A Home of Her Own

Janaki Amma loves hosting, making chai and doting on her daughter. She is a woman with cognitive disabilities, with a frame frail and a great sense of humor. As we sit down for tea, she wants us to see her new shoes and clothes that she has folded with great care. She insists we have tea, and biscuits.

Life for Janaki Amma has not always been easy. Till recently, she and her daughter, Komal lived at a government shelter home for women in Dehradun which houses abandoned and destitute women with mental and cognitive disabilities. More than 100 women, at any given time, live at the institution and their movement is severely restricted. There is no concept of privacy, or agency for these women. As the State’s wards they do not have the rights of an individual. They cannot make any decision of their life, from what to eat and wear to where to live, with whom and how. The women are referred to as either “inmates” or “children”, by the officials, caretakers and other staff. Most of these women have no families that want to take them back. They have no visitors, and very little interaction with the outside world.

A small group of committed change agents – the Rural India Supporting Trust along with The Hans Foundation and Keystone Human Services International have worked to change this narrative. We believe that every individual, irrespective of their cognitive and mental status, should live within the mainstream society, as part of a community. We are committed to the idea that institutionalization