Question

information about the women who you think have excelled in their lives though they may not have come into limelight?

Answer 1

Sona Jose was once confined to a wheelchair but spends a better part of her life fighting for right of the disabled to be included in the mainstream.

Sona Jose is the co-ordinator for her brainchild, the Team for Achieving Barrier Free Access in the Environment (TABASE) for the physically challenged. It was formed in 2007 in Thiruvananthapuram, in a quest for barrier-free access to the elections, following a court ruling that polling booths should be accessible to all.

As a sociology postgraduate, Sona Jose makes a strong case for the rights of physically disabled people, the forgotten people and wants to extend her activities to other parts of the State. She lives in a working women’s hostel, and like any other working woman supports herself.
“I am of the view that the intellectually fit but physically disabled, or the visually challenged or the deaf should not be isolated in special schools. In a regular school there should be a teacher for Braille or sign language, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has provisions for that. Why not use that? Of course for certain cases special schools are the only option.”