KATHMANDU: Of the total 150,000 people in the nation with visual impairment, barely 5,000 have gotten opportunity to go to school. Worse, the women members with disabilities have been doubly deprived -- first as a disabled person and second as a woman, it was revealed here today. The overwhelming majority of those who have loss of sight and are deprived of education, continue to be subjected to social stigma, domestic violence and discrimination and are not getting self-respect in society, said Dr Madan Upadhya, founder general secretary of Nepal Blinds' Welfare Association (NBWA) and the president of the BP Koirala Eye Foundation. Education, according to him, was vital in breaking down the walls of physical disabilities and creating an inclusive society. He said that a small number of visually-impaired, who had gotten their opportunity to attend school, had proven that they were capable of doing things. Kumar Thapa, general secretary NBWA, said people, especially belonging to underprivileged groups, were more vulnerable to blindness and sending them to school was costlier. "Financially squeezed groups do not have options but to keep their children home instead of sending them to school," he said, appealing the government to come up with a range of special education package in the interest of thousands of visually-impaired across the nation. "Charity begins at home, but many persons with disabilities have been falling prey to their next of kin. It's high time we changed our mindset to ensure that they are treated on par with their non-disabled peers,” he added. “What they need is opportunity," he further argued, highlighting the plight of people with loss of sight. The participation of disabled person in skill-training-which could have remedied the situation- is close to nil, experts said. According to World Health Organisation, around 10 percent of the global population is currently living with physical disabilities.