One step towards inclusion in Kazakhstan · Global Voices
<PERSON> on the left, with friends enrolled in the project in which he was trained to be a waiter. Photo courtesy of Aidar.
Grassroots organizations in Kazakhstan are taking action with policies for mental disability and one young man's story illustrates the progress made so far.
At 25, <PERSON> is about to embark on a new journey. He is set to take a state exam to get his secondary education diploma, taking him one step closer to his dream of becoming an advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. In an interview with Global Voices, <PERSON> said his plans include applying to a college to study law.
Сейчас я добиваюсь своей цели. Я в прошлом году писал в управление образования так как мне надо получить аттестат. У меня экзамен в понедельник. После получения аттестата я хочу отучиться на юриста и поварa.
Now I am achieving my goal. Last year I wrote to the Department of Education because I needed to get a diploma (secondary education). I am taking the exam next Monday. After receiving the diploma, I want to become a lawyer and a chef.
<PERSON> wants to know his rights as a citizen of Kazakhstan and as a person with a mental disability. That is why he goes by the nickname of prokuror (prosecutor) among his acquaintances and people who have been assisting him in his rehabilitation and empowerment program:
Я знаю что иногда мои права ущемляют. 1010
Я – гражданин Казаxстана. Моя цель – хочу помогать другим.
I know that sometimes my rights are violated. I am a citizen of Kazakhstan. My goal is to help others.
<PERSON> was born with cognitive impairments and grew up in an orphanage for special kids. In 2015, he joined a pilot project by a local NGO, Psychoanalytic Association, which advocates for supportive employment and living for people with intellectual and mental disabilities.
The Psychoanalytic Association, Rukh, and Daryniana are the group of activists who have challenged the current public policies and practices in the psychiatric health care system in Kazakhstan. The work these NGOs do to advocate for personalized care and services for the people with mental disabilities as part of their social rehabilitation is a new practice in psychiatric health care in Kazakhstan. Along with the provision of care and services, these NGOs incorporate employment as part of social empowerment. In collaboration with government institutions, they aim to bring sustainable and positive change in the lives of marginalized groups and make them visible in society.
Kazakhstan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities to ensure social and economic inclusion in 2015. This was a starting point for grassroots organizations such as the Psychoanalytic Association and Rukh to advocate for a better quality of life, the inclusion of people with psychosocial disabilities, and bring in better practices to replace the Soviet legacy of mental healthcare, which is still a common practice in Kazakhstan.
Outdated Soviet psychiatric care mainly focused on a medicated approach, with hospitalization in overcrowded boarding houses, which kept the patients segregated from society and did little to change the social stigma around people with mental disabilities. This form of care also did not include further social rehabilitation outside of the institutions. That is where initiatives such as Rukh and the Psychoanalytic Association are doing important work, by dismantling this old system of institutionalized stigmatization so that people with mental disabilities receive care and services in a community-based environment.
When he turned 18, <PERSON> was deprived of his legal capacity by the local court, which meant he was dependent on his state-assigned guardian at all times and decisions were not his to make. 1010