Otgontuya Badamgarav
Otgontuya Badamgarav started using a wheelchair due to a car accident and mainly stayed at home because of the stigma in Mongolia against people with disabilities. In 2010, she participated in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) that highlighted how people with disabilities live, work, and study in the United States. She saw how disability rights are supported by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Badamgarav was overwhelmed by the support shown to people with disabilities from all levels of government in the United States. She returned home eager to share best practices and find new opportunities to promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities. She describes her IVLP as an opportunity to see firsthand that countries view equality as a human right and gain an understanding of the legal framework provided by the ADA. While on the program she met the Department of State’s special advisor for international disability rights and credits much of the legislative progress in Mongolia with her interactions with the special advisor’s office.
She has started a wide range of activities that empower woman with disabilities. She organized a job fair for people with disabilities, created a mentorship program, and designed independent living courses and even a dance class for people with disabilities.
Networking with people with similar disabilities and goals in other parts of the world brings her an understanding of the possibilities for equality. Otgontuya Badamgarav actively promotes the voices of people with disabilities in Mongolia and is no longer bound by cultural stigmas.
Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams