On a day marked by the 13th national parliamentary elections and referendum, a moving moment unfolded at a polling centre in the capital’s Badda area, highlighting both the determination of a voter and the persistent barriers faced by persons with disabilities.
Khurshida Akter, 29, a voter with physical disabilities, arrived at the Alatunnesa Higher Secondary School polling centre around 7:10am on Thursday with her mother, Asmani Akter. Sitting in her wheelchair, she was first in the queue when the gates opened.
However, upon entering the centre, she learnt that her assigned voting room was on the third floor of the multi-storey building. With no elevator, no special arrangements for persons with disabilities, and no immediate assistance from polling officials, Khurshida found herself unable to access the voting room.
For nearly three and a half hours, she waited downstairs in her wheelchair. Polling officials informed her that, under existing regulations, ballot papers and seals could not be brought down to the ground floor to allow her to vote there.
Despite the obstacles, Khurshida refused to leave without casting her vote.
Finally, around 11:00am, her nearly 60-year-old mother carried her up the stairs to the third floor. There, following due procedure, Khurshida was given priority and allowed to vote in a secret booth like other voters. After casting her ballot, her face lit up with joy.
“I have voted, brother,” Khurshida told Jago News. “As a citizen, voting is my responsibility. I may be disabled, but I have one vote just like everyone else, and it carries the same value.”
After voting, her mother once again carried her down the stairs. Visibly exhausted, Asmani Akter said the effort had left her breathless.
“I am nearly 60 years old. I can hardly climb stairs myself. Carrying my daughter up and down like that took all my strength,” she said.
Yet she expressed deep pride in her daughter’s determination. “This is the third time she has voted. People often say, ‘She is disabled, why does she need to vote?’ But she says, ‘Even if I am disabled, I am still a citizen of this country.’ Because of her, I came to vote too. If she had not come, I would not have come either.”
The mother and daughter have been living in a rented home in South Badda for nearly two decades after moving from Dinajpur. Khurshida’s father, a rickshaw puller in Dhaka, died shortly after they moved to the city, when she was just 10 or 11 years old. Born with disabilities, Khurshida is their only child.
Khurshida said she received some education at a school for children with disabilities and is now a member of a disability rights organisation called ‘Amrai Shokti’. “From there, I learned about our rights,” she said. “No matter what obstacles come, I will continue to work for the rights of people like me.”
Mohammad Barkat Hossain, the presiding officer at the centre, said he became aware of the situation later in the morning.
“After I learnt about it, I looked into what could be done,” he said. “Since there is no provision in the rules, it was not possible to send the ballot papers and seal downstairs. A female Ansar member was asked to assist. However, the voter’s mother carried her upstairs. She was then allowed to vote in the secret booth on a priority basis in accordance with the rules.”
The incident also drew the attention of two European Union observer teams present at the centre. Members of both teams spoke with Khurshida and inquired with officials about the challenges she faced and the steps taken to address them. One team remained on site to observe her voting process and offered assistance.
Most polling centres in Dhaka are located in multi-storey buildings. However, there are no facilities to enable persons with physical disabilities to move between floors, nor are staff assigned specifically to assist them. Despite this, they have been urged to come to polling centres to cast their votes. Foreign observers described the situation as highly inhumane and unacceptable.
Robert Moore, a member of one EU observer team, said, “Most polling centres in Dhaka are located in multi-storey buildings. Elderly voters and those with special needs face significant difficulties accessing voting rooms, and there are no special arrangements for them. This is disappointing. However, the determination shown by voters facing such challenges is truly inspiring.”