Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission opened a learning center for the visually impaired, which contains over 40,000 books. The center hopes to challenge social discrimination against blind people, and to ensure their access to basic rights, including the right to education.

Speaking at the opening, the Human Rights Commission’s chairperson Shahrazad Akbar voiced deep concerns over the violation of rights of the blind, saying even the way people talk about a blind person does not add to his or her dignity.

“Even those who have official jobs don't talk properly about people with disabilities, which means they do not recognize their talents, and they only focus on their physical disability or other issues instead of talking about their abilities,” said Akbar.

She also called for quotas to be made for the blind in the job market. She suggested three percent of jobs should be reserved for the visually impaired.

No government institution has an exact figure of visually impaired people in Afghanistan.

Benafsha Yaqoubi, who works for the Human Rights Commission, said that even the banks in Afghanistan refrain from opening accounts for the visually impaired.

"The law requires a human-oriented working environment for people with disabilities," said Yaqobi.

A young man named Hasher and his sister Sonia are among the first to gain access to the library.

“There are audio and electronic books including CDs, and people with disabilities can access this center for books,” said Hasher, a blind student.

“Whenever a new book comes on the market there is a need for someone to make an audio recording for us,” said Hasher’s sister, Sonia, who is also a student.

Hasher is in his second year at the school of literature at Kabul University.