A group of unemployed graduates with disabilities staged an indefinite sit-in on Sunday, demanding urgent government measures to ensure employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
The protest, organized under the banner of the “Chakri Protyashi Protibondhi Graduate Parishad (Job-seeking Disabled Graduates Council)”, began around 10am in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh, Dhaka.
Participants — including the gaduates with disabilities from different regions and their allies — expressed deep frustration over what they described as the government’s “failure to implement promised disability employment quotas.”
Around noon, the protesters began a march toward the chief adviser’s official residence in Jamuna, reiterating their five-point charter of demands.
However, around 1pm, police intercepted the procession near the Shahbagh intersection, preventing demonstrators from advancing toward Jamuna. Witnesses reported a brief scuffle and heated exchange between protesters and police during the standoff.
Later in the afternoon, police dispersed the demonstrators from Shahbagh, forcing them to retreat. The protesters then regrouped at the base of the Raju Memorial Sculpture near TSC, where they have continued their sit-in in the evening.
“Graduates with disabilities are not a burden — they are assets of the nation. Ensuring employment is the government’s constitutional duty,” said Md Ali Hossain, convener of the council.
Joint Convener Ebrahim Khalil said: “By not implementing the disability quota, the government is violating both its national law and international commitments.”
“We want to live and work with dignity, not charity,” added Alif Hossain, member secretary of the council.
The council has placed five key demands, including:
- Special recruitment through executive orders — Employment opportunities for unemployed persons with disabilities, categorized by disability type, to be arranged every two years through special circulars.
- Dedicated quotas — 2% for disabled candidates in first and second-class government jobs, and 5% in third and fourth-class positions, to be reserved at every stage of recruitment (preliminary, written, and viva).
- Revision of the national scribe policy — Allowing visually impaired and physically disabled candidates to nominate their own scribes.
- Reserved posts in disability-related education centers — Ensuring recruitment of visually impaired job-seekers in vacant posts under the Department of Social Services, particularly in Braille-based education and PHT centers.
- Raising the age limit for government jobs — Raising the age limit for government jobs for persons with disabilities to 35 years or 37 if the general age limit is increased to 35.
The council announced that the sit-in at the Raju Memorial Sculpture will continue indefinitely until their demands are met.
