Double Vulnerability: Understanding Disability through Everyday Experiences of Women with Disabilities - a Brief Treatise

Abstract

The structure of Indian society is complex and heterogeneous, and it is pluralistic by nature due to its cultural and religious diversity. This aspect of pluralism has a massive impact on India's social order. In this social structure of diversity, though women are fighting for their basic rights, disabled women are more vulnerable to people’s notions of othering, which have muffled their voices. In Indian society, the position of a disabled woman is always inferior to that of a disabled man in comparison. Regarding women with disabilities, Fine and Asch write, “Disabled women are not only more likely to internalize society’s rejection, but they are more likely than disabled men to identify themselves as ‘disabled’ The disabled male possesses a relatively positive self-image and is more likely to identify as ‘male’ rather than as ‘disabled.’ (Fine and Asch,1981, p. 34). The idea of social acceptability dominates the minds of disabled women. In Indian society, women with disabilities have been subjugated through the dialogue and discourse of ‘deviant’ women because they do not fit into the society-made norms and cultures that determine and guide human behavior. This article delves into the theme of women with disabilities and their everyday lives. Following the lived experiences of disabled women, this essay supports and advocates their standpoints. What are some ways that women with disabilities face unique challenges? Is it possible to rethink the binary between disabled men and women? What could be the best way to address such burning issues? Based on the above questions, the researcher embarks on exploring the truth of the situations and positions of disabled women in society.