How a global disability rights icon views India
Haben Girma’s journey is a powerful indicator of what a disabled person, when provided the right support, can achieve
Recently, I reconnected with Haben Girma. Our paths first crossed in October 2019 in Oxford, England, when I had the good fortune of sitting down with Haben for the Oxford Law Faculty’s annual Equality Lecture.
Haben Girma, the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, a White House Champion of Change, and the author of the best-selling memoir, Haben, the Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, has been making waves with her disability rights advocacy. Her message and work have been appreciated by many, such as former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Our conversation unfolded through a unique medium — a Braille computer that facilitated communication between us. Her assistant, Gordan, typed what I said on the phone to her on the keyboard, which popped up as Braille dots on her computer screen. Haben has perfect speech and delivery. It was a testament to the transformative power of technology to break down the barriers that the disabled face in the physical world.
Haben’s exploration of India included stops at institutions committed to inclusivity, such as the Chetana Charitable Trust in Chennai, where Braille books for children are crafted in various formats. Her visit to the National Institute for Speech and Hearing Impaired in Thiruvananthapuram unveiled a campus designed with accessibility in mind, featuring Braille signages, tactile pathways, and innovative solutions like a video phone in elevators for hearing-impaired individuals (given that an audio phone would not be of use to them in case of an emergency). One remarkable aspect of her journey was the visit to Kanthari, founded by a blind German woman, Sabriye Tenberken, which draws an analogy to the impact that even a small number of people can make, akin to the potency of chilli powder.
Haben also shared the challenges that she faced on her visit to India because of her disability. Haben works with a guide dog, Mylo, who goes everywhere with her. Illustratively, when travelling by air from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi, she was told by the airlines concerned that the plane was too small to accommodate a guide dog. She, therefore, had to take a longer and more circuitous route to reach Kochi. Further, she also critiqued the policy of airlines to, on the one hand, mandate that persons with disabilities must sit in the first row of the plane, and, on the other, to prevent them from sitting in the exit row. “In small planes in which the first row and exit row are the same, this essentially means that a disabled person cannot travel,” she said.
Her strategy in such situations is twofold. The first aspect is to stay calm and persistent and try different ways of explaining her point of view to the other party. The second is to carry additional documentation, to be able to answer all concerns. I asked her if her guide dog has fared well in Indian conditions, as many Indians think that guide dogs will not be able to manage here.“He has been doing just fine,” she replied.
Haben recounted her legal advocacy journey, particularly her lawsuit against Scribd, an online library that ignored multiple requests to make its platform disabled-friendly. The National Federation of the Blind had to sue Scribd, resulting in a court victory that required Scribd to make its platform accessible. “It was a gift and an honour to make more books available to persons with disabilities,” she said.
When I asked her about the accessibility of the court system for persons with disabilities, she noted that while courts are increasingly beginning to install the physical accessibility features that persons with disabilities require, such as ramps, there is a need to focus on making virtual processes and documents accessible. She pointed out that employers often refuse to hire persons with disabilities, assuming that the cost of providing reasonable accommodations will be very high. “Someone who has navigated through law school and the bar exam with a disability and has had to advocate for their rights throughout has all the skills to be a great advocate,” she said.
She noted that, while external voices, such as hers, can help bring attention to the accessibility barriers faced by persons with disabilities in India, it is important to give equal weight to the voices of disabled Indians. Haben Girma’s journey is a powerful indicator of what a disabled person, when provided the right support, can achieve. Her message is a call to action to all of us to amplify the voices advocating for change and work towards breaking down barriers that hinder the full participation of persons with disabilities.
Rahul Bajaj is co-founder, Mission Accessibility, senior associate fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and attorney, Ira Law. The views expressed are personal
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