Employers aim to improve disability rights in India
01/07/2009
Many companies in India are hoping to provide job opportunities for some of the country's 40 to 90 million people with disabilities, claims a new report.
According to AFP, a number of employers in the city of Mumbai are realising the potential of workers with disabilities and helping to boost their access to employment.
A 2007 World Bank report concluded that disabled adults in India suffered from high unemployment rates with just 38 per cent in work. However, the continued economic success of the country could be helping to develop new opportunities and rights for the disabled.
Jenny Figueiredo, a former nurse, set up a spa called Metta in January and employs blind people to carry out massages on clients, while Dhruv Lakra relies on deaf workers at his Mirakle Couriers company.
Mr Lakra explained: "The whole perception in India is that they disabled people are useless.
"Deafness is considered a curse rather than something you can do something about. But deaf people are productive and constructive."
Meanwhile, the Times of India reports that over 1,000 underprivileged and disabled students have produced films as part of an event in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan designed to raise awareness surrounding a range of issues such as the environment and social exclusion. 
