section_path: Disability activism/Political issues
section_name: Political issues
paragraph_text: Political issues
  
  Political rights, social inclusion and citizenship have come to the fore in developed and some developing countries. The debate has, some instances, moved beyond a concern about the perceived cost of maintaining dependent disabled people to finding effective ways to ensure that disabled people can participate in and contribute to society in all spheres of life.
  
  In developing nations, where the vast bulk of the estimated 650 million disabled people reside, a great deal of work is needed to address concerns ranging from accessibility and education to self-empowerment, self-supporting employment, and beyond.
  
  In the past few decades, the efforts of disability rights activists around the world, focused on obtaining full citizenship for disabled people, have come under academic study and gained some level of public recognition in many places, such as in the United States.
  
  There are obstacles in many countries in getting full employment and public perception of disabled people varies.