MODERN ACTIVISM
‘Disabled people have been forgotten in the pandemic’
In our regular column, Sophie Walker, feminist campaigner and author of Five Rules For Rebellion: Let’s Change The World Ourselves, spotlights women fighting for change. This week, she talks to Shani Dhanda, 34, a South Asian disability activist who experiences disability. Shani is about to launch an app called Diversability, that helps disabled people save money on everyday living.
How did you become an activist?
I was fed up with the lack of progress, particularly around disability inclusion. I grew up seeing my dad being an activist for Sikh rights. He taught me that if you’ve got a voice and you can use it on behalf of others, then you should. I was born with a rare condition, brittle bone disease – my bones used to break without any trauma. So I was used to having to advocate for myself.
What does that work look like right now?
Disabled people are more disabled because of the pandemic because they’ve been forgotten. As the Government lifts all support, vulnerable and shielding people are losing protections that were already too late in coming – like remote working, or priority slots and services to help deliver food and medicines. Furthermore, disabled people already face extra living costs of £583 a month and are twice as likely to be unemployed. Nearly half of the people in the UK who live in poverty are either disabled or live with a disabled family member. But when your only way out of poverty is based on your capacity to work and the welfare system doesn’t cover the extra costs of disability, how are people supposed to survive?
How are you working to address this?
I’ve been developing an app called Diversability that helps disabled people save money on everyday living – from food shopping to clothing and travel. The UK’S big brands sign up, then you can access the discounts via a verification process. Financial equity for disabled people is so important to me. Brands know that they have to be purposeful or Millennials won’t shop with them. And disability is the largest diversity strand that you can be part of.
When will you launch the Diversability app?
In the next couple of months. I lost my original investors when the pandemic hit but I knew this was going to become even more important. I had to pick myself up off the floor and work really hard. I got so out of my comfort zone that I even applied to be on The Apprentice purely for the prize money! I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur but I want everyone to have a fair chance to pay their bills and cover their costs. It’s 2021 and people are going to space for the fun of it, while others are living in dire poverty.
What can Grazia readers do to support your campaign?
They can be allies by understanding that every decision has the ability to raise or lower the barriers that are a disabling factor in society. They can understand that inclusion has to be intersectional. And they can share the Diversability sign-up link with their disabled friends and colleagues.
You can find out about Diversability here: diversabilitycard.co.uk and follow Shani on Twitter and Instagram @Shanidhanda