Rukiya Muhammad

Pakistani disability rights activist who transformed educational access for children with disabilities

Rukiya Muhammad is a Pakistani social innovator whose organization Enable Pakistan has redefined inclusion for children with disabilities. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age three, she became the first wheelchair user to complete a master's degree in Pakistan, later developing the Inclusive Education Model that has integrated 15,000 disabled students into mainstream schools since 2010.

Her groundbreaking Accessible Schools Program combines infrastructure modifications with teacher training, reducing dropout rates by 70%. She pioneered the use of assistive technologies like Braille smart devices in rural schools, creating Pakistan's first digital library for visually impaired students. In 2018, she convinced the government to mandate accessibility audits for all educational institutions under the 2017 Persons with Disabilities Act.

Her advocacy led to landmark policies: the 2020 Inclusive Education Framework and the Disability Inclusion Index now used across South Asia. She co-founded the Dignity Hub, a network of 500+ disabled-led businesses, proving economic viability of inclusive workplaces. Her TED Talk "How I helped build Pakistan's first wheelchair accessible school" has over 1.8 million views.

Internationally, she co-designed UNICEF's Disability Inclusion Toolkit used in 22 countries. Her memoir Wheelchair to the Stars became a bestseller, translated into 8 languages. In 2022, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for her systemic reforms. Her work continues to challenge cultural stigmas, proving that inclusive education is both a moral imperative and economic opportunity.