Diversity in Disability

A creative hashtag empowers South Asians with intersecting identities

July is Disability Pride Month, but for South Asians with disabilities, it can be challenging to navigate the intersection of two identities, and the increased discrimination that can result. That’s why Sukhjeen Kaur, founder of non-profit Chronically Brown, created the hashtag #desiabled to provide new visibility to a community often overlooked or stigmatized.

“We try our hardest to be heard in the disabled movement by removing our culture, ethnicity, and religion. And we try our hardest to be heard in South Asian communities that refuse to acknowledge disability,” wrote Kaur in a blog post about the hashtag. “Ultimately, we are fighting for a place in both communities. We are a minority, within a minority.”

The hashtag began in 2021 across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, and has thousands of posts across platforms. The organization is also working on translating resources for a number of chronic health conditions in languages including Bengali. Punjabi, Urdu and more. For more information, check out chronicallybrown.com.

“I was born with a congenital anomaly called spina bifida, along with hydrocephalus. My disability has made me a wheelchair user since birth. At the time of my birth, my parents were told that I won’t live long and even if I did, I would live like a vegetable. Fast forward to this day, 20 years later I’m alive and thriving.”

— Aarushi

“I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, and I would also later get diagnosed with PCOS and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. I dropped out of law school and focused fully on my health. It was a hard decision to make to leave law school, as I felt a lot of family pressure to stay in law school. Because I wasn’t visibly altered and no one could SEE my conditions, it was hard for my extended family to actually believe there was something wrong with me.”

— Sandeep