In Khadiya village, part of Kasganj district in Uttar Pradesh, Khushboo, a visually impaired young girl, was nearly denied her right to education. With limited awareness of disability rights and inclusive policies, the village’s Gram Panchayat was not equipped to intervene. This was until a project supported by Sightsavers India and Anode Governance Lab helped local leaders understand their role in securing inclusive education for every child.

Life in Khadiya village

Khadiya village is a small, close-knit community, reflecting the broader realities of rural Kasganj, where agriculture and daily-wage labour are the primary livelihoods. Accessing education, healthcare, and other essential services often means navigating numerous obstacles. For children with disabilities, these barriers are even more severe.

In Khadiya, Khushboo’s family experienced these challenges first-hand. Her father, Anar Singh, works as a daily-wage labourer, while her mother, Meena Devi, manages the household and cares for their four children. Khushboo, the youngest, was born blind. As a visually impaired girl, her family faced social prejudices from the start, with some neighbours seeing her birth as unfortunate.

A mother’s voice

Meena Devi remembers the first days after Khushboo’s birth with sadness and anxiety. Her daughter’s eyes remained closed for over a week, despite her attempts to gently encourage her to open them, even applying kajal in the hope it might help. Multiple hospital visits confirmed the family’s worst fears. Khushboo had been born blind.

As Khushboo grew older, Meena’s fears only deepened. “I always worry about her future. Who will look after her when we are gone? Right now, we do everything for her. If we give her food, she eats, but who will help her once we are no longer here?”

Neighbours and relatives often commented on Khushboo’s fate, labelling her birth as unfortunate, a view Meena has never accepted. “I believe her education could change all that and give her some dignity. Without education, she will always depend on us.”

In primary school, Khushboo’s brother took her to school every day, but as he grew older and family responsibilities increased, he could only manage this occasionally. Meena worried about how long her daughter could continue her education, knowing her future rested on whether she could even reach the school gates.

“I never went to school myself, and my sons only studied up to Class 10. If Sightsavers and Anode can help her continue her education, she might have a chance at a better life.”

Barriers to education and inclusion

Khushboo began her education at Khadiya’s primary school, where basic infrastructure for children with disabilities was almost non-existent. The school had no ramps, no accessible toilets, no assistive devices, and no teachers trained to support visually impaired students.

Despite this, Sightsavers India provided essential support, offering Braille instruction, appointing a social animator, and assigning a tutor to teach her to read and write using Braille.

The most significant barrier emerged when Khushboo completed Class 8. Secondary schools in nearby villages, located 10 to 15 kilometres away, refused to admit her. They claimed they lacked special educators, assistive devices, and the capacity to support students with visual impairments. Concerns were also raised about her safety during the daily commute.

This refusal reflected the wider systemic barriers that children with disabilities often face in rural districts like Kasganj. Barriers rooted in limited awareness, insufficient resources, and deep-seated fears about disability.

The role of the Gram Panchayat

Although Khadiya Gram Panchayat was aware of Khushboo’s situation, there was little understanding of the legal responsibilities placed on local governments by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act. There were also no formal processes in place to support families like Khushboo’s.

This began to change when Anode Governance Lab and Sightsavers India introduced a series of workshops at the Gram Panchayat level. These sessions focused on:

• The RPWD Act and Right to Education (RTE) Act
• The role of Gram Panchayats in supporting inclusive education
• Documenting persons with disabilities to link them with social security schemes
• Ensuring schools comply with laws guaranteeing equal access to education

At one such workshop, Meena Devi heard for the first time that schools could not legally refuse admission to children with disabilities. Armed with this knowledge, she approached Khadiya Gram Panchayat President (Pradhan) Harendra Singh, asking for help to secure Khushboo’s admission.

From awareness to action

Moved by Meena Devi’s appeal and motivated by the training on inclusive governance, Harendra Singh convened a meeting of Gram Panchayat members. Together, they decided to engage directly with the school administration, address their concerns, and advocate for Khushboo’s right to enrol in secondary school.

Working alongside representatives from Sightsavers India, the Pradhan led a series of discussions with the school’s management, highlighting the legal obligation to admit students with disabilities and offering support in sourcing assistive devices if needed.

The collective advocacy effort succeeded. Khushboo was formally enrolled in Class 9, marking a significant step towards inclusion, not only for her, but for other children with disabilities in the village.

Inclusion in practice

The Gram Panchayat’s commitment did not end with Khushboo’s enrolment. Recognising that inclusion goes beyond school admission, the Pradhan pledged to construct an accessible toilet at Khushboo’s home, ensuring her comfort and dignity.

Khushboo’s success has already begun to inspire other families in Khadiya to come forward and advocate for their children with disabilities. With the Gram Panchayat now better informed and more confident, its members have started identifying other children with disabilities and working to ensure they receive the education and services they are entitled to.

Khadiya’s experience is part of a wider initiative by Anode Governance Lab and Sightsavers India, who have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 30 Gram Panchayats across Kasganj district. By building the capacity of local governments, raising awareness among communities, and helping establish inclusive governance processes, the initiative is demonstrating how Gram Panchayats can become active champions of inclusion.

A framework for the future

As Anode Governance Lab continues to document and refine this Gram Panchayat-led inclusion model, it aims to create a scalable framework that can guide Panchayats across India in addressing the needs of persons with disabilities, ensuring that no child is denied an education because of their disability.

Khushboo’s journey, from exclusion to enrolment, is a powerful demonstration of what happens when communities, local governance, and organisations like Anode Governance Lab and Sightsavers India come together to break barriers and ensure that every child, regardless of their ability, has the chance to learn and thrive.