ThinkHer

The modern world celebrates innovation as a universal triumph, yet it is often designed with an unspoken assumption: that its users are able-bodied, sighted, mobile, and neurologically typical. People with disabilities frequently encounter environments, technologies, and institutions that do not account for their needs. As a result, they are not only forced to adapt to systems never built for them, but are often compelled to invent solutions to survive, study, work, and live independently. When Louis Braille lost his sight as a child in 19th-century France, existing reading systems for blind people were slow, impractical, and designed without true user insight. Rather than accept intellectual dependence, Braille developed a tactile writing system that allowed blind readers to access language quickly, independently, and efficiently. His invention did more than improve literacy—it reshaped education, autonomy, and cultural participation for blind communities worldwide. Many breakthroughs...

In the crowded pantheon of science, Ada Lovelace stands out as a rare woman whose name has survived the fog of time. Unlike many of her contemporaries, whose accomplishments were buried under the anonymity of their male peers, Lovelace has remained visible, appearing in graphic novels and reimagined period dramas as both scientist and legend. She is often celebrated as the world’s first computer programmer while others have dismissed her as an overhyped amateur, known more for being the daughter of the poet Lord Byron than for her scientific contributions.  Ada Lovelace daguerreotype by Antoine Claudet Born Augusta Ada Byron in London on December 10, 1815, she entered the world in the shadow of her father’s tumultuous fame. Her parents’ marriage dissolved just weeks after her birth, and Byron left England, never to see his daughter again. Her mother, Anne Isabella Milbanke, whom Byron teasingly called the "Princess of Parallelograms,” was determined that Ada would not inherit her ...

In an order dated August 19, Delhi High Court directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications to immediately block access to Sci-Hub, Library Genesis, and other so-called shadow libraries ( online repositories of freely available digital media that are normally paywalled, access-controlled, or otherwise not readily accessible)   in India. The ruling has reignited a global debate over a fundamental question: who truly owns knowledge? For countless students and researchers, these platforms were lifelines—often the only way to access the vast body of academic literature locked behind costly paywalls. At the center of this storm is Alexandra Elbakyan, the Kazakh computer programmer who founded Sci-Hub in 2011. Frequently dubbed “ science’s pirate queen ”, she was recognized by ' Nature' in 2016 as one of the ten people who mattered most in science. Alexandra Elbakyan clicked by Apneet Jolly Born in 1988 in Almaty, Kazakhstan...