What did Javed Abidi do?

Javed Abidi was born in India in 1965 with spina bifida. After numerous surgeries and moving to the united states, he started using a wheelchair at the age of 15. He studied journalism at wright state university. After completing college, he moved back to India where he worked with Sonia Gandhi in 1993 to create the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation’s disabilities unit. He soon joined a small group called the disability rights group, and helped raise awareness for disabled people in India. Because of Javed Abidi’s work in the disability rights group, a pro disability rights movement rose to get parliament to agree to disability rights.

In that group, he led the protest that pushed parliament to pass the disability rights act. Because of his work in the disability rights group and Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, he was appointed leader of the national center for promotion of employment of disabled people. He spent the rest of his life working for accessibility in India, including making archeological sites accessible for people with disabilities. After Javed Abidi’s passing in 2018, his nephew started the Javed Abidi Foundation (JAF). JAF’s main goals are to effectively implement the 2016 rights of persons with disabilities act, and build a community space for people with disabilities.

This goes to show why organizations for people with disabilities are essential for disability rights. Javed Abidi was a major component for disability rights in India. He achieved this through his positions in the two organizations. His roles in creating the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and leading the disability rights group were instrumental in obtaining disability rights in India.