Haben Girma is a remarkable history-making woman whose work was born from the inaccessibility she’s encountered throughout her life. Her extensive accolades and credentials include being the first Deafblind graduate from Harvard Law School, writing a bestselling book, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, and receiving high honors from world leaders for her accomplishments as a disability advocate.

Girma focuses on fighting for accessible digital information and challenging current notions surrounding disability. She believes “disability challenges are opportunities for innovation, sparking new technologies that move society forward”(Girma)¹. Of Eritrean and Ethiopian descent, Girma’s story highlights the intersections of race, gender, and disability, resulting in her dedication to inclusion and disability justice. Given that over one billion people worldwide have disabilities, Girma’s work is both impactful and transformative. She not only regularly highlights the business case for accessibility but also serves as a powerful example of the careers future generations can pursue in this field.

In 2015, in a notable case argued by Girma, the District Court of Vermont ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to not only physical businesses but online businesses as well. Her advocacy underscores the ongoing need for inclusive practices, demonstrating how accessibility benefits both individuals and society as a whole.

Below is a printout version of Girma’s biography with engaging discussion prompts for each age group to encourage students to think critically about accessibility, inclusion, and advocacy.

To honor Women’s History Month in the classroom, we are offering an expansion activity to explore the roles and achievements of women through an artistic, hands-on project. Check out the instructions below to get your class started on producing beautiful Word Portraits that reflect the women they admire. We suggest using the stunning image of Haben Girma above as an example, created by our resident artist Nikita Lai Jing Tse.

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