From disability identity to disability activism: leadership journeys of persons with disabilities in Indonesia

Abstract

This paper examines the leadership journeys of disability leaders in Indonesia, a country with a growing disability movement. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 55 disability leaders, the paper explores how the identities and life histories of these leaders have shaped their understanding and practice of leadership. We find that their early life experiences in families, schools, and organisations led our interviewees to identify politically with their status as a person with a disability and resolve to make a positive difference in the social conditions of all persons with disabilities. This political disability identity shaped their disability activism, that is, how they perceived their role as leaders, which levers of change they chose to pull, and how they led the change process. Our findings extend prior knowledge on disability leadership and offer practical insights for strengthening disability leadership at both individual and collective levels.

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