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).

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