Malvika Iyer (born 18 February 1989) is a social worker and disability rights activist having lost both her hands as a child when she picked up a grenade.[2][3][4][5][6] She is also a model for accessible fashion.[7][8][9] Iyer obtained herdoctorate insocial work fromMadras School of Social Work in 2017.[10][11] Her doctoral thesis is on the stigmatization of people with disabilities.[12][13][14]
Iyer was born on 18 February 1989 inKumbakonam,Tamil Nadu[15] to B. Krishnan and Hema Krishnan.[16][17] She grew up inBikaner,Rajasthan, where her father worked as an engineer at the Water Works Department.[17] On 26 May 2002, at the age of 13, Iyer lost both her hands when she accidentally picked up agrenade that exploded in her hands at her home in Bikaner[3][18][19] and sustained severe injuries to her legs, including multiple fractures, nerve paralysis andhypoesthesia.[20]
Iyer moved toNew Delhi, where she studied economics (honors) at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, followed by aMaster's in Social Work at the Delhi School of Social Work.[20] She did her M.Phil. and Ph.D. in social work[7] at the Madras School of Social Work, where she secured first class with distinction and won the Rolling Cup for the Best M.Phil. Thesis in 2012.[21]
She hosted the India Inclusion Summit in 2013.[22] An advocate for accessible fashion, Iyer walked the ramp as a showstopper forNIFT and Ability Foundation in Chennai where she emphasized the need for designing clothes with functionality and style for people with disability.[23] In 2014, she was selected as a Global Shaper to the Chennai Hub of theGlobal Shapers Community, an initiative of theWorld Economic Forum.[4][24] She joined theUnited Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development's Working Group on Youth and Gender Equality and in March 2017 she was invited to deliver a speech at the United Nations in New York.[3][12][25][26] In October 2017, she was invited to co-chair theWorld Economic Forum's India Economic Summit held at Hotel Taj Palace,New Delhi.[27]
