Deaf In Developing Countries

Legal Seat – Helsinki, Finland
WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF
An International Non-Governmental Organisation in official liaison with ECOSOC, UNESCO, ILO and WHO
PO Box 65, FIN-00401 Helsinki, FINLAND
FAX: +358 9 580 3572
www.wfdeaf.org
President
MARKKU JOKINEN
Email: wfd@kl-deaf.fi
DEAF IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Approximately 80% of the world’s Deaf people live in developing countries. In 1988, the World Federation of
the Deaf (WFD) conducted a survey to obtain data on the human and linguistic rights of these Deaf people. The
survey was disseminated in English, French and Spanish, to Deaf organisations, Deaf schools and government
agencies in 97 countries; 96 replies were received, from 68 countries. The following are some of the findings.
Civil Rights and Legislation:
● In five (5) countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, six (6) in Africa and one (1) in Asia, Deaf people
did NOT have equal citizenship rights. In other words, Deaf people in those countries could not vote, their
freedom to assemble or establish representative bodies was restricted; Deaf could not marry other Deaf, etc.
● 26 countries prohibited Deaf people from driving and obtaining a Driver’s License.
● In most countries, sign languages were not recognised by the government; therefore there was no guarantee
that Deaf children had access to their native sign language even in schools that claimed to use sign language.
Access to Information and Self-Representation:
● Out of 53 countries with a television broadcasting network, only six (6) – Belize, Brazil, Cuba, Ghana, India
and Pakistan - produced programmes, news and documentaries for Deaf people.
● In 17 countries, there were no organisations of or for Deaf people.
● In countries with Deaf organisations, only 33% received financial support from the government.
Employment:
● The general proportion of unemployment for Deaf people was three (3) times higher than national averages.
● The most common jobs for Deaf people were manual labour jobs, i.e. carpentry, joinery, and masonry, as well
as tailoring and dressmaking.
● 40% of countries said that discrimination and wrong attitudes towards Deaf people at work were not unusual.
Interpreting Services:
● Sign language interpreters were available in only 29 out of 65 countries. Moreover, these interpreters were not
trained professionals, nor were they certified by an authority.
● 28 countries had no interpreters at all [Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Cameron, Ethiopia, Gambia, Jordan,
Kuwait, Mali, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe, to name a few].
● In Barbados, Colombia, Kenya and Thailand, there were only one (1) or two (2) interpreter(s) nationally.
Education:
● Only 20% of Deaf children received any education at all.
● Only 1% of Deaf children were enrolled in primary education.
● Modes of instruction in Deaf Schools (from 89 replies of 64 countries) were:
Oral – 64 countries Manual – 44 countries
Both – 3 countries Total Communication – 42 countries
● In 18 countries, teachers did not receive formal training to teach Deaf children.
World Federation of the Deaf
General Secretariat
PO Box 65
00401 Helsinki, Finland
FAX: +358 9 580 3572
Email: info@wfdeaf.org Website: www.wfdeaf.org
Fact Sheet
NOTE: These statistics are based on survey results published in 1992; WFD believes that today there are some changes and improvements, although
probably not dramatic improvements. Plans for a new survey are under development.

Human Rights

Legal Seat – Helsinki, Finland
WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF
An International Non-Governmental Organisation in official liaison with ECOSOC, UNESCO, ILO and WHO
PO Box 65, FIN-00401 Helsinki, FINLAND
FAX: +358 9 580 3572
www.wfdeaf.org
President
MARKKU JOKINEN
Email: wfd@kl-deaf.fi
HUMAN RIGHTS
One of the most important priorities in the work of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is to ensure human
rights for Deaf people all over the world, in every aspect of life. All human rights which apply to non-Deaf
people also apply to Deaf people. Unfortunately, though, the rights of Deaf people are often overlooked,
especially in developing countries. In 1990, the United Nations (UN) started giving more focus to the human
rights of people with disabilities. Within this focus, WFD advises the UN and its agencies on specific issues and
policies which affect Deaf people.
The UN has several documents which WFD uses to promote human rights for Deaf people. Among these are:
INTERNATIONAL BILL OF HUMAN RIGHTS (1990)
• People with disabilities are members of society. They should receive the support they need within the ordinary
structures of education, health, employment, and social services.
• As people with disabilities achieve equal rights they should also have equal obligations. As part of the process,
provision should be made to assist people with disabilities to assume full responsibility as members of society.
STANDARD RULES ON THE EQUALIZATION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (UN 1993)
In 1993, the UN General Assembly recognised the importance of creating universal standards for human rights
for people with disabilities The Standard Rules provide guidelines for the following areas:
1. Awareness-raising 7. Income Maintenance and Social Security
2. Support services 8. Family life and personal integrity
3. Accessibility 9. Culture
4. Education 10. Medical Issues
5. Employment 11. Laws
6. Rehabilitation 12. Recreation and Sports
SALAMANCA STATEMENT ON SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION (UNESCO 1994)
Item 21: The importance of sign language as the medium of communication among Deaf people should be
recognised and provision made to ensure that all Deaf people have access to education in their national sign
language. Owing to the particular communication needs of Deaf and Deafblind people, their education may be
more suitably provided in special schools or classes and units in mainstream schools.
There are many other UN conventions and human rights documents. In using these, WFD brings attention to
specific human rights needs of Deaf people.
For more information about WFD and its human rights work, contact:
World Federation of the Deaf
General Secretariat
PO Box 65
00401 Helsinki
Finland
FAX: +358 9 580 3572
Email: info@wfdeaf.org
Website: www.wfdeaf.org
Fact Sheet

