Independent Senator Alicia Lalite-Ettienne has been a trailblazer in academia and as she ventures into public life, hopes to break even more barriers.

She offers insight into what it’s like to have limited or no vision—both in terms of her condition, retinitis pigmentosa, and through the metaphorical blindness of those who possess “myopic” mindsets.

From an early age, she faced marginalisation. Teachers and peers dismissed her capabilities, forcing her to work harder for basic recognition. She remembers being stuck in an education system that saw only two extremes—fully sighted or completely blind—and failed to accommodate her “in-between” reality.