Tamilnadu Differently abled Federation Charitable Trust

1. TAMILNADU DIFFERENTLY ABLED
FEDERATION CHARITABLE TRUST
• NF PARTNER ORGANISATION –
Women & Girls with Disabilities
• Started in 2000 by disabled persons for
the WELFARE and RIGHTS of Persons
with Disability (PwDs)
• Working in association with AA since
2008 through Big Lottery Fund and NF
support (2012)

2. Contacts
• Mr Chidambaranathan – President & Project
Director
– Himself is a Differently abled person
– Social Worker
– Member of State Coordination Committee for
implementation of PwD Act 1995
– Advisor for few Govt and Non-Govt Orgns.
– Convener of Intl Orgns (DPI, DRG) for Tamilnadu.
• Ms.Sangeetha – Project Coordinator

3. Project Title
• Building a sustainable representation and
inclusive movement for protection and
realization of rights of Women & Girls with
Disability – State Forum for Rights of All
Women with Disabilities (SFRAWD)
(NF support)

4. • Vision:
Girls and WwDs are also a part of the society
and should enjoy equal rights and
opportunities like other members of the
community.
• Mission:
Empowerment and mainstreaming of disabled
girls/women through building their capacity to
be self dependent and live a meaningful &
quality life with self pride and dignity.

5. Geographical coverage
• Tamilnadu State …
• 3 Districts…Kancheepuram, Villupuram &
Thiruvallur
• 8 Blocks- Poonamallee, Tiruvallur, Kannagi Nagar,
Semmenchery (Displaced areas), Thiruporur,
Villupuram, Dindivanam & Kallakuruchi
• Villupuram district falls under the government of
India’s Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) list

6. Overview
• Social Group: Women and Girls with disabilities -
in Coastal areas- Fisher community, SCs/STs and
other groups both in urban & rural areas.
• Catering to: 1,20,000 PWDs with their
multifarious needs
• Affiliated with: Formed 29 District Welfare
Associations, state level network with other
agencies
• Themes: Health, Education, Livelihood, Social and
Empowerment, Advocacy

7. Other Areas
• Apart from working with Women and Girls
(NF), TNDFCT also work for:
– CwDs (Children with Disability)
– PwDs (Men and boys)

8. Strategic Priorities
• SP-3: Women and girls’ rights are asserted as
human rights
• SP-5: A just, secular, violence free and
peaceful society and state

9. Background - Statistics
• PwDs are the world’s largest ‘Minority’ population –
74% are women (under/developing countries)
• Women constitute 62% of total population of PwDs in
India (2011 Census)
• Only 20% rehabilitation services are received by
women
• Less than 5% of PwD children and young persons have
access to ‘Education’ – lack of Special schools/
mechanisms in mainstream schools, ignorance &
negligence of parents/ teachers/ authorities, lack of
accessibility, poverty etc.
• PwDs adult global literacy rate is lower than 3% - only
1% in case of WwDs
• World’s displaced people - 3.5 million are disabled

10. Conditions of Girls/Women with Disabilities
• Women with disabilities (WwDs) are multiple
disadvantaged because:
– of their ‘Disabilities’
– their status as ‘woman’ & ‘Social Stigma’
– majority of them are living in ‘poverty’
• Girls & WwDs are 3 times more likely to be victims of
sexual abuse and rape (more in case of Mentally
challenged, speech & hearing impairment), vulnerable
to violence (WwDs need to bear the violence even
more silently than women in general)
• Studies estimated PwDs especially women are twice
the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and prone to psycho-
social problems

11. …2
• Removal of Uterus to avoid getting pregnant when get
raped.
• WwDs are deprived of:
– Political
– Social
– Economic and
– Health opportunities
• WwDs have largely been neglected even in the:
– Research
– State Policies or Legislations (XI Five Year Plan)
– Violance against Women related Laws
– Movements like Disability and Women and
– Rehabilitation Programmes etc
• WwDs are continued to be left out of decision-making
processes, access to Police and Judiciary etc.

12. …3
• In India WwDs are facing more Discrimination
(in family & society), restricted to home-based
activities, denial of public and outward-
looking avenues, worst than MEN with
Disabilities and WOMEN without Disabilities.
• They found to be
powerless, isolated, anonymous (Ex: family
functions, social gatherings etc.)
• They are not treated like a human-being when
come to the issues of their education, working
status, marriage, bearing children etc.

