Paper details
| Paper authors | Abigail Ewen |
| In panel on | How can humanitarians leverage the experiences of persons with disabilities in humanitarian contexts (Roundtable) |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
Despite decades of inclusion rhetoric, persons with disabilities continue to be excluded from disaster risk reduction and humanitarian action. Drawing on research conducted in Nepal, this paper explores how dominant humanitarian and development narratives often focus on needs and vulnerabilities while overlooking the capabilities, aspirations, and agency of disabled individuals themselves. The research examined how people with disabilities in Nepal actively reframed these narratives through opportunities presented by disaster and its recovery processes to engage in social and political action.
This demonstrates how a shift from inclusion as merely access or representation to inclusion as transformation can challenge structures of marginalisation and exclusion. This contributes to ongoing debates on shifting power in the humanitarian sector and advocacy for approaches that centre lived experiences and local knowledge.
