Deaf and Disability Activism in Tibet and the Himalayas

How are the ways in which bodies are labelled as ‘disabled’ related to the power of the State and its institutions? What are the implications of this for social policy? How does contemporary discourse on disability rights play into all of this? And how might disabled people themselves, either through resistance or manipulation of existing power structures, engage with state institutions and NGOs, often to positive effect? 

In this talk I will reflect on nearly 20 years of engagement with deaf people in Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal, and will hone into ethnographic examples on the tangible encounters in particular settings, between deaf and disabled people and the bureaucracies of the state on the other.

The right to sign language is clearly one of the key issues that sets deaf activism apart from broader disability activism. Disability and Deaf activism in the international sphere have favoured a rights-based approach, but on the ground, this is – given the complex politics of language in and of certain minority areas - untenable. With reference to my forthcoming book Hand Signs from Lhasa: An Urban Deafnography I will highlight the complex local negotiations and bleak prospects around ethnic sign language “rights” in Tibetan areas of China. On the other hand, in Nepal and Bhutan there has been great progress regarding the use of national sign languages in deaf education and public spheres, such as interpretation on TV and in public events, even when rights have not been enshrined in laws.

While the rights-based approach is favoured in international domains, and it clearly has also had positive results in the Himalayas, many deaf and disabled people are working pragmatically at local levels to change things for the better. That also does include tangible state aid and charity, which often comes in the form of monthly disability allowances paid by the state, or in taking up invitations to participate in state-controlled domains, such as disability sports. 

Theresia Hofer is a medical and socio-cultural anthropologist who researches, teaches and promotes a wider understanding of Asian medicines, and critical perspectives on primary health care and global health policy and practice. Over the past decade her work has focused on front-line primary health care in Tibetan areas of the People’s Republic of China, on the contemporary practice and history of Tibetan medicine in Central and Eastern Tibet, and on health inequities and gender more broadly. She has published widely, organised international conferences and workshops and given lectures at many distinguished Universities and other venues worldwide.