WEIGHED DOWN BY A DIFFERENT KIND OF DOUBLE BURDEN - A face-to-face session with K.B.GEETHA, SECRETARY, WELFARE FOUNDATION OF THE BLIND

WEIGHED DOWN BY A  DIFFERENT KIND OF DOUBLE BURDEN

 - A face-to-face session with 

K.B.GEETHA, SECRETARY, WELFARE FOUNDATION OF THE BLIND

some POINTS TO PONDER  on the status of  VISUALLY CHALLENGED WOMEN

By

Latha Ramakrishnan

Writer-Translator, Treasurer, Welfare Foundation of the Blind

Recently we have celebrated the Centennial of Women’s Day. It is indeed a noteworthy day. And, no doubt Women’s social status has increased down the years. But, is it wholesome? The question persists. For, woman is still treated as a secondary citizen and a consumer object by the Mass-Media which can do a significant lot towards changing the social outlook and attitudes regarding women and their uplift. Day in and Day out we get these ‘run on the mill’ roles of women – the ever vulnerable and gullible; the all-sacrificing and the all loving. And, we get the other extremes too, the avenging women and the arrogant modern women. When it comes to the Literary World we have quite a number of men posing themselves to be the harbingers and active supporters of women’s emancipation but who consciously and constantly dictate the dos and don’ts of women, never allowing them space to think for themselves and act on their own.

This unenviable situation is all the more persistent in the case of visually challenged women. The Media do not pay them attention except only very rarely, when suddenly they feel the need to pose as socially conscious and sensitive. The visually challenged men get jobs and even sighted life-partners and are considered as the bread-winners of their respective families and in their work-spots but the same is not the case with visually challenged women. There are quite a number of visually challenged women studying in colleges but there are just one or two hostels for them even in the cities. If they stay in the usual Hostels for women they have to struggle a lot facing hostility and sarcasm from their room-mates or fellow women in the hostel. Even those sighted women who are endowed with a friendly disposition and a helping nature cannot be of much help to their visually challenged counterparts, caught up as they are in the vicious cycle of the competitive world.

When things remain so, leaving much to be desired, where lies the solution?

“It is not enough if we get opportunities for higher education. We should get sufficient job opportunities and also the society should be sensitized and made aware of the plights and potentials of the visually challenged”, says Ms.Geetha, an enterprising young woman in her thirties who despite her visual impairment has a Diploma in Music teaching and a Degree in Music from the University of Chennai. She is yet to get a job. I was in a Tele-Marketing job for some time but the owner was intent on cashing in on my visually challenged state of being and hence I quit”, says she and points out that there are many visually challenged graduates and post-graduates in Music whose services can be availed by government –run and private-run FM channels. “ I have a good voice and clear pronunciation. I can have the scripts ready in Braille and read it out flawlessly. Of course, initially I may falter and fumble on a few occasions. But, then this happens even to normal persons newly appointed. Isn’t it so?” asks she.

She is not all that pessimistic about the uplift of the visually challenged women down the years but she feels sad to note that in the Legislative Assemblies of the State and Central Government there are no visually challenged representatives.

“Even when we speak of the reservation within the 33% reservation for women we only think of the caste-based and class-based marginalized groups but do not give a thought about the differently-abled which is indeed sad”, Geetha points out. Women’s Groups which strive for the uplift of women have never cared to focus on the differently-abled women, especially the visually challenged which hurts us, says Geetha in an emotionally charged voice.

A bright girl Geetha has a flair for writing and she knows Tamil, English and Hindi too. She is grateful to her family comprising her father, mother, elder sister and her son for their unconditional encouragement and support but all the same Geetha wants to stand on her own legs, sharing the financial burden of her family and also be a contributing citizen to the society. She has a flair for writing and she wants to write articles and books highlighting the plights and potentials of women in general and the visually challenged in particular. “So, you are a full-time writer. I too want to be one such”, said she. Let some publisher or FM channel or even AIR come forward to give this enterprising young girl a new lease of life.

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