Nidhi Goyal

Founder and Executive Director

Nidhi Goyal is a disabled feminist activist from India working on disability rights and gender justice. She is committed to changing the lives of persons with disabilities, particularly women and girls.

In the decade of her activism, Nidhi has worked with a range of national and global women’s rights, disability rights, and human rights organizations, including Point of View, Human Rights Watch, Sight Savers, and CREA. Her work on disability, gender, diversity and inclusion have made way into many corporate offices and policy spaces.

Nidhi’s work spans research, writing, training, campaigns, advocacy, and art. She works to raise the profile of issues at the intersection of disability and gender through op-eds, journal articles, and lectures in national and international forums. She influences organisations, systems and structures, policies and human rights discourses to be more inclusive in national and global spaces.

Nidhi has been appointed to the UN Women Executive Director’s Civil Society Advisory Group, has been invited to the multistakeholder steering committee of the Generation equality Forum, sits on the advisory board of VOICE, and has been globally elected to the Board of Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), where she is currently the President. In India, Nidhi has been invited to be a member of the core group on persons with disabilities and elderly persons by the National Human Rights Commission and also has been invited to the diversity and Inclusion task force by FICCI.

Nidhi is also India’s first female disabled stand-up comedian and uses humor to challenge prevailing notions about disability and gender.

At 15, when Nidhi started losing sight and learning to live a full life with her disability, she promised herself that she would work to extend opportunities for growth to other people with disabilities who did not have access to the family support, resources, and privileges she drew upon for support. Rising Flame takes this commitment forward.

You can follow Nidhi’s work on Twitter @saysnidhigoyal.

Nidhi Goyal standing on the beach with her cane. She is wearing a white sleevless dress and is smiling at the camera. We can see the waters behind her.

Dr. Neha Goyal (M.D Skin & V.D.)

Co-Director

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Dr. Neha Goyal is a Mumbai-based practising dermatologist and cosmetologist. In practice for the past eight years, Neha runs Dr. Neha’s Skin Klinik, provides medical services through renowned local hospitals, and regularly presents papers at conferences and seminars. A Gold Medalist in her MD, Neha secured her MBBS degree from KEM Hospital Mumbai, and held a Fellowship in Pediatric Dermatology and Lasers from Singapore.

Neha is committed to offering affordable and quality health care to underprivileged persons and works to realise this goal through her practice at Charitable hospitals and institutions; contributing expertise at free medical camps held at her clinic and by community groups and social clubs; and through volunteering to provide guidance on health and gender with charitable trusts like Balaji Health Foundation and non-profits like Point of View.

A sister to two disabled siblings, disability rights and empowerment is a personal issue for Neha. She believes that much more needs to be done to create a just and equal world where all persons with disabilities live dignified and fulfilling lives, She has co-founded Rising Flame to help reach that goal.

You can follow Neha’s work at @DrNehaSkinKlinik

This is Dr. Neha. She is wearing a light blue saree with silver patterns. Her hair is tied up and she is wearing small earrings.

Srinidhi Raghavan

Co-Lead Programs

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Srinidhi Raghavan works on women’s, sexuality, and disability rights. She conducts training and undertakes research on women with disabilities, with a focus on the sexual needs and vulnerability of adolescent girls. Srinidhi is experienced in programme development, building, evaluation, and management. Over the last decade, Srinidhi has partnered with feminist organizations, schools, and colleges across India to work with women, including those with disabilities, adolescents, and children on gender, sexuality, and rights.

Srinidhi is an introvert and a lover of poetry who writes to make sense of the world around her. Her work has been published in Skin Stories, Agents of Ishq, India Spend, The Ladies Finger, and Ahmedabad Mirror. She has a monthly column in FirstPost on Bodies-Minds. She is the mother of two bratty cats and she loves dogs.

Srinidhi lives with chronic illnesses that impacts how she engages with the world. This personal experience informs her commitment to the Rising Flame vision and mission, and her work towards making this vision a reality.

You can follow Srinidhi’s work on Twitter @Thecatlyf.

This is Srinidhi. She is looking down towards the left. She has short hair with streaks of peacock blue. She is wearing glasses. She is wearing a blue nose pin and a blue t-shirt.

Pooja Menon

Volunteer Researcher

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An alumnus of Public Health from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Pooja developed a keen interest in the sexual and reproductive health issues of individuals with intellectual disabilities. While working on her dissertation in 2017 Pooja interned for Rising Flame to better understand the intersection of sexuality and disability. Her dissertation on Parental Perceptions about Sexuality of their Child with Intellectual Disabilities and its Impact on Access to Sex Education won best research at TISS.

Pooja has since joined a reputed health insurance firm but continues to volunteer with Rising Flame as a researcher. Through her work, she hopes to be able to empower people with disabilities and enable them to exercise their rights.

This is Pooja. Pooja Menon is in a beige salwar kameez with a pink and orange dupatta. She is standing before a glass panel adorned with flowers.

Chayanika Iyer

Part-time Programs Associate

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Chayanika is currently pursuing their masters degree in sociology from JNU. They actively work at the intersections of trauma, culture, gender, art and resistance. They have been working with various communities and organisations since 2018.

They live with varying chronic illnesses that affect how they interact with the world. You can always find them thinking about puppies and cheesecake, and trying to write even though they find it really scary.

They find themselves wanting to figure out what it means to occupy, negotiate with, and build access to spaces for everyone, and focus on that primarily in their work with Rising Flame.

Chayanika is sitting in a cafe in front of a red window. She has a hand under her chin and is looking to her right, smiling. She is wearing silver, round earrings and a beige shirt.

Saima Hussain

Social Media Officer

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Saima Hussain is currently a student of psychology at Ambedkar University Delhi. She identifies as a feminist and hopes to engage in meaningful work at the intersections of mental health, gender, sexuality, religion, caste and disability. In the last three years, she has worked with various feminist organisations around comprehensive sexuality education, mental health and community building. Saimastruggles with defining herself within fixed boxes and constantly questions what identity means to her. She finds in this discomforting questioning of the self, the hope for positive change and growth. On clear, sunny days, you may find her in the alleyways of Old Delhi, eating kebabs and trying to befriend cats!

Saima is standing on the road and shes dressed in a brown and black top with black pants. She's smiling and her hands are close to each other as if in a fold.

Gauri Birmole

Intern

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Gauri is a Literature graduate, currently pursuing Psychology at Wilson College. Her areas of interest largely vary between Greek mythology, criminal profiling, feminism and intersectionality. She challenges social injustice, discrimination and our existing contexts of social learning. On other days, Gauri likes to become a social media recluse and dedicates her time to reviewing / analyzing books, writing for leisure or playing badminton instead.