DISABILITY, GENDER & STATE POLICY: Exploring Margins

Foregrounding disability from an anthropological perspective, this book significantly contributes to the studies in marginalization and social inequalities. Tracing global debates on definition of disability, rehabilitation and policies over time, it seeks to work towards a South Asian model of disability. Covering a wide range of issues from international and national contexts, it critically examines the role of disability rights movements, state and civil society organizations in carving out disability discourses, policies and practices. Using ethnography, cultural perceptions of disability, construction of gender and personhood in rural and urban contexts and issues in social support and care work are explored. The book also highlights the implications of globalization and psychosocial disabilities among the poor urban women. An intersectional lens is further employed to analyse disabled persons’ access to resources like education and employment opportunities in diverse sectors of Indian economy. The book thus attempts to provide a comprehensive account of diversity of life worlds of the disabled embedded in communities, citizenry and democracy. It would be of interest to not only scholars pursuing disability studies but social sciences in general.

Nilika Mehrotra teaches at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has earlier taught at the Department of Anthropology and Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. She has been engaged in research and publication on issues like social movements, gender, disability and development. Currently, she is also editor of Indian Anthropologist – the journal of Indian Anthropological Association.