HERAT - Some 40 persons with disabilities were provided an opportunity to express themselves through their paintings at a United Nations-supported festival, in Afghanistan’s western Herat province, marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday.

“It is the second time that Naw Andishan (‘Modern Thinkers’) Foundation has organized a painting festival in Herat with the support of the United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), but it is the first time for persons with disabilities intending to help raise awareness about the situation of the disabled persons in the country,” said one of organizers, Somaiya Ramish, who heads the foundation, at the opening of the festival.

A member of civil society in the province, Rafiq Shahir, said “disabled people have been facing lots of problems in the society.”

Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992 and marked around the world annually on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote awareness and mobilize support for critical issues pertaining to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and development.

In Afghanistan, more than one million of the country’s population of 27 million live with some kind of physical disability. Of them, more than 100,000 are victims of the country’s protracted armed conflict, according to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled. The Afghan Government has a range of welfare schemes for disabled persons and their families, including monthly stipends for the victims of war, education programmes and vocational training.

In his message for the Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Governments, members of the UN system, businesses and civil society to break barriers and open doors of opportunity for all persons with disability.

Addressing the ceremony in Herat, a member of the Khaja Abdullah Association for the Blind, Abdul Rahim Safi, said that such festivals offer persons with disabilities “the opportunity to express themselves and make the people aware about their situation.”

The one-day ‘Wishes Festival’ was held in Allame Saljooqi Hall near a public library to attract more visitors to visit the exhibited paintings.