Malvika Iyer

Malvika Iyer
Malvika Iyer at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City during the Youth Forum at the 61st session on Commission on the Status of Women in March 2017.
Born Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu
Nationality Indian
Alma mater
Known for Motivational speaking, Disability rights activism

Malvika Iyer is a bilateral amputee, a bomb blast survivor, a social worker, [1][2][3] and a National Awardee.[4][5] She is an international motivational speaker[6][7][8] and a disability rights activist,[2][9][10][11] advocating for building an inclusive society.[12][13][14] She is also a model for accessible fashion.[15][16][17] Iyer obtained her Doctorate in Social Work from Madras School of Social Work in 2017.[18][19] Her doctoral thesis is on the stigmatization of people with disabilities.[10][20][21]

Early life and injury

Iyer was born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu[22] to B. Krishnan and Hema Krishnan.[23][24] She grew up in Bikaner, Rajasthan, where her father worked as an engineer at the Water Works Department.[24] On 26 May 2002, at the age of 13, Iyer lost both her hands in a grenade explosion at her home in Bikaner[2][25][26] and sustained severe injuries to her legs including multiple fractures, nerve paralysis and hypoesthesia.[27] After 18 months of hospitalization (involving multiple surgeries) in Chennai, Iyer began to walk with the aid of crutches and was fitted with prosthetic hands.[27]

Education

Following her hospitalization, Iyer appeared as a private candidate in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination in Chennai.[24] Writing the exam with the help of a scribe,[24] she secured a state rank among the private candidates.[22] This gained public attention.[10] Iyer was invited to the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the then President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.[22]

Iyer moved to New Delhi, where she studied Economics (Honors) at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, followed by a Master's in Social Work at the Delhi School of Social Work.[27] She did her M.Phil in Social Work[15] at the Madras School of Social Work, where she secured first class with distinction and won the ‘Rolling Cup’ for the Best M.Phil. Thesis in 2012.[28]

Speaking career and activism

Iyer was invited to speak at the TEDxYouth@Chennai in 2013.[29][30] She has described this experience as the start of her career as a motivational speaker.[3][22] Iyer followed this up with speeches at United Nations in New York City,[2][10] IIM Kozhikode,[31][32] Norway,[33] Indonesia[34] and South Africa[35] where she highlighted the importance of inclusion. Through her motivational talks and sensitization workshops in schools, colleges, private establishments, Non-governmental Organizations and youth forums, Iyer has tried to raise awareness about the need for universal design, accessible public spaces[20][3][36] and participation of disabled youth in promoting inclusive elections.[34] She has also worked towards creating awareness on a positive body image.[14][37] She hosted the India Inclusion Summit in 2013.[38] An advocate for accessible fashion, Iyer walked the ramp as a showstopper for NIFT and Ability Foundation in Chennai where she emphasized the need for designing clothes with functionality and style for people with disability.[39][40] In 2014, she was selected as a Global Shaper to the Chennai Hub of the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum.[3][36][41] She joined the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development's Working Group on Youth and Gender Equality and in March 2017 she was invited to deliver a speech at the United Nations in New York.[2][10][42][43] In October 2017, she was invited to Co-Chair the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit held at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi.[6][21][44][45]

Recognition

Iyer received the Nari Shakti Puraskar, the Highest Civilian Honor for Women for outstanding contribution to women’s empowerment from the Honorable President of India Ram Nath Kovind on 8 March 2018 on the occasion of International Women's Day.[46][47] She was congratulated by prominent Indian politicians after her performance in the SSLC exam.[48] She has been the recipient of multiple awards, including- Outstanding Model Student Award by Wisdom International Magazine,[22] REX Karmaveer Chakra Global Fellowship in 2014,[23] the first Women in the World Emerging Leaders Award in New York in 2016.[15][20][49] She was recognized as one of the 100 Change Agents and Newsmakers of the Decade by Deccan Chronicle in 2015.[10] She was featured in the 3rd edition of Vodafone Foundation’s coffee-table book Women of Pure Wonder: Vision, Valour, Victory[50] and Gifted: Inspiring Stories of People with Disabilities.[28][51][52] She acted in a short film titled 'The Phoenix' on the theme of inclusion which was shortlisted for ABILITY FEST 2013 (an India-International Disability Film Festival).[23][53]

