disability rights activist
A disability-rights activist or disability-rights advocate is someone who works towards the equality of people with disabilities. Such a person is generally considered a member of the disability-rights movement and/or the independent-living mo ...
and author who has
cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
. Chib wrote the book ''One Little Finger'' over the course of two years by typing with only one finger.One Little Finger – One Big Review! - 'Disability Horizons'
Biography
Malini was born in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, India in 1966. She had a loss of oxygen during birth causing cerebral palsy. Her parents moved to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
after her birth to get better care for her. After her brother Nikhil was born, the family moved back to India. Since no school would take her as a student, her mother, Mithu Alur, started a school called The Centre For Special Education. Malini would later return to England to attend
Thomas Delarue School
Thomas Delarue was a co-educational special secondary boarding school in Tonbridge, Kent, England that was established in 1955 and closed in 1989. It was run by The Spastics Society and catered for pupils with cerebral palsy.
History
Thomas De ...
, a boarding school for pupils with cerebral palsy. She returned to India to attend St. Xavier's College, affiliated to the
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai is a collegiate university, collegiate, State university (India), state-owned, Public university, public research university in Mumbai.
The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the un ...
, where she earned a BA. She went back to England to get a master's degree in Gender Studies at the
Institute of Education
IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...
,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. Filmmaker
Shonali Bose
Shonali Bose (born 3 June 1965) is an Indian film director, writer and film producer. Having made her feature film debut in 2005, she has since won such accolades as a National Film Award, a Nashville Film Festival, Bridgestone Narrative Award, ...
is her first cousin.
Career
In December 2010, Chib wrote her first book and autobiography ''One Little Finger'' published by
Sage Publishing
SAGE Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent publishing company founded in 1965 in New York by Sara Miller McCune and now based in Newbury Park, California.
It publishes more than 1,000 journals, more than 800 books ...
. The book was critically acclaimed.
In 2015, she wrote a chapter titled ''I Feel Normal Inside. Outside, My Body Isn't!'' in the anthology ''Disability, Gender and the Trajectories of Power'' edited by Asha Hans and published by
Sage Publishing
SAGE Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent publishing company founded in 1965 in New York by Sara Miller McCune and now based in Newbury Park, California.
It publishes more than 1,000 journals, more than 800 books ...
.
Chib is the founder and co-chairperson of ADAPT Rights Group, a part of the ADAPT (Able Disable All People Together) organisation. The Rights Group was formed with the belief that both "able" and "disabled" should work together to form an "inclusive" society where ''"all"'' are welcomed and included.
She also heads the Library and Media Services. She is responsible for the micro and macro advocacy efforts of the ADAPT Rights Group. She lent her skills organizing an 'Inclusive Job Fair' for disabled youth. She also conducts Empowerment and sensitization courses for individuals, corporates, parents, professionals and disabled activists.
Awards
In 2011, the Indian
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India ministry. It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backwar ...
awarded Chib the National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the category Role Model.
In 2017, on the occasion of World Cerebral Palsy Day, Chib was honoured with the first global
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
Day Award for ensuring rights and entitlements of persons with disability conferred by the
Cerebral Palsy Alliance
Cerebral Palsy Alliance (formerly The Spastic Centre) is an Australian nonprofit organisation helping babies, children, teenagers and adults living with cerebral palsy and other neurological and physical disabilities. Its therapy teams work ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
In popular culture
The 2014 Indian film ''
Margarita with a Straw
''Margarita with a Straw'' is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Shonali Bose. It stars Kalki Koechlin as an Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who relocates to America for her undergraduate education and comes of age follow ...
'' is based on her life, in which actress
Kalki Koechlin
Kalki Koechlin (; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in Hindi films. Known for her unconventional body of work, she is the recipient of such accolades as a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Screen Awar ...
played a character based on her. Upon release, the film was a major critical and commercial success, and Koechlin won several awards for her performance.