Social Justice

Abstract

The Recognition of people with Disabilities (PWD) in Nigeria, Africa, and the world at large is imperative. As the world’s largest minority, and a marginalized group, social justice advocacy and recognition of their inherent dignity is necessary. African palaver’s claim of recognition and inclusion of all in the community and the need for a re-evaluation of African palaver as an ethics of Recognition is examined for its purported claims. I consider recognition as a social justice movement that advocates for the restoration of the dignity of PWD, a people whom the general population in Africa, and particularly in Nigeria, discriminate against and deny their inalienable rights. Moreso, the patriarchal past and present of African culture illustrates that women suffer the most from marginalization, especially women with disability. With its biblical roots, Catholic social teaching empowers the Church in Africa and beyond toward recognition of the inherent dignity of PWD as the Imago Dei. This dignity coheres with Jesus's recognition and inclusion of PWD in the New Testament; the Old Testament generally considered disability as a punishment for some wrongdoing by an individual, a group, or the community. Since the virtues are essential in advocacy for the recognition of PWD, the theological and the cardinal virtues, especially justice, promote fairness, inclusion, and involvement in all facets of the community. The virtues empower the agent into acts of love and justice, and the parable of the Good Samaritan typifies vulnerable love and justice in an instructive way for us. Therefore, while African Palaver is instrumental in African communalism as it uses the spoken word to proffer values in the community, the Palaver leads to recognition, inclusion, integration, and participation of people in the community for the common good. It is imperative to include PWD and especially the missing voices of women on the margins. Recognition of PWD is a justice issue in urgent need of address. Finally, the offer of friendship to PWD and other vulnerable populations would help eradicate the marginalization that PWD experience in our society and this study concludes with a suggestion that the Church in Africa should adopt Palaver Ethics as an ethics of recognition in order to guarantee authentic social justice for PWD.