Abha Khetarpal (born 10 June 1968) is an Indian

disability rights activist The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around t ...

and counsellor based in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She is the founder of Cross The Hurdles – a

counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...

/educational resource website and

mobile application A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

designed for people with disabilities. She has won a 2016

National Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian P ...

for empowerment of persons with disabilities: Best Role Model. She is also the recipient of the Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards, 2019 and 100 Women Achievers Award, 2019 by the

Ministry of Women and Child Development The Ministry of Women and Child Development, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body responsible for the formulation and administration of the rules, regulations, and laws relating to Women in India, women and Children in India, c ...

, India. Abha was one of the four

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

s in the documentary ''Accsex''. She has authored ''Disabled Lives Matter'', ''Warrior on Wheels'' and several other books and research publications''.''

Personal life

Abha Khetarpal was born in

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

to parents who were migrants from

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. Both her parents were teachers. Khetarpal contracted polio at the age of three. She has been using

assistive technology Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for Disability, people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, ...

like leg braces, spinal braces, and a wheelchair for mobility. Khetarpal went through therapies, reconstructive surgeries, and procedures including hip correction and procedures to improve

scoliosis Scoliosis (: scolioses) is a condition in which a person's Vertebral column, spine has an irregular curve in the coronal plane. The curve is usually S- or C-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others ...

. After attending four years of regular school, she faced inaccessibility and continued her higher studies through

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. Khetarpal started writing

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

at the age of 18.

Education

Khetarpal was home-schooled by both her parents, who were teachers, up until 9th grade. She was able to join a regular school that made arrangements for the classroom to be shifted to the ground floor so that she could attend the classes.

Career

In 2010, Khetarpal founded Cross The Hurdles, a non-profit working in counselling and resource building for people living with disabilities. Her disability rights work involves counselling people with disabilities for better employment opportunities, sexual health, and confidence building. She also advocates for people with disabilities in India, critiquing the government schemes and policies, and mainstreaming disability in the sustainable development goals implementation. She also highlighted how people with disabilities faced additional challenges during COVID including the difficulty of finding home nurses. In 2016, when the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India Ministry (government department), ministry. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of soc ...

was named ''Divyangjan'' Khetarpal publicly critiqued the use of the word ''divyangjan'', highlighting how it is disrespectful and othering to people living with disabilities. She has also spoken about the negative portrayal of women living with disabilities in cinema and media, and how it desexualizes them. Khetarpal has called attention to the lack of representation and misrepresentations of people with disabilities in media and the lack of adequate coverage of the different types of violence that women with disabilities face. Khetarpal is also a sexuality trainer. She has addressed the gap in sexuality education for people with disabilities by developing and offering a self-paced course on Cross the Hurdles. She has authored several books and publications on menstrual management and hygiene as well as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women with Disabilities in India. Khetarpal has challenged societal stereotyping of people with disabilities as asexual and as victims, in need of over-protection. She conducted a needs assessment survey of 50 disabled women from Delhi showing the neglect of their sexual and reproductive health. Along with providing counselling on sexuality, Khetarpal also advocates for the sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities.

Publications

Khetarpal has authored several articles for the ''America Times, Feminism In India''. * ''Warrior on Wheels, 2022'': A book co-authored by Khetarpal with Rachana Jogar Pahadiwala for the National Book Trust India. The book covers the life of Dr. Kanubhai Hansmukhbhai Tailor, a disability rights activist. * ''Manual on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women with Disabilities, 2020'' A project supported by Women's Asia Fund * ''Disabled Lives Matter, (year unknown)'' An anthology of articles written by Khetarpal over a period of 10 years, including her articles written for various platforms and publications including Feminism in India, Youth Ki Awaaz, Medium, Point of View, and SexDis. * ''Going With The Flow, 2016'' A handbook on menstrual management and hygiene for women with disabilities. The book is available both in Hindi and English. * ''Keeping you Abreast'': A Handbook on Breast Cancer Self Examination for Women with Disabilities, 2013 * ''Tax Concessions and Exemptions for Persons with Disabilities in India'', 2012

Awards

* 2016 National Award for empowerment of persons with disabilities: Best Role Model * 100 Women Achievers Award, 2019 By Ministry of Women and Child Development * Henry Viscardi Achievement Awards, 2019 - These international Awards, first conferred in 2013, recognize exemplary leaders in the disability sector around the globe who have had a profound impact on changing the lives of people with disabilities and championing their rights. * D-30 Disability Impact List 2020 Honoree * FemiList100 2021: a curated list of 100 women from the Global South, working in the fields of foreign policy, peacebuilding, law, activism, and development.

Media and popular culture

In 2013, Khetarpal was featured in the

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

"Accsex" directed by Shweta Ghosh which explores themes of sexuality and desire through the experiences of four women with disabilities. In her interview for the film, she narrates growing up with disability in a conservative society where sex and sexuality conversation was a taboo, also powerfully relating her experience with healthcare, of being treated a "human body, not a human being" and debunking essential myths about how disabled women desire and express said desire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khetarpal, Abha 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people Indian disability rights activists Indian women activists Indian feminists Living people 1968 births Polio survivors