Today’s episode is a conversation with the Shani Dhanda who founded the Asian Woman Festival a first-of-its-kind festival smashing stereotypes and stigma to empower and celebrate South Asian Women. Shani is an award-winning international event manager, global voyager, disability role model and campaigner. I met Shani in London and was blown away with her attitude, energy, and ability to empower others. If something doesn’t exist, Shani creates it and that’s how the Asian Woman Festival was born which saw over 1000 people attend.
Shani was born with a rare genetic condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), more commonly known as Brittle Bones, affecting one in every 15,000 people in the UK. This condition is characterised by bones that break easily, often from little or no apparent cause. Though fragile bones are the hallmark of OI, other medical problems also stem from this condition, the most obvious being a short stature and Shani is 3’10”. However despite this Shani has thrived, traveling to over 28 countries solo and founding the Diversability Card, the UK’s official discount card for folks with a disability.
Recently she has been featured on Linkedin’s campaigns across London and listed among the top 100 most influential disabled people in the UK.