Leprosy is now completely curable and can be rendered non-contagious by administering first dose of Multi-Drug-Therapy (MDT). However, India continues to be the home of around 57 per cent of the global population of people with leprosy — mainly because of stigma and discrimination against the sector.
There are at least 97 legislations at the Centre and States levels that have various clauses that allow continuation of discrimination against leprosy affected persons in the country. With such legal discrimination, various other welfare and medical measures taken by the Government are not yielding desired results, say experts.
Taking serious note of these legal discrepancies, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in an advisory to the States sought immediate removal of such legal provisions.
Of 97 legislation in the country, at least 21 are central laws while rest are implemented by the States like Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, Gujarat, West Bengal and Kerala.
The clauses openly discriminate and restrict people with leprosy from taking certain professions or contest municipality polls or enter public places.
Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae, leprosy primarily affects the peripheral nervous system causing skin lesions, numbness, and other deformities. Latest data from the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) reveals that a total of 65,147 new leprosy cases were detected during 2020-21 in India.
On the eve of the World Leprosy Day, Alice Cruz, the UN Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members took strong umbrage at the discriminatory laws, which she said whether actively enforced or not, motivates, authorizes and normalizes substantive violations, especially against women.
“The mere existence of laws allowing for divorce on the grounds of leprosy have a devastating impact on women, hindering their access to health care and justice,” the UN expert said.
“By formalizing harmful stereotypes as lawful labels and normalizing humiliation and violence as authorized practices, such laws significantly compromise livelihoods, exclude people affected by leprosy from political and civic participation, and augment the State’s negligence towards this marginalized group,” she further added.
NHRC chief justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra in the advisory issued by the Commission also suggested the Centre to consider enacting a law to provide for substitution of “derogatory terms” used to describe persons affected by leprosy. The advisory called upon authorities to ensure that no person or any of his family members is discriminated against and denied all or any of the right to healthcare, employment, education and land rights.
For the betterment of lives, the NHRC urged authorities to start special programmes to provide vocational training, employment and unemployment benefits, health insurance among others.
The NHRC members also felt that besides several problems notwithstanding, the COVID-19 pandemic further worsened the condition of leprosy-affected persons, particularly with regard to their food and livelihood.
