It is great to hear about young students like Kashvi Khurana, a 10th grader at Woodstock International School, who are using their education and skills to make a positive impact in their communities.
Kashvi felt that providing adaptive clothing for disabled women was a fantastic personal project idea that could help her empower and improve the lives of specially abled women, who are often neglected in Indian society. Her aim was to come up with a clothing line that was specifically designed to be easier to put on and take off, to accommodate physical disabilities and medical conditions of these special women. She thinks that physical attractiveness is a subjective quality and is based on a variety of factors, such as personal taste, cultural values, and social norms but somehow looking stylish is a part that has been completely overlooked amongst the disabled Indian women. Everyone is unique and has their own individual beauty and it is also important for us to recognize that disability is a natural part of the human experience and should not be used as a criterion for evaluating attractiveness.
Disabilities do not define a person’s worth or value, and it is not fair to judge someone’s attractiveness based on their disability or dressing. All people, including disabled women, should be treated with respect and dignity, and should not be subjected to harmful or discriminatory attitudes based on their clothing or appearance.
Kashvi came up with her own adaptive clothing brand named ‘Ka.pable’ with an aim to provide such women with confidence, independence along with style and comfort. Her student startup, offers a range of adaptive clothing, including shirts with Velcro closures and pants with elastic waistbands.
Garment designs at Ka.pable include functionalities like; magnets embedded in the fabric, side or back closures that can be opened wide or elastic waistbands for women who have trouble with buttons or zippers.
She importantly notes that adaptive clothing is not just for women, its for elderly people or those with disabilities too. She currently specializes in women’s wear and will expand her avenues soon. Anyone who has difficulty with traditional clothing due to a medical condition or temporary injury can benefit from her personally designed Ka.pable clothing. Kashvi adds on to say that physical attractiveness is subjective and is based on a variety of factors, including personal taste, cultural values, and social norms. Ultimately, the most important thing is to feel confident and comfortable in your own skin, and to wear clothing that makes you feel good about yourself. She, herself designs the garments such that they may be easier to put on and take off, or to accommodate physical disabilities or medical conditions.
Through her project, this 16-year-old aims to make a positive impact on the world. She wants to raise awareness about disability and inclusion, support disability-led businesses, create employment opportunities, and donate to disability-related causes. Additionally, Kashvi wishes to break down stereotypes about disability and create more fashionable and functional clothing for people with disabilities. Kashvi thinks that the Personal Project helped her to become a independent learner and her supervisor, Nalayini Nantha, guided her to develop important skills that will be valuable in their future studies and career. She gives all credit of her successful project to the IBDP curriculum in her Indian school, Woodstock International.
It is important to recognize and support the talents and efforts of students like Kaashvi, as they are the leaders of tomorrow and will play a critical role in shaping the future. It’s also worth noting that adaptive clothing may not be widely available in India, and it may be difficult to find in physical stores. However, startups like Ka.pable have an online presence and may offer home delivery.
