DISABILITY NARRATIVES IN URDU FICTION AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Literature is a very important contributor to the attitudes towards society diversity, inclusion and marginalisation. In Urdu literature and literary criticism, a large number of themes have been dealt with in the light of social difference, but in the context of Urdu fiction, disability is under researched. The image of the person with a disability in literature means that there are important implications for practices in education, especially when considering inclusive education and the attitudes that need to be developed to ensure learning takes place in an equitable manner. This narrative review explores the depiction of disability in Urdu fiction literature by applying the concepts of Disability Studies and inclusive education. The review is based on the literature on disability representation and literature from around the world on disability, and educational inclusion, and addresses some of the dominant themes in these fields: tragedy, dependency, social exclusion, charity, resilience, agency. The article states that traditional Urdu fiction has often been defined by a deficit-based approach which perpetuates stereotypes and social isolation of disabled people. Awareness, however, of the rights, identities and abilities of persons with disabilities is increasingly reflected in trends in literature. The review also considers the possibilities of disability narratives in the educational arena to express empathy, resist stereotypes and promote inclusive values in the pupil. The study emphasizes the need to have more academic studies on disability representation in Urdu literature, and also recommends to incorporate inclusive academic viewpoints in the educational curriculum.

This study delves into the portrayal of disabilities in Urdu literature and the significance for the acceptance and understanding of disability.The paper emphasizes on the challenges in disability representation in Urdu fiction and the role it plays in disability acceptance and understanding.