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 her 9 years of 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.
Dr. Neha Goyal (M.D Skin & V.D.)
Co-Director
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
Srinidhi Raghavan
Co-Lead Programs
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 nine years, 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.
Pooja Menon
Volunteer Researcher
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.
Chayanika Iyer
Part-time Programs Associate
Chayanika Iyer is a work in progress academic pursuing their Master's Degree in Sociology, who hopes to work at the intersection of accessibility, queer rights, and conflict dynamics. They are also the founder and co-editor of qitaabzine, a platform for queer expression in India that works towards making queer centric research and resources accessible to both academic and non academic audiences.
When they not plotting on ways to bring down the cis-heteronormative patriarchal state-capitalist establishment, they can be found cooing over puppies and thinking about cheesecake.
Divya Goyal
Intern
Divya Goyal is an aspiring development professional, with a B. A. (Hons.) Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. She has previously worked as the coordinator of REACH, the Equal Opportunity Cell of LSR towards building an accessible and inclusive environment for students with disabilities in college. Her interests span global health, poverty and inequality, gender and disability, with a key focus on intersectionality. She likes coffee and enjoys reading.
Fizza Juddy
Intern
Fizza Juddy is an aspiring journalist and writer, and mental health advocate. A self-proclaimed work-in-progress intersectional feminist, and recent media graduate, she spends most of her time online reading and spreading information about important issues that interest her pertaining to gender, sexuality, race and class. She has led and been a part of several campaigns fighting for climate action, mental health and body positivity.
As an Indian living in the Middle East, she despairs over her identity and experiences as an NRI and makes desperate attempts to fit in by making jokes and hoping they land and not crash. She is also a full-time cat mom of two and kpop fan, but she won’t allow you to undermine her because of it.
Niyar Saikia
Intern
