Anita Ghai was made to crawl on the tarmac of Delhi airport after being denied a wheelchair by Air India. Now the highest office in India for persons with disabilities is investigating her case and in 72 hours Anita Ghai could submit all our signatures. Help her get justice and back her fight for wider reform. Act now:
| Dear friends across India, 57-year old Anita Ghai was forced to crawl on the tarmac of the Delhi airport because Air India failed to bring her a wheelchair. Now she's fighting to ensure no one else has to go through such a horrible experience. If we back her now we can help her win.
Air India has issued a half-hearted apology but now India's disability commissioner has also stepped in to investigate. Dr. K.K.Pandey is new in his job and this is the first high-profile case he's handling -- if he sees a massive outcry from all of us, he'll push for wider reform for all differently-abled people rather than just a "sorry" for Anita from Air India.
Anita Ghai herself wants to take all our signatures to the commissioner to show we all demand dignity for the differently-abled. Let's get to 20,000 signatures in the next 72 hours so she can submit a people-powered petition to him: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Civil_Aviation_Minister_Ashok_Gajapathi_Raju_Inquiry_into_HORRIBLE_INCIDENT_making_disabled_woman_passenger_CRAWL/?bQwOObb&v=72551&cl=9472414577 Mobility problems could strike any of us at any time because of an accident or disease. According to the latest census there are 2.68 crore physically and mentally challenged people in India for whom access to public transport, government offices or private buildings remains a huge barrier. That's why India's central government launched the "Accessible India" campaign last year. One of its aims is to make all international airports and railway stations fully accessible to differently-abled people by July 2016.
But the culture of insensitivity is pervasive and the regulatory body for civil aviation found that there is a complete "lack of accountability when violations occur." Air India's mistreatment of Anita Ghai has become prominent because it affected a professor in the nation's capital at India's busiest airport. Thousands of other incidents pass almost without notice -- at Mumbai airport just days later, a passenger was asked to undress to show her prosthetic leg, in violation of the rules.
Experts say the guidelines are there but very few passengers have confidence in the system, so they don't bother filing a complaint. But Anita Ghai's fight could change that. She's already persuaded the main government body responsible for protecting the rights of the differently-abled to investigate hers and the Mumbai case and she wants to follow up by submitting thousands of signatures to back her call for stricter enforcement.
Sign now and let's get to 20,000 signatures in 72 hours so that Anita can show the massive wave of support she has: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Civil_Aviation_Minister_Ashok_Gajapathi_Raju_Inquiry_into_HORRIBLE_INCIDENT_making_disabled_woman_passenger_CRAWL/?bQwOObb&v=72551&cl=9472414577
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