Leave No One Behind in Education: Advocating for disability rights in Nepal
2020 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Despite international regulations such as the Convention of the Rights of the Child and
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the global Sustainable
Development Goals in Agenda 2030, everyone does not have the same rights to
education. Children with disabilities are the most marginalised and excluded groups in
society and also overrepresented among those who are not in school. Disability rights
advocates are advocating for children with disabilities having the right to education and
discovering new ways of making their voices heard through digital media. This degree
project explores how these advocates act as change agents in the Nepal disability rights
movement, with a focus on communication and the role of media.
Through the lens of communication for development and social change, the theoretical
framework outlines advocacy communication for social justice, and social movements
as ‘experience movements’. The material was collected during a two months field study
in Nepal between March and May 2019. A qualitative study was conducted with
interviews as the primary method (semi-structured and focus group discussions) and
field observation as secondary.
The findings suggest that advocacy communication was used by all advocates and that
digital media and information communication technology provided the potential to
reach new audiences, without replacing the public sphere. Language and voice were
highlighted as invaluable for effective communication. The movement was not limited
to special education, rather advocated for equity, access and participation in quality
education for all children. Digital, policy and behavioural changes were seen; people
now talk about children with disabilities and inclusive education. Challenges for the
movement (i.e. budget, human resources, collaborations, voice, defined target group(s),
data collection) still persisted, nevertheless improved collaborations between the
government and the disability people's organisations outlined a will for improvement in
participation and empowerment.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Malmö universitet/Kultur och samhälle , 2020. , p. 59
Keywords [en]
Communication for Development and Social Change, Advocacy communication, Social Movements, Media, Voice, Participation, Disability, Inclusive Education, Disability Rights Movement, Nepal
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-22656Local ID: 31346OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-22656DiVA, id: diva2:1482587
Educational program
KS K3 Communication for development
Supervisors
Examiners
2020-10-272020-10-27Bibliographically approved