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Journey Toward Inclusion
by Rabis Khedr
Thank
God I grew up in Canada because I wouldn't have had opportunities
that I have enjoyed over the years in any other part of the world
but Canada. Thank God I grew up in Canada because Canada is the
best and I have the right to voice for more and make it even
better.
I have a name, a language,
a faith, an ethnicity… My face shows my gender and race.
I am not a faceless disability. This is my reality and the reality
of diversity in our society.
I personify this reality with
the following line as my identity statement: I am a hyphen with
many hijabs: Rabia Khedr, Muslim-Punjabi-Pakistani-Canadian,
woman, wife, mother of four, sibling of individuals with intellectual
disabilities, facilitator, consultant, human rights advocate,
etc. and person with a disability - blind. The world sees me
as a blind, brown woman or a brown, blind woman. The jury is
not in on the order of which comes first - blind or brown.
Fact. Diversity is not exclusive
of disability. However, the able-bodied world often tries to
compartmentalize disability in a stand alone box. Society has
just begun to consider a discourse on the fact that disability
is one of the elements of identity that makes a person whole.
Understanding intersectionalities of individual identity and
addressing the multitude of barriers to improve access will enhance
the quality of life for people with disabilities.
However, the Ethno-Racial People
with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario (ERDCO) pioneered community-based
research on intersectionalities without labelling it as such
in the mid-1990s in order to honour the experiences of people
of colour with disabilities. Check-out "Building Inclusive
Communities Tips Tool" at www.erdco.ca.
Please note that the site is being updated. I learned a lot from
my early involvement with the organization. I hope that I have
also contributed to its development in different capacities as
Senior Project Coordinator, Chair, Special Consultant to the
Board of Directors and volunteer.
Racism coupled with ableism
was compounding the barriers that people of colour with disabilities
were facing and continue to face in our society today.
We can also easily add sexism
and visible expression of faith as an ism too. The list goes
on. Check-out the Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities
website at www.camd.ca for
pioneering research on the experiences of Muslims with disabilities.
I am a founder and current Executive Director of the organization.
For immigrants and refugees
or rather newcomers with disabilities, this means that their
quest for a better life leads to a different reality of barriers.
In their place of origin, they were a person with a disability
battling ableism and, if they happened to be a woman, sexism
as well. In our society, we have added a layer of disadvantage
through racism for many people with disabilities therefore contributing
to greater exclusion. The experience of exclusion is twofold.
Ableism, racism and sexism lead to exclusion in the common culture
or mainstream society and ableism and sexism lead to exclusion
in ethnocultural
communities. Therefore, people of colour with disabilities have
to combat oppression on multiple fronts within our Canadian context.
I bring this perspective to
the many tables that I voluntarily participate on including in
my role as Chair of the City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory
Committee, member of the Peel District School Board Parent Involvement
Committee and board member of the Ontario Women's Health Network.
I also promote this framework
through my professional work as a consultant with diversityworX,
a company I founded in 2002. I offer training and consulting
services to organizations that want to create an atmosphere of
inclusion and wish to institutionalize systems and processes
that fully respect, reflect and respond to our diverse Canadian
reality. diversityworX tagline is 'access''equity''inclusion'.
This means that I as a Muslim-Punjabi-Pakistani-Canadian woman
… with a disability have 'access' simply by being able to
get into your space or place. I have 'equity' by being able to
get into your space and place fairly the same way as a person
with perceived majority status without a disability. And, I experience
'inclusion' when I get into your space or place. I am fully accommodated,
engaged in the environment and its activities and my contribution
is recognized and valued. I feel I belong with you in our space
or place.
I personally, voluntarily and
professionally strive to change our society for better than the
best we are as Canadians by raising the bar through human rights
and the principles of cultural proficiency in order to truly
create an inclusive society. I research and write the experiences
of ethnocultural and racialized people with disabilities in order
to heighten awareness about intersectionalities of identity and
power dynamics. Check-out the article "Privacy Unbound:
Personal Support Workers and Cultural Differences" in the
Winter 2008-2009 issue of Abilities Magazine at www.abilities.ca
and "Parenting with a Disability: Diversity, Barriers and
Requirements", a community-based research report on the
experiences of parents with disabilities, at www.diversityworx.com.
I speak whenever I am given
the honour and opportunity to share my perspective and commentary.
Some key highlights include resenting at the Nordic Network on
Disability Research 2007 Conference in Sweden, participating
in an international documentary about Muslim women activists
in the West and speaking to an audience of over 10,000 people
at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit 2007 Convention at the Metro
Convention Centre in Toronto.
I believe in daring to dream and putting the dreams into action
to create the future we want especially the future we want for
the next generation. I want a future for my kids where they feel
comfortable and confident in their skin and with their identity
as a whole. I want them to be proud Canadians without having
felt deprived or excluded growing-up. I want them to feel they
fully belong within their identity as Muslim-Pakistani-Egyptian-Canadians.
While programs and activities are considering transformation
toward reflecting the needs that diversity demands, I can't afford
the time for my children that change will take. I volunteer today
to create culturally relevant experiences for them. I work with
like-minded community members to organize recreational opportunities
for them that are culturally sensitive including gender-specific
swims and community family fun skate nights in Mississauga.
My leadership and advocacy
efforts have been recognized by the Maytree
Foundation, Canada-Wide
Accessibility for Post-Secondary Students, the Federation
of Muslim Women, the Canadian
Council of Muslim Women, the Multicultural
Inter-Agency Group of Peel and Council
for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals - Toronto.
I continue to strive for an inclusive society. This would not
have been possible without the opportunities I had growing up
in Mississauga. The doors to education were not easy, but were
open to me. I earned an Honours bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Toronto. I successfully found employment opportunities
with the appropriate technological accommodations. I had people
believe in me regardless of my visible identity and disability.
I have had fabulous friends and a fantastic family support me
every step of the way. I am giving back what I have learned and
experienced to make inclusion happen for all of us.
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