International Development Journalism Competition: Achieving equality: the challenges of India's disabled girls
In Kasaba mobli village, 11 year old Sharadamma prepares for school. In their basic house, her father sits close by on a plastic chair smiling and cradling one of her dance trophies with his gnarled hands. Sharadamma puts her books into a bag and fastens her shoes, cleaning off some dust in the process. She checks the straps of the calipers that help her to walk, reaches for her stick, and then stands. "Ready," she says.  
Sharadamma was born with a disability affecting both her legs and was fitted with assistive walking devices 5 years ago by local NGO Mobility India, making it possible for her to go to her village school independently.
"Before they helped, we didn't know what to do, we all need to work," says her father who would carry her to school, as and when he could. Life for Sharadamma in rural Chamarajanagar, one of the poorest districts of Karnataka, seemed to hold little hope of education or employment, marriage or family, which in turn meant little future hope of happiness and respect in the community.
She is luckier than most. UNICEF estimates that only around 20% of disabled girls/women get the equipment/ prosthetics they are entitled to. The World Bank attributes this to gender biases and parental ignorance regarding entitlement under India's Person with Disability act of 1995. This is compounded further by traditional cultural modesty and a lack of female technicians to fit the equipment. Sharadamma's assistive devices need changes or adjustments every 6 months and the procedure is performed by Ranoo Vijaylakshmi, herself physically disabled by a childhood polio affliction. Ranoo is one of Mobility India's 16 disabled female technicians.
"When I began in the village, they thought, "Who is this woman who is disabled, educated and working?" says Ranoo. "They couldn't believe I was married and had healthy children. They'd never seen, met or heard of a woman like me before."
Through her presence and work, Ranoo dispels myths that disabled girls are not worth educating, cannot work, are asexual and will not marry and have children. She also holds workshops for parents of disabled children, spreading awareness of the nature and causes of disability. In Chamarajanagar, where literacy rates are around 51%, notions of disability being karma related are prevalent. Disabled daughters in India are thought traditionally to bring shame and bad luck on families and so are often hidden away. This invisibility is one of the greatest barriers to the education and healthy lives of disabled girls, as it makes reliable statistics harder to come by. Karnataka is the best performing major state for disabled children attending school, yet still a quarter remain out of the education system, undoubtedly more than 50% of them disabled girls.
Sharadamma's family are happy that she will complete primary school at 14, but this is where her education will end, the nearest secondary school is some 8km away and her parents will not allow her to travel there alone. Overprotection is another barrier preventing disabled girls in India achieving an equal level of education, which in turn keeps them in menial low paying jobs.
Conversely, male gender stereotypes for boys of being 'tough and independent' work in the favour of disabled boys. They are more likely to be allowed to make long trips to school alone or stay in residential accommodation. Although disabled girls in India are less likely at any age to attend school than disabled boys, a study by the World Bank found the real gender disparity in education occurs at around 12 years old. This is due to the onset of puberty and menstruation, leading to problems of accessible and sanitary toilet facilities.
"When womanhood occurs the girls are more vulnerable to sexual harassment," says Jaya Jaikodi, who's been working at Mobility India for 12 years. This leads to many girls dropping out of school, if not working they are left at home where vulnerable to abuse, often from extended family members. For girls with mental disabilities, vulnerability to abuse, the assumption of uselessness and the education barriers is far greater.
The World Bank found that 25% of women with mental disabilities had been raped. A case involving the alleged rape of five mentally handicapped girls at Mumbai care home Kalyani Mahila V Balak Seva Sanstha in March grimly illustrates this. It's also often assumed that girls with mental disabilities cannot learn anything. "This is not true," says Jottin Gadkari, president of PARIVAAR, an organisation in Bangalore working with mental and severe disabilities. "If given the correct training and time, they can work and be contributing members of society too."
While the education section of India's Persons with Disability act makes specific reference to physical, hearing and visual impairments, in relation to making education accessible in terms of specialised equipment such as Braille books or modified desks, there is no specific reference to mental conditions. Girls with mental disabilities are also more likely to deprived of basic necessities, such as food and medicine suffer and therefore early death due to neglect, according to MIBLOU, an NGO working in India for the past 30 years.
As the country with the world's largest child population, India must address the disabled girls' issue to reach its millennium development goals. Past media campaigns have been successful in shifting opinions on both leprosy and HIV affliction. A similar approach highlighting the potential contribution of disabled girls could be equally successful. Since the majority come from poor backgrounds, a scholarship system would need to be implemented to allow greater access to equipment and transportation to schools. Policies that enforce zero tolerance of violence against disabled girls must be developed, with severe penalties for perpetrators. Educational programmes on violence prevention for disabled girls and their families need to be widely offered. While often cited as a landmark achievement, the Indian Person with Disability act actually makes no specific provision for disabled women and girls. This is despite India being a state party of the UNCRPD, which clearly emphasises that disabled women and girls require special assistance to live healthy, happy and meaningful lives. Therefore this requires urgent review.
During her caliper readjustment Sharadamma looks at Ranoo, smiles and says "I want to be like you when I'm older." Ranoo smiles back faintly, knowing that despite all the work she has done, without major changes in government policy and society, Sharadamma will struggle to realise her ambitions.

This feature was written for the Guardian International Development Journalism competition before 13 June 2011.