In order to break down the stigma attached with leprosy and to spread awareness of it, NDTV Prime recently screened a documentary on the subject in Delhi. The film titled The Unwanted is directed by Aamir Rafiq Peerzada. The 22-minute video highlighted the awful state of the people affected by the disease by reflecting their day to day situation. Leprosy is a disease caused by an airborne bacterium which can affect anyone with a weaker immune system. Leprosy is often perceived as “disease of the poor” as it strikes those who are not able to get a good nutritious diet, which leads to poor immunity. This is not a contagious disease. Due to this sickness, the affected area of the patient gets disfigured, and many for this reason are ostracised from society.
In 2005, the government of India and the World Health Organisation claimed that leprosy had been eliminated in India. But almost 125,000 new cases of leprosy are reported in the country every year. There are over 10 million leprosy affected people in India. Those affected by this disease need daily care and support.
The documentary, supported by the Leprosy Mission Trust India and Novartis — a global healthcare company — also focused on the leprosy colony in Shahdra, New Delhi. It is one of 750 such settlements in India where over 3,500 families live and where at least one person per family is suffering from the disease. The ailing call it their home as they are not allowed into the general community. These people live a very segregated life because of their day to day situation. And there is a need to mainstream these colonies into a regular community.
The documentary was hosted in order to draw attention to the condition of leprosy-affected people by creating a conversation around the subject. It also showed certain flaws in the government acts like the Indian Divorce Act of 1869. The law permits the dissolution, divorce, separation of a marriage on the grounds of leprosy.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), India has reported a steady decline in the number of people affected with leprosy. However, a global report from 2015 states that 60% of the 212,000 people detected with leprosy were from India. WHO norms show that leprosy could be eliminated only if the prevalence of the disease is less than one case per 10,000 population, a status which India had achieved in 2005. However, the next step is to eradicate the disease from roots and have zero cases reported. But due to the stigma attached with this disease, many cases go unreported making it an invisible disease.
Talking about his documentary, director Aamir Rafiq Peerzada said, “I hardly had any idea about this disease before actually researching on it. I realised that we have never bothered about such people though they are busy doing their daily job. And it can affect anyone. So, we need to take an effort to stop all kinds of discrimination these people face regularly. Nobody wants to offer them jobs as they think it is contagious. Many offices don’t allow such people to enter into their premises. Therefore, we need to change our mindset and perception. It is very easy to discriminate but it is very hard to change oneself. And I am happy that our government has started working towards it and has begin the campaigning on it. A year back, it was nothing of that sort. But since last year, we have seen the improvement in the government.”
The documentary was thought-provoking and addressed some of the sensitive topics and stories of those with Leprosy. The accounts ranged from abandonment, discrimination, pain to physical deformation. It also highlighted the need to render service to those in need and in the process, help create ways to eradicate the spread of the disease.