Phumla Matjila: The pictorial maxim of the three wise monkeys represents different things to different people.

The monkeys - one covering his ears, the other his mouth and the third his eyes - express the principle of "hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil".

The original meaning, with roots in Buddhism, had associations with being of good mind, speech and action. It meant that if you do not hear, see or talk evil, you will be spared evil.

However, the further away you move from the 17th century carving on the door of the famous Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Japan, where the symbol is believed to originate, the more likely you are to lean towards the more Western meaning of the maxim.

Today, "see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil" commonly describes what you do when you don't want to be involved in a situation, or when you turn a blind eye to the immorality of an act in which you are involved.

However, this week I found myself thinking of the three wise monkeys in a completely different context: disability.

Whereas some are born with disabilities, others develop disabilities. For some, disability comes in a second, in the form of an accident, a stray bullet, a medical procedure that goes wrong, the list is endless. The reality is that the able today can be the disabled tomorrow.

Here's what I was thinking: that we have developed the "hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" attitude towards people with disabilities. Our language is so fraught with insults about people with disabilities.

"What! Are you blind?" "Are you deaf?" "Are you mute!" "Are you retarded?" "Are you dumb?" The list goes on.

This is acceptable language.

We talk of the "blind leading the blind", we describe politicians as "deaf" when they don't seem to be listening to the voters.

According to Census 2001, 5% of the population is disabled. There are more disabled people than there are people who speak Swati as a home language, just to put the statistic in context.

Sight disability was the most prevalent, followed by physical disability, hearing, emotional disability, intellectual disability and communication disability. And it seems our use of insults is consistent with these statistics. Think how many jokes you have heard about Stevie Wonder .

The truth is that we think the blind don't hear the language we use. We think the mute don't read what we say. We think the deaf don't see the way we speak.

An even sadder truth is that "ableism" is such a normal aspect of our language.

I'm not sure I'm using the appropriate words to speak about my fellow South Africans whose abilities differ from mine. Perhaps the Ministry for Women, Children and People with Disabilities can help. I'm willing to learn to speak in a way that does not offend others, to learn the right language to use.

I refuse to continue to hear no evil, speak no evil and see no evil when in comes to people with disabilities.