The Development of Sign Language

Legal Seat - Helsinki, Finland
WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAF
An International Non-Governmental Organisation in official liaison with ECOSOC, UNESCO, ILO and WHO
PO Box 65, FIN-00401 Helsinki, FINLAND
FAX: +358 9 580 3572
www.wfdeaf.org
President
MARKKU JOKINEN
Email: wfd@kl-deaf.fi
FACT SHEET
SIGN LANGUAGE
The Development of Sign Language
• Prior to the 16th century no formal recognition was made of sign language. Resorting to homemade signs
was the only way for Deaf people to communicate, until an Italian physician, Girolamo Cardano, tried to
develop some code of signs that never caught on. His work, however, paved the way for a new
perspective on Deaf people: communication WAS possible, and just because they could not hear didn’t
mean they were inferior.
• Spanish monks began to develop a standard set of signs, trying to form similar shapes to the written word.
• By the 18th century, in France the first public education of the Deaf was started, by Abbe de L’Epee. He
devised signs for certain functions of grammar. He taught Deaf pupils through writing, signing, and
finger-spelling successfully.
• In the 20th century, Dr. William Stokoe, linguistic researcher, declared American Sign Language an
official language. Other research on sign language worldwide produced similar results; sign languages are
true languages with their own set of linguistic rules.
The Goals and Role of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD):
1. To promote recognition of sign language and the right of Deaf individuals to use sign language;
2. To promote the right of Deaf children to have early and full access to sign language;
3. To promote increased support for sign language research;
4. To promote better quality of teaching of sign language;
5. To promote better quality of sign language interpreting;
6. To promote more availability of sign language in the media.
Sign Language Recognised in the Following Countries:
CONSTITUTON:
Brazil Finland South Africa
Czech Republic New Zealand Uganda
Ecuador Portugal Venezuela
LEGISLATION/POLICY:
Australia Denmark Romania Uruguay
Belarus France Russian Federation Zimbabwe
Belgium Some German States Slovak Republic
Brazil Greece Spain
Canada Iceland Sri Lanka
China Iran Sweden
Colombia Latvia Switzerland
Cyprus Lithuania Thailand
Czech Republic Mozambique United States of America
MORE ON BACK
SIGN LANGUAGE OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED BY THE GOVERNMENT:
United Kingdom
Cuba
Mauritius
MYTHS
• Sign Language is a pictorial rendition for the words of spoken language, a short cut.
• Sign language is universal, the same in every country around the world.
• Abstract concepts cannot be expressed in sign language.
• People can learn sign language easily.
• Education in sign language jeopardises the learning of the written language.
FACTS
• Sign languages have complex rules of grammar and expansive vocabularies, and are
comfortably capable as vehicles everyday conversation, intellectual discourse, rhetoric, wit, and
poetry!
• Sign languages in each country are found to have dialects, just as spoken languages do.
• In the United States of America, ASL (American Sign Language) is the fifth most used
minority language, after French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
• Some studies reveal that children can learn sign language 2-3 months earlier than they can learn
to speak.
SIGN LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION
• Prior to the late 1800’s, sign language was commonly used to give a good education to Deaf
pupils.
• In 1880, at a conference in Milan, Italy, hearing authorities made the decision to eliminate sign
language from the classroom and prevent Deaf teachers from teaching in European countries; at
the same time, American schools saw a similar fate as the number of Deaf teachers (47% of all
teachers in Deaf schools) went down to a single digit.
• In place of using sign language, nearly all schools implemented the Oral Method, placing Deaf
children’s education in the Dark Ages for 100 years.
• To this day, in spite of numerous studies showing that Deaf children learn best through sign
language, Deaf education has still not fully recovered from the blows dealt by the Milan
Conference and by the reduction in numbers of Deaf teachers.
INTERESTING TIDBITS!
• Sign language is different from other minority languages, in that it is a visual language- facial
expressions, body language and visual placements are all important components of sign
language.
• Although Deaf people consider themselves (and research supports this view) a linguistic
minority group, governments and other institutions insist on labelling Deaf people as ‘disabled’.
• There are currently about 4,000 recorded spoken/written languages in the world- if more
countries recognise sign languages as well, this number would go up dramatically.
• Languages are the roots of culture.
PRESERVE SIGN LANGUAGE, SAVE CULTURE!
World Federation of the Deaf
General Secretariat
PO Box 65
00401 Helsinki, Finland
FAX: +358 9 580 3572
Email: info@wfdeaf.org
Website: www.wfdeaf.org
(updated: October 2006)

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