Disabled Activist

In this film, Ashe Kiba shares her journey with us.
From navigating life in a world that wasn’t ready to include her, to becoming a voice for disability rights in Nagaland, her journey is shaped by self-acceptance and a determination to make things better for the next generation. Let’s step into her world!
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Fashion is for all, it’s not only for the abled body.
Fashion is for all, so I love doing it and I’ll keep doing it.
Until 2015 I was inside my shell, not accepting myself as who I am.
But uh I realized that the the more I hide inside my shell, people will not acknowledge
People will always you know degrade me and oh this is ‘she’s a person with this”, “she’s nothing’.
So, I decided that uh I will accept myself the way I am.
And I have promised myself that um not only for me but also for other persons with disability in the world, and specially in Nagaland that I’ll speak for our rights.
So that we all live our life that we are deserve to.
So that’s how I accepted myself and I started my journey as a disabled activist
and today here I am, living independent life.
It’s very funny that you know people think that I have to depend everything on my siblings or my parents to do my things.
But uh I tell the world that I can do my ways.
If people use their hand I can use my feet as another option and I have no regrets on that.
I really wish the people know that even if even a persons with disability can do what they want to do, if there is a will.
But uh we the persons with disability also need to know, that to achieve that we need a willpower
and above all we need to accept ourself and admire ourself every single day.
And the saddest thing is that they don’t know that I can cook by myself also.
And I can do a lot more than what they they say I’m incapable of.
I am today many people think that I can I cannot uh live without my parents who can support me in many ways.
But I do my own work, I love doing it, I love cooking so I do it in my own way.
And um also um as you can see me, I have a born disability, it’s not acquired.
So, living with my disability with zero awareness on disability it was it was quite challenging
because um like anybody else I also wish to have a peer groups, peer friends
whom I can you know make friends in the in my education career also.
But uh so sad that I couldn’t get the things, I couldn’t experience much on that.
I have experienced, even the parents you know the peer friends during the lunch break,
if the other students come near me and the parents are there they just chase their children away from me as if like I’m a communicable disease.
So, it really pains my heart deep inside but uh.
And I still remember back then that I have not accepted myself,
So, I was under my poncho, just imagine the weather, the Dimapur weather,
it’s such a hot uh weather there and I am inside my poncho.
So, I still remember I will get full of you know the boil here
where I will not even have space to you know do it .
So, today I’m flying with my, you know hands out wherever I want to go so I’m happy.
And I feel bad that uh the persons who trolled me because of my disability,
I feel bad for them but at the same time I feel sorry for them also.
Because uh there was no awareness on disability,
they were, we were not taught how to deal with the disabled people.
How to you know make friends with the persons with disability.
Uh in fact I will say that you know um many a time and still people put the disability in front of our ability.
People forget that though we are persons with disability, we are human being at first place,
people forget that you know.
And they don’t see, disability become the barrier in fact,
and they don’t see the ability beyond our disability.
And it pains my heart but I’m happy to see that uh you know,
and I’m happy to see that you know things are changing.
And the little thing that I’m doing to make the world you know a better place,
make it an inclusive world that I’m contributing.
I can see it that something is happening.
So I’m, we are the first generation in Nagaland who is speaking for our rights.
And what we are doing is we are doing paving a way for the younger generation.
It will be easier for them to live their life,
you know enjoy their life regularly like anybody else.
In the year uh 2015, I joined the organization Nagaland State Disability Forum.
And uh so currently I’m the general secretary of Nagaland State Disability Forum.
And also I’m working as a program coordinator of the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disability.
And uh together with our team of Nagaland State Disability forum and with the support of the SCPD office
uh we have we’re trying to create awareness in all the section,
like when I say section, like be it educational, be it church, be it social life and uh persons with disability individual’s life,
and also the parents life encouraging them to accept ourself.
“If I can do, you can do” that’s what we are uh trying our best to convey the message to the persons with disability.
And I’m so happy that there are some success stories in this short period of years.
We have some success stories that you know uh we feel so proud when they say like,
I was inside my house hiding myself but uh because of Miss Ashe come and talk to me
and today I am inde—living independent life.
So, you know at least just be it one person’s success story but it does really uh satisfy me
and uh that keeps me going to invest more time on other people as well.
So that everyone, not only just one person in one corner
but all the persons with disability in Nagaland can accept ourself
and come out like that just like that.