7 months ago
Six Disabled Fellows to Shape Government Policy
Six people with disabilities and four others, including caregivers and experts, have been chosen for a special fellowship program.
This program, called the Breaking Barrier Fellowship, will help them work with the government to make better policies for people with disabilities.
They will spend a year working in different cities like Delhi, Dehradun, Mumbai, and Secunderabad.
The goal is to make sure that the rights of people with disabilities are respected and that policies are made based on real experiences.
One of the fellows, Niharika Mohan, wants to use her experience as a caregiver to create policies that help people who work while also taking care of their loved ones.
Another fellow, Aquib Rahman, wants to promote inclusive education, especially in higher levels, and improve data on inclusion in Kashmir.
Six persons with disabilities and four others, including caregivers and experts, selected for the Breaking Barrier Fellowship programme.
The fellows will work within the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) for a year.
The fellowship aims to bolster the country’s commitment to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act 2016.
Fellows will be placed in four major cities: Delhi, Dehradun, Mumbai, and Secunderabad.
The fellowship is an initiative of the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), the Nipman Foundation, and the India Autism Center, in collaboration with the DEPwD.
- Who
- Six persons with disabilities and four others including caregivers and experts
- What
- Selected for the Breaking Barrier Fellowship programme to shape government policy for the disabled
- Where
- New Delhi, with placements in Delhi, Dehradun, Mumbai, and Secunderabad
- When
- Launched on Friday at the United Nations House in New Delhi
- Why
- To bolster the country’s commitment to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act 2016 and translate policy intent into lived reality
Key facts
- Fellowship Name
- Breaking Barrier Fellowship
- Number of Fellows
- 10
- Disabled Fellows
- 6
- Duration
- 1 year
- Initiators
- Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), Nipman Foundation, India Autism Center, DEPwD
- Cities
- Delhi, Dehradun, Mumbai, Secunderabad
- Institutions Involved
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities, Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, The National Trust, Rehabilitation Council of India, National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities, Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech & Hearing Disabilities, National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
Quotes
Manmeet Kaur Nanda
Additional secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
“Disability was long viewed as an individual problem that needed fixing, but we are now moving from a welfare-based approach to a rights-based environment—this is not an academic philosophy, it is a constitutional reorientation.”
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“The fellows will face bureaucratic hurdles, red tapism, and understand what tarikh pe tarikh mean. It is a reality of the system and we have worked with this.”
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Andre M Wojnar
Representative of UNFPA
“The Breaking Barriers Fellows represent a generation ready to translate policy intent into lived reality.”
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Niharika Mohan
Caregiver for her brother with autism and Breaking Barrier Fellow
“Caregiving doesn’t just affect personal life—it changes how you view employment, independence, and especially the realities faced by working mothers. I wanted to explore whether policy can create real independence in the workplace for people who work, while also providing care to their loved ones.”
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Aquib Rahman
Breaking Barrier Fellow from Kashmir
“This fellowship has given me the opportunity to learn systems and approaches, which I can apply back in Kashmir.”
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