Accessibility of Public Buildings in Khulna, Bangladesh, for Wheelchair Users
Purpose: Physical accessibility is one of the fundamental rights of wheelchair users in order to ensure their integration into society. After Bangladesh ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on November 30, 2007, there has been a paradigm shift in the government’s approach to ensure the welfare and rights of persons with disabilities through legislative and policy actions. This study assesses how accommodative the public buildings are for wheelchair users in Khulna, Bangladesh.
Method: All the public buildings in Khulna city - including government offices, public schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, libraries, post offices and court buildings - were visited to assess the presence and suitability of facilities for wheelchair users, such as accessible parking, ramps, elevators, doors, and essential interior facilities like water closets and drinking-water fountains. Bangladesh has no specific accessibility guidelines document, but accessibility requirements have been included in the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) 2008. The study made its assessment using an abridged form of the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and BNBC 2008.
Results: Only 6.7% (5) of the 75 public buildings were found suitable for wheelchair users. There is scope for modifications to be made in 28% (21) of the buildings which are currently unsuitable for wheelchair users.
Conclusion: The study revealed that public buildings are, in general, not very accommodative of wheelchair users. There is a need for modifications in infrastructure to ensure inclusive development of these individuals.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2019 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Exploring Knowledge and Attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among Deaf People in Ghana , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 2 (2013): Summer
- Suzanne C Hopf, Sharynne McLeod, Sarah H McDonagh, Epenisa N Rakanace, Communication Disability in Fiji: Community Cultural Beliefs and Attitudes , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): Spring 2017
- Dr Sara Varughese, Dr Lindsey Gale , Dr. S. Francis Annuncia, Yashashree Deore, Professor Nathan Grills, Fairlene Soji, The Impact Evaluation of Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) Training: Outcomes of CBM India Trust Training , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 36 No. 1 (2025): Spring Issue
- Jeff Grischow, Magnus Mfoafo-M’Carthy, Anne Vermeyden, Jessica Cammaert, Physical Disability, Rights and Stigma in Ghana: A Review of Literature , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 29 No. 4 (2018): Winter 2018
- yogesh mahajan, A Decade Without Audiologists: Persistent Non-Recruitment in Indian Public Health: Non-Recruitment of Audiologists in India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 37 No. 1 (2026): Spring Issue
- Natiara Mohamad Hashim, Noor Ayuni Che Zakaria, Abdul Halim Abdullah, Rohana Ngah, Mohd Ali Bahari Abdul Kadir, Creating an Inclusive Ecosystem through Healthcare in Disability Management: Malaysians’ Experience , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 1: (Spring) - 2022
- Shaun R Cleaver, Lilian Magalhaes, Virginia Bond, Stephanie A Nixon, Exclusion through Attempted Inclusion: Research Experiences with Disabled Persons’ Organisations (DPOs) in Western Zambia , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 4 (2017): Winter 2017
- Sudath Piyankara Abeywickrama, Inoka Kumudini Jayasinghe, Samanmali Priyanga Sumanasena, Excluded in Inclusive Schools: Experiences of Children with Disabilities, their Families and Teachers in Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 1 (2013): Spring
- Gert VanRooy, Elina Amadhila, Hasheem Mannan, Joanne McVeigh, Malcolm MacLachlan, Mutamad Amin, Core Concepts of Human Rights and Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups in the Namibian Policy on Orthopaedic Technical Services , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2012): Autumn
- Jessica O'Dowd, Malcolm MacLachlan, Chapel Khasnabis, Priscille Geiser, Towards a Core Set of Clinical Skills for Health-Related Community Based Rehabilitation in Low and Middle Income Countries , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 26 No. 3 (2015): Autumn 2015
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.