A student who uses a wheelchair cannot attend classes in her college because its buildings have staircases but no ramps. Which view of disability does her situation best illustrate?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Disability as created by the way society is constructed
Option (1) Disability as a biological given of the individual — Incorrect. Seeing disability as a biological given is the common public perception. It would blame her impairment, but what stops her is the staircase.
Option (2) Disability as created by the way society is constructed — Correct. People are rendered disabled by society, not by biology. A building not designed to admit her shuts her out of education, so the disablement lies in the construction of society.
Option (3) Disability as closely tied to poverty and economic strain — Incorrect. The poverty link is another dimension of the social construction of disability. Her case has nothing to do with money or economic strain.
Option (4) Disability as linked with the person's own self perception — Incorrect. Linking disability with the person's self perception is part of the popular view. Her own view of herself is not the barrier; the building is.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.4 The Struggles of the Disabled … “We are disabled by buildings that are not designed to admit us, and this in turn leads to a range of further disablements regarding our education, our chances of gaining employment, our social lives and so on. The disablement lies in the construction of society, not in the physical condition of the individual (Brisenden 1986 :176).” |