CHENNAI: A year ago, not many knew Beno Zephine. Today, everyone across the country is familiar with the 25-year-old from Chennai - the first 100 per cent visually challenged woman to crack the UPSC exam, scoring an All India Rank of 343.
Beno, who will be flying to New Delhi to begin her formal training as an Indian Foreign Service