Lady in a green dress seating at sofa

Ramila’s Fight for Recognition: A Work in Progress

Ramila Ojha has spent years battling to be recognized. Living with a psychosocial disability, she faces daily challenges but remains determined to secure her rightful disability identity card. Without it, she is denied access to essential government services.

For eight years, Ramila has been managing depression. “I never expected this to be my life,” she shares. “My husband also has depression, and I only discovered this after our marriage. A few years later, I started experiencing the same issues. If I forget to take my medication, I feel lost and overwhelmed.”

Despite clear laws on disability identity cards, Byas Municipality in Gandaki Province has yet to provide them to people with psychosocial disabilities, citing legal ambiguities. “They tell us that if we take medicine, we get better, so we don’t need the card,” Ramila explains. “But they have no idea how difficult it is to function without it.”

They don’t understand what we go through. But we will keep fighting.

Through a CBM-supported project, Include Us, Ramila attended a training organized by the National Federation of the Disabled Nepal (NFDN). “I learned so much,” she says. “Before, I only knew about physical and visual disabilities, but I discovered there are ten types. This training gave me the confidence to push for my rights.”

With renewed determination, Ramila and her peers went to the Western Regional Hospital in Pokhara to get the required medical recommendation. However, the hospital refused to provide it. Frustrated but not defeated, she contacted NFDN, who coordinated with hospital administrators. After persistent advocacy, they finally received their recommendations and submitted them to Byas Municipality.

But the struggle was far from over. “We kept going to the municipal office, but they kept turning us away,” Ramila says. “They said our condition wasn’t permanent.”

Determined not to give up, NFDN escalated the issue, meeting with local disability committees and municipal officials. Eventually, Byas Municipality agreed to issue identity cards to a few individuals with severe psychosocial disabilities. However, Ramila is still waiting.

Two lady are seating together and one is showing the document.

She remains hopeful: “We will keep advocating. One day, we too will have our identity cards.”

This is part of a broader effort led by NFDN to ensure people with disabilities can access the services they need. The work continues to push for policy amendments so that all individuals with disabilities are recognized and supported.