13. Current Situation of WwDs
• Though women were organized in large numbers, but in
reality not even 1% of the disabled women got opportunity
to take part, to take actions and to make changes in the
larger social framework. They are often denied opportunity
to interact with others and gain skills to prove their abilities
due to the discriminatory attitudes. Isolation and
confinement based on culture and traditions, attitudes and
prejudices often affect disabled women more than men.
This isolation of disabled women leads to low self-esteem
and negative feelings. Therefore, the needs of the girls with
disabilities may be more special than the needs of any
other groups and have to be addressed in all spheres of
education.

14. Key Issues - TNDFCT
• Create awareness to stop Violence & Abuse
• Eliminate Forced Sterilisation
• Restore Reproductive Rights and Sexuality
• Ensure rights of Motherhood & Parenting
• Address Health Issues
• Provide Education, Employment & Income
Support
• Ensure rights of Housing & Accommodation
• Access to Information and Technologies
• Fight for Inclusion

15. Activities - TNDFCT
• Capacity Building
• Training & Education
• Women Empowerment
Programmes
• Awareness Programmes
• Employment Awareness &
Guidance
• Trainings on livelihood
• Campaigns on advocacy &
Policy influencing
• Marketing assistance provided
for the products made by them
• Formation of Self Help Groups
• Dissemination of Information
• Organising State Level Sports
Meet
• Providing Legal Aid Centres
• Inclusive Education
• Medical Assistance
• Aids & Appliances
• Awareness Magazines
• Library facilities
• Creating platform for Mass
marriage

16. Support - Entitlements
• Children admission into schools
• Enrolment of dropout children
• Support to access higher education and edn loan facilities
• Livelihood support to women
• Jobs, trainings-computer, tailoring, mat-making etc
• Individual and SHG Loan access for self employment
• MNREGA job cards and make sure PwDs get jobs
• Aids & Appliances – Wheel chairs, Tri cycles, Calipers, artificial
Limbs, Hearing aids etc.
• Social security schemes – Disability certificates, widow and old age
pensions, marriage assistance, maintenance allowance for
intellectual impaired etc
• Advocacy activities: Protest, Hunger strikes, Human chain, Press
releases for denial of PwDs rights, to implement subsidised travel
scheme, add railway coach for PwDs, against attitude of authorities
etc.

17. Challenges/ Barriers
• Lack of orientation about nature of disabilities
• Lack of special support
• Lack of information
• Lack of right attitude and self-respect with
criticism
• Lack of assistive devices such as appropriate
wheelchairs, ramps, software, toilets, rest places
• Lack of insensitive socio-political and economic
policies with implementation and monitoring
• Lack of social consciousness in the society and
among disabled people

18. Major Achievements
• Massive rally on August 19, 2008 with
participation of 3000 PwDs demanded
implementation of 11 Government schemes for
PwDs and 9 demands got approval by CM on the
same day.
• Hunger strike with a gathering of 1500 PwDs in
Chennai on July 1, 2009 advocating for
implementation of Government Orders that
passed based on demands of August 19th, 2008
Rally.

19. Outcome
• Revolving Fund: 1700 PwDs (446 men and 1,273 women)
increased their financial security
• 1512 (851 women and 661 men) community human rights
defenders (HRDs) received leadership skills.
• Fisher women in Kancheepuram fight against sale of liquor and
succeed to stop this practice in their village.
• Child Rights Defenders in Nagapattinam mobilised 20
government supporting child care centres (ICDS).
• Irula Tribals ensured access to 2,000 Community Certificates.
• Overall 8,310 PwDs secured Disability Certificates.
• 240 HRDs candidated in local body elections that took place in
Tamil Nadu in October 2011 and 104 have been successfully
elected.
• 1,400 disadvantaged girls and boys enrolled into school.
• 4,016 disadvantaged girls and boys benefit Residential Bridge
Course (RBC), Non-RBC and Child Development Centres (CDCs).

20. Achievements in 2013
• 98 PwDs found their life partners during mass
Swayamvaram
• During job fare 16 women and 9 men got jobs
(Rs.6000 – 15000 salary)
• 126 children took part in the sports day
• In the Public hearing meet 35 cases produced
to Jury – 5 cases got justice