Volume 21, Issue 82 (11-2021)
refahj 2021, 21(82): 95-159 |
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rajabi M, Alavizadeh H, Tabiee M, Movahed M. (2021). Critical Analysis of Discourses Involved in the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Iran. refahj. 21(82), 95-159.
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URL: http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-3844-en.html
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Introduction: The last two decades for people with disabilities in Iran have been accompanied by extensive efforts to develop and enact protection laws. The adoption of the comprehensive law on the protection of the rights of disabled persons in 2004, acceptance of the universal convention on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and its entry into force in 2008, and finally the passage of the amendment to the law on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in 2017 are among these. The recent law was regulated in collaboration with government agencies such as the Ministry Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, the State Welfare Organization and NGOs for disabled persons and parliamentarians. The purpose of the adoption of this law was to provide welfare protection for the disabled and to create the necessary grounds for equalization of opportunities and to remove barriers to social participation of persons with disabilities. Also, correcting incorrect attitudes toward disability and people with disabilities in accordance with the social model of disability has been one of the most important concerns of activists, especially disabled people and their NGOs.
However, during and after the drafting and adoption of the law, much dissatisfaction with the failure and defects of the new law has been expressed. Criticisms are mainly from disabled persons and NGOS, and include numerous objections to the appearance and form of the text of the law, as well as its content and tone. In practice and implementation, only a small part of the law materials has been realized, and in the past two and a half years, important financial, structural, and cultural problems related to the materials of the law have occurred.
The aforementioned points indicate the presence of different discourses in the formulation and implementation of this legal text, which has been active with different and contradictory attitudes and objectives. Representatives of discourses with a medical, rehabilitation, social and cultural approach, as well as profit-oriented to the phenomenon of disability in both the main governmental and non-governmental sectors, have each sought to regulate the law in accordance with their approach. Also, the vacancy of some important discourses in this process is quite sensible.
The aim of this study was to identify the discourses involved in the drafting of the Law on the Protection of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2017 and the extent and type of interactions between them. We have also intended to examine the dominant and passive role of each disability discourse in the drafting and approval of the final text of the law, while analyzing the contribution of these discourses to the weaknesses and defects attributed to the law. Pursuing the above goals will guide us on the one hand to how the Law on the Protection of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities is formed in Iran, and on the other hand, it reveals social and cultural barriers to enforcing the law on persons with disabilities and solving their problems.
Method: Considering the aim of investigating the problems of disabled persons in the legal text, in this study we used Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis method for text analysis. In addition to critical analysis of the text of the law in three levels of description, interpretation, and explanation, we have conducted targeted interviews with individuals active in drafting of the law and compared their statements with our findings from text analysis. For this purpose, 10 people from different governmental and non-governmental sectors were interviewed.
In order to identify the discourse-oriented structures of the text, firstly, in the stage of describing words and phrases related to disability and its discourses, we have analyzed intertextual relationships, underlying knowledge and different interpretations of the producer and representation of the text. Finally, we have explained the relationship between the text and the discourses involved in it and the open role of producing social structures and relationships related to disability arising from these discourses.
We identified the key concepts of each disability discourse and models and matched the words and sentences introduced in the text of the law. For example, words and phrases that are placed in the field of rehabilitation and medicine or support against medical discourse and civil rights, social participation, culture building, etc., have been written against discourse or social model. Also, the objectives of each public and non-governmental sectors were placed against them in order to determine the presence and role of each of these sections according to the text literature.
Findings: By examining the words and phrases extracted from the text and adapting them to the general discourses and discourses of the sections involved in the drafting of the law, it became apparent that out of 34 articles and 29 notes of this law, the vast majority of the cases and meanings, as well as the purpose, are placed in the medical model, rehabilitation, and support. Only two articles are directly but vaguely related to the social model of disability. The findings indicate the active and dominant presence of the public sector, especially the State Welfare Organization, and its bureaucratic objectives in the drafting of the law. The non-governmental organizations of disabled persons have had a poor presence and have been absent in some cases in the process. The private sector is unofficially present but with active interference, and the absence of academic, religious, and judicial departments is evident from the both text and interviewees.
Discussion: The topics of this study can be described in four categories: the process of drafting the text of the law, the way of writing and the literature of the text of the law, the interactions of micro-discourses, such as the Social Welfare and NGOs of the disabled, and representation of macro-disability discourses in the text and inter-sectoral and inter-discourse interactions. The whole process and process of drafting the law lacks a kind of construction or planning and instructions, and has gone according to the tastes of the people involved and disposed of. Despite the 10-year period of the process, haste in the sectors that require accuracy and hesitation has led to the drafting of the text of the law without surveying the academic departments, knowledgeable activists and experts with disabilities, and religious and judicial experts. This haste and unplannedness have caused large parts of the disabled, such as mental groups and the deaf, to have virtually no role in the development process. There is no specific legal resource for regulating the text of the law, and the text of the Universal Convention, as specified in the law, has been ignored in terms of rhetoric and meaning.
In the text, the place of words and phrases, and indeed the literature determining the social and cultural rights of people with disabilities, is empty. But instead, throughout the text, attention to livelihoods and government financial support for people with disabilities is severe or extremely severe.
The dominance of the governmental and bureaucratic discourse, which is always focused on the budget, livelihood, and support issues have prevailed in the drafting of the law, and cultural, social or moral issues of persons and groups with disabilities have remained neglected. The roots of economic and social problems of people with disabilities have not been considered in any way, so no important provisions have been made in the law regarding their elimination.
Ethical consideration
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed in designing, running, and writing all parts of the research.
Funding
In the present study, did not have any sponsors.
Conflicts of interest
This article does not conflict with other articles of us.
Follow the ethics of research
The ethical considerations required in this study included obtaining informed consent from participants, and obtaining recorded consent, confidentiality (using pseudonyms such as participant 1, 2, etc. throughout the study) and the right to opt out.
Acknowledgments
We appreciate all the persons who participated in this qualitative study.
Introduction: The last two decades for people with disabilities in Iran have been accompanied by extensive efforts to develop and enact protection laws. The adoption of the comprehensive law on the protection of the rights of disabled persons in 2004, acceptance of the universal convention on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and its entry into force in 2008, and finally the passage of the amendment to the law on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in 2017 are among these. The recent law was regulated in collaboration with government agencies such as the Ministry Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare, the State Welfare Organization and NGOs for disabled persons and parliamentarians. The purpose of the adoption of this law was to provide welfare protection for the disabled and to create the necessary grounds for equalization of opportunities and to remove barriers to social participation of persons with disabilities. Also, correcting incorrect attitudes toward disability and people with disabilities in accordance with the social model of disability has been one of the most important concerns of activists, especially disabled people and their NGOs.
However, during and after the drafting and adoption of the law, much dissatisfaction with the failure and defects of the new law has been expressed. Criticisms are mainly from disabled persons and NGOS, and include numerous objections to the appearance and form of the text of the law, as well as its content and tone. In practice and implementation, only a small part of the law materials has been realized, and in the past two and a half years, important financial, structural, and cultural problems related to the materials of the law have occurred.
The aforementioned points indicate the presence of different discourses in the formulation and implementation of this legal text, which has been active with different and contradictory attitudes and objectives. Representatives of discourses with a medical, rehabilitation, social and cultural approach, as well as profit-oriented to the phenomenon of disability in both the main governmental and non-governmental sectors, have each sought to regulate the law in accordance with their approach. Also, the vacancy of some important discourses in this process is quite sensible.
The aim of this study was to identify the discourses involved in the drafting of the Law on the Protection of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2017 and the extent and type of interactions between them. We have also intended to examine the dominant and passive role of each disability discourse in the drafting and approval of the final text of the law, while analyzing the contribution of these discourses to the weaknesses and defects attributed to the law. Pursuing the above goals will guide us on the one hand to how the Law on the Protection of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities is formed in Iran, and on the other hand, it reveals social and cultural barriers to enforcing the law on persons with disabilities and solving their problems.
Method: Considering the aim of investigating the problems of disabled persons in the legal text, in this study we used Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis method for text analysis. In addition to critical analysis of the text of the law in three levels of description, interpretation, and explanation, we have conducted targeted interviews with individuals active in drafting of the law and compared their statements with our findings from text analysis. For this purpose, 10 people from different governmental and non-governmental sectors were interviewed.
In order to identify the discourse-oriented structures of the text, firstly, in the stage of describing words and phrases related to disability and its discourses, we have analyzed intertextual relationships, underlying knowledge and different interpretations of the producer and representation of the text. Finally, we have explained the relationship between the text and the discourses involved in it and the open role of producing social structures and relationships related to disability arising from these discourses.
We identified the key concepts of each disability discourse and models and matched the words and sentences introduced in the text of the law. For example, words and phrases that are placed in the field of rehabilitation and medicine or support against medical discourse and civil rights, social participation, culture building, etc., have been written against discourse or social model. Also, the objectives of each public and non-governmental sectors were placed against them in order to determine the presence and role of each of these sections according to the text literature.
Findings: By examining the words and phrases extracted from the text and adapting them to the general discourses and discourses of the sections involved in the drafting of the law, it became apparent that out of 34 articles and 29 notes of this law, the vast majority of the cases and meanings, as well as the purpose, are placed in the medical model, rehabilitation, and support. Only two articles are directly but vaguely related to the social model of disability. The findings indicate the active and dominant presence of the public sector, especially the State Welfare Organization, and its bureaucratic objectives in the drafting of the law. The non-governmental organizations of disabled persons have had a poor presence and have been absent in some cases in the process. The private sector is unofficially present but with active interference, and the absence of academic, religious, and judicial departments is evident from the both text and interviewees.
Discussion: The topics of this study can be described in four categories: the process of drafting the text of the law, the way of writing and the literature of the text of the law, the interactions of micro-discourses, such as the Social Welfare and NGOs of the disabled, and representation of macro-disability discourses in the text and inter-sectoral and inter-discourse interactions. The whole process and process of drafting the law lacks a kind of construction or planning and instructions, and has gone according to the tastes of the people involved and disposed of. Despite the 10-year period of the process, haste in the sectors that require accuracy and hesitation has led to the drafting of the text of the law without surveying the academic departments, knowledgeable activists and experts with disabilities, and religious and judicial experts. This haste and unplannedness have caused large parts of the disabled, such as mental groups and the deaf, to have virtually no role in the development process. There is no specific legal resource for regulating the text of the law, and the text of the Universal Convention, as specified in the law, has been ignored in terms of rhetoric and meaning.
In the text, the place of words and phrases, and indeed the literature determining the social and cultural rights of people with disabilities, is empty. But instead, throughout the text, attention to livelihoods and government financial support for people with disabilities is severe or extremely severe.
The dominance of the governmental and bureaucratic discourse, which is always focused on the budget, livelihood, and support issues have prevailed in the drafting of the law, and cultural, social or moral issues of persons and groups with disabilities have remained neglected. The roots of economic and social problems of people with disabilities have not been considered in any way, so no important provisions have been made in the law regarding their elimination.
Ethical consideration
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed in designing, running, and writing all parts of the research.
Funding
In the present study, did not have any sponsors.
Conflicts of interest
This article does not conflict with other articles of us.
Follow the ethics of research
The ethical considerations required in this study included obtaining informed consent from participants, and obtaining recorded consent, confidentiality (using pseudonyms such as participant 1, 2, etc. throughout the study) and the right to opt out.
Acknowledgments
We appreciate all the persons who participated in this qualitative study.
Type of Study: orginal |
Received: 2021/02/4 | Accepted: 2021/08/21 | Published: 2021/11/23
Received: 2021/02/4 | Accepted: 2021/08/21 | Published: 2021/11/23
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