This paper illustrates how power relations in a society dominated by an able-bodied majority provide structural sanctions for the oppression and exclusion of the disabled. It critically evaluates the approaches developed by Kalpana Kannabiran and Martha Nussbaum to liberate the disabled, arguing that their basic premises are located within the able-bodied power paradigm. A fresh starting point for academicians and disability rights activists calls for a relocation of disability rights jurisprudence within the broader scheme of the power relations operating in a society. The elimination of the subject of power, the “other,” through a model of self-reflection, and the creation of an expansive notion of the self is essential in constructing a theoretical foundation for equal citizenship.
