Impact and Policy Research Institute’s Gender Impact Studies Center (GISC) organised a special online talk on Gender and Disability: Shifting the Discourse to Focus on Social Inclusion on 24 May 2022 where Nidhi Goyal, Founder and Executive Director, was a discussant.
After a presentation by Prof. Linda Lane (Dept. of Social Work in University of Gothenburg, Sweden) on gender and disability, which had an extensive introduction to the disability justice movement, Nidhi was asked about how Rising Flame mentors young professions, conducts research and proactively conducts public education programme.
She was asked if there has been any visible change from the work that Rising Flame does, as well as about her critical reflections on “The Persons With Disabilities (PWD) (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995”, which had come into enforcement in 1996.
Nidhi talked about importance of grounding disability rights as a human rights issue in the public imagination and the ableist hierarchies that are prevalent in society. Although progress is happening, it is taking place at an extremely slow pace, giving rise to the “at least” phenomenon.