{"id":344,"date":"2025-07-01T10:26:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T10:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/?page_id=344"},"modified":"2025-07-01T10:26:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T10:26:03","slug":"out-of-sight","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/?page_id=344","title":{"rendered":"Out of Sight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Life of a Blind Law Student Fighting for Accessibility and Respect in Delhi<\/em>
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Ankita Sharma was 12 when she gradually lost her eyesight due to a degenerative eye disease. By 14, the world around her had gone dark\u2014but her ambition had only sharpened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI wanted to be a lawyer, not just for myself, but for people who couldn\u2019t speak for themselves,\u201d she says. But what Ankita didn\u2019t expect was that the very system she wanted to serve would try to shut her out\u2014quietly, structurally, and repeatedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Battling the Basics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Ankita\u2019s first barrier wasn\u2019t the courtroom\u2014it was the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When she got admission to a prestigious law college in Delhi, her family was overjoyed. But excitement quickly turned to disillusionment. There were no Braille books<\/strong>, professors refused to share notes in soft copies, and lecture halls had no ramps or guidance systems<\/strong> for blind students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSometimes, I\u2019d just sit in class pretending to follow, while others laughed when I asked questions,\u201d Ankita recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite her academic merit, she was constantly made to feel like a burden\u2014treated with pity, not respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ableism in Academia<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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At every step, Ankita had to fight\u2014not just for marks, but for basic dignity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When she requested extra time during exams, an invigilator whispered loudly, \u201cWhy study if she can\u2019t even write properly?\u201d Another time, a teacher told her, \u201cLaw is not meant for people like you. It\u2019s a tough field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Such statements weren\u2019t rare\u2014they were systemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Finding Her Strength<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Instead of backing down, Ankita used her own lived experience as fuel. She filed multiple complaints under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, and joined a student-led disability rights group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Together, they advocated for screen reader software, tactile paving across campus, and sensitivity training for faculty. After two years of consistent pressure, the administration finally agreed to implement some of these changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today, Ankita is in her final year of law school\u2014and she\u2019s interning with a human rights organization that fights for educational equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Her Vision for Justice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Ankita\u2019s story isn\u2019t just about disability\u2014it\u2019s about a system that refuses to make space for anyone who doesn\u2019t fit its narrow definition of \u201cnormal.\u201d Her fight is a reminder that true justice isn\u2019t just about winning in court\u2014it\u2019s about making sure everyone has the right to reach<\/strong> the court in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBlindness didn\u2019t make me weak. Society\u2019s attitude did. But that\u2019s what I\u2019m here to change,\u201d she says with quiet conviction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why Ankita\u2019s Story Matters<\/strong>
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According to the 2011 Census, over 2 crore people in India live with disabilities. Yet access to education, infrastructure, and opportunity remains a luxury for most of them. Ableism\u2014both subtle and overt\u2014continues to rob bright minds of their potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ankita\u2019s story challenges us to not just see inclusion as charity\u2014but as a right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At Ink of Impact, we believe voices like Ankita\u2019s need amplification\u2014not just sympathy. True empowerment begins when we stop \u201caccommodating\u201d and start transforming.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Life of a Blind Law Student Fighting for Accessibility and Respect in Delhi Ankita Sharma was 12 when she gradually lost her eyesight due to a degenerative eye disease. By 14, the world around her had gone dark\u2014but her ambition had only sharpened. \u201cI wanted to be a lawyer, not just for myself, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-344","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":345,"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344\/revisions\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inkofimpact.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}