ABSTRACT
This chapter draws attention to the debates and dilemmas around the caregivers of persons with disability and the need to deconstruct the rights discourse in this regard. It appeals for the inclusion of legislative provisions with focus on the intersections of gender, disability and caregiving. Owing to the socio-cultural milieu of the Indian society, most persons with disability, especially girls, get taken care of by their mothers. The vulnerability of such caregivers due to their dependence on patriarchal benevolence is never considered within the disability rights discourse. The tension lies in the fact that the rights and entitlements of the caregiver, often the mother in Indian cases, get neglected due to focus on the person with disability. This chapter strives to highlight the absence of a theoretical perspective as well as policy initiative that recognizes ‘care’ and caregivers as bearers of a certain set of rights and entitlements that could enable them in their commitments. It advocates for this space to be created within the rights discourse.
