots represent the letters of the alphabet. It also contains equivalents for punctuation marks and provides symbols to show letter groupings.

People read braille by moving the hand or hands from left to right along each line.

A declamation contest, under the theme ‘My Constitution – Guarantee of my Freedom’, was also held amongst students with different disabilities to sensitise the public in general and PWDs in particular about their fundamental rights.

Children with visual impairments and pupils with other disabilities from eight special education facilities in the twin cities took part in the competition and educated the audience about the significance of the Constitution and its function in defending people’s basic rights.

Asiya Azeem stated, “Only when we are fully informed on the fundamental rights protected by the Constitution can we preserve our rights.”

MNA Azeem commended the disabled pupils for making significant points in their presentations about personal responsibility and liberty.

Rights and duties are related, and a person’s obligations are a person’s rights: Asiya Azeem

She stated that the date marked a significant landmark in Pakistan’s constitutional history as the first-ever braille edition of the Constitution’s first two chapters was published.

Asiya informed the attendees that the inclusion of the first two chapters of the Constitution in the secondary education curriculum has been suggested by the Parliamentary Advisory Committee in charge of planning the Golden Jubilee celebrations.

People with disabilities deserve respect for overcoming several obstacles in both their personal and professional life

The knowledge that these exceptional kids are so gifted and perfectly capable of leading the nation in the future makes me quite happy, opined MNA. The lawmaker also awarded shields, medals, and certificates to the winners of the declamation contest.

In the contest for physically impaired students, Muzammil and Navaira Naeem from the National Special Education Centre took first and second positions, respectively, while Allah Maafi from Islamabad’s National Training Centre for Special Persons bagged the third position.

Similarly, Shah Fahad and Abdul Samad from the National Special Education Centre got the first and second positions in the contest among visually impaired students, while Sumaira Akbar from the Govt High School for Blind Girls in Shamsabad, Rawalpindi, stood third.