On Saturday evening, the Institute of Mathematical Sciences was unusually crowded. A number of students, disabled people, activists and civil rights supporters were trooping up to hear Haben Girma, the popular proponent of the rights of the differently-abled.
Conducted by Vidya Sagar and Connect Special, the talk was entitled ‘Equal Access for an Inclusive and Progressive Society’.
Being born with visual and hearing impairment did not preclude Haben Girma from studying at the Lewis & Clark College and Harvard Law School, where she was the first deaf-blind person to graduate.
The Director of Vidya Sagar, Rajul Padmanabhan, remarked on the change that she had single-handedly brought about in the United States in terms of awareness about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the societal inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWD).
Ms. Girma narrated her life story to the audience – starting from the time when her deaf-blind elder brother was not allowed to go to school in Eretria because of his disability, to the more tolerant ways of the American society.
Through her talk, she reiterated the importance of a society being inclusive for differently-abled people.
Ms. Girma’s contention that inclusion in society is vital for the well-being of not only the differently-abled but the community at large stems from the large contributions that have been made by those who had risen above their physical adversities to fight oppression and deliver with success.
Those are the people, she said, that we need to speak of more often so that the negative light in which the disabled demography is viewed, makes way for the more refined approach to looking at them as assets of a country.
The ‘Question Time’ segment saw the audience get personal with her.
When asked whether she liked the time she spent in India, she smiled in assent and said, “I love the food here!”
