and punish those responsible for violence and abuses against those with disabilities. Nonetheless, civil society reported those with disabilities were the most vulnerable group throughout the pandemic, especially women and girls. Local NGO Bangladesh Protibandhi Unnayan Sangstha (BPUS), estimated 10 percent of the population possessed some form of disability. BPUS estimated more than 60 percent of the disability population lived in rural areas without access to government support. Other NGOs estimated only 2.5 percent of the population are persons with disabilities. The National Building Construction Act requires physical structures be made accessible to those with disabilities, but the government did not implement the law effectively. For example, government buildings had no accommodations for persons with disabilities. The law requires persons with disabilities to register for identity cards to track their enrollment in educational institutions and access to jobs. This registration allows them to be included in voter lists, to cast votes, and to participate in elections. The law states no person, organization, authority, or corporation shall discriminate against persons with disabilities. Local NGOs estimated 50 to 60 percent of those with disabilities were unable to exercise their right to vote, as voting centers lacked accommodations for persons with disabilities. Most polling centers had no access to priority voting and no assistive tools such as braille ballots for visually impaired persons to vote confidentially. According to the NGO Action against Disability, some children with disabilities did not attend public school due to lack of accommodation, but data were not readily available. The government trained teachers on inclusive education and recruited disability specialists at the district level. The government also allocated stipends for students with disabilities. Many organizations reported persons with visual disabilities experienced difficulties accessing technology. While individuals reported government websites contained more user-friendly services for persons with disabilities, they also reported information for persons with disabilities was usually uploaded on portals as scanned documents, which made it incompatible for software used by visually impaired persons. Community members reported documents uploaded in formats readable by assistive technology would make a positive difference. The Page 49