References

  1. ↑ Krupa, Lakshmi (2014-04-15). "How birds of a feather found followers". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "From where I stand: "Being a person with disability is challenging. Being a woman with disability adds extra challenges"". UN Women. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Thomas, Mini P (2016-11-06). "Able to inspire". The WEEK. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  4. ↑ Kanal, Nishtha (2018-04-18). "Spreading inclusive love". Deccan Chronicle.com/. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  5. ↑ Menon, Priya (2018-04-15). "Sketching a fighter's tale". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  6. 1 2 Benu, Parvathi (2017-09-11). "Your daily dose of inspiration: After losing her hands at the age of 13, Malvika Iyer is now a world famous motivational speaker". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  7. ↑ Menon, Priya (2015-08-02). "Live life king size". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  8. ↑ Reddy, Gayatri (2015-09-20). "Against life's greatest odds". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  9. ↑ "'It's unfair to students'". The Hindu. 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shetty, Sudhanva (2017-03-17). "From Bomb Blast Survivor To UN Speaker: The Story Of Malvika Iyer". The Logical Indian. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  11. ↑ World Economic Forum (2017-10-09), A Bilateral Amputee Offers a Lesson on Resilience, retrieved 2017-11-11
  12. ↑ Kumar, Pradeep (2014-12-22). "Setting the Wheels in Motion for Inclusion". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  13. ↑ "Delhi: Disabled activist denied entry to upscale restaurant". Hindustan Times. 2015-03-07. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  14. 1 2 Akella, Bhavana (2017-02-20). "Getting the ball rolling on inclusivity". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  15. 1 2 3 Bijur, Anupama (2016-05-06). "Looking beyond limitations". Femina. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  16. ↑ Harish, Ritu Goyal (2015-10-23). "Life Took This Fashionista's Hands So She Grew Wings". Fashion101. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  17. ↑ Joseph, Raveena (2015-08-03). "The pursuit of happiness". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  18. ↑ Thomas, Mini P (2017-12-20). "'I was horrified by the way people looked at me'". THE WEEK. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  19. ↑ "Meet Malvika Iyer, the PhD scholar and Disability Rights Activist whose photo everyone's sharing". InUth. 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  20. 1 2 3 Menon, Priya (2016-04-16). "She makes a difference with her grit". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  21. 1 2 Kapoor, Aekta (2017-10-03). "She Lost Her Arms So She Armed Herself With Courage Instead". eShe. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Saraswathi, S (2014-09-17). "Malvika Iyer's amazing story of grit!". Rediff. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  23. 1 2 3 Koshy, Tessy (2015-07-27). "'I'm glad both my hands were blown off'". Friday. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Bhattacharya, Saptarshi (2004-05-28). "Where there is a will there is a way". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  25. ↑ Raghuraman, N (2009-07-30). "Never say die". DNA. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  26. ↑ "This 28-Year-Old Global Icon's Story Proves the Power of a Mother's Love and Determination". The Better India. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  27. 1 2 3 "An IYER for the differently-able". Deccan Chronicle. 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  28. 1 2 Menon, Sudha; Ferose, V.R. (2014). Gifted : Inspiring Stories of People with Disabilities. India: Random House India. p. 156. ISBN 9788184005455.
  29. ↑ "Inclusion starts from within: Malvika Iyer at TEDxYouth@Chennai". YouTube. 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  30. ↑ Chandrababu, Divya; Ipel, Ann. "TEDx Youth@Chennai: Tales of struggle and creativity inspire city youth - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  31. ↑ "The only Disability in life is a bad attitude | Malvika Iyer | TEDxIIMKozhikode". YouTube. 2015-12-25. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  32. ↑ "'Backwaters' on IIM-K campus from Friday". The Hindu. 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  33. ↑ "Bærekraftfestivalen". Hurdal Økolandsby. 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  34. 1 2 "Plenary 6 on the 3rd AGENDA Regional Dialogue on Access to Elections". AGENDA. 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  35. ↑ "2014 INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY WEEK" (PDF). CIVICUS. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  36. 1 2 Vasudevan, Shilpa Kappur (2015-03-09). "Making lemonade out of the lemons life threw at her". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  37. ↑ Dupere, Katie (2017-02-17). "People with disabilities destroy stigma on Twitter with #DisabledAndCute". Mashable. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  38. ↑ Ray, Aparajita; Prasher, Garima (2013-11-30). "Summit helps disabled persons help themselves - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  39. ↑ "Include, in style". The Hindu. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  40. ↑ Madhavan, Nila (2015-08-04). ""I'm Glad This Accident Happened". Meet Malvika Iyer". Fuelling Dreams. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  41. ↑ "She rose like the phoenix". Red Elephant Foundation. 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  42. ↑ "Closing session Launch of CEDAW for Youth, Youth Forum (CSW 61)". UN Web TV. 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  43. ↑ Luo, Christina (2017-04-07). "Take Up Space With Your Voice". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  44. ↑ Chainey, Ross (2017-10-06). "7 key moments from our meeting of global leaders in India". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  45. ↑ Kithsiri, Indira (2017-10-02). "What worries South Asia's young people, and what they're doing about it". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  46. ↑ "Women achievers honoured". The Hindu. 2018-03-17. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  47. ↑ "International Women's Day: President Kovind honours 39 achievers with 'Nari Shakti Puraskar'". The New Indian Express. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  48. ↑ Venkatesh, M. R. (2004-05-29). "Back with a blast, 2 years on - Teen shines in exam after losing forearms in freak mishap". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  49. ↑ "Meet Women in the World's Emerging Leaders". Women in the World in Association with The New York Times - WITW. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  50. ↑ Chanana, Ruchika; Luther, Tanya; Liddle, Madhulika (2016). Women of Pure Wonder: Vision, Valour, Victory. Showcase: Roli Books. p. 145. ISBN 9789351941637.
  51. ↑ Challapalli, Sravanthi (2014-11-18). "To be differently abled, and gifted". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  52. ↑ Ratnakumar, Evelyn (2014-11-26). "Success stories should be told too, says author". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  53. ↑ Malvika Iyer (2013-09-26), The Phoenix (Malvika Iyer) ABILITYFEST 2013, retrieved 2017-06-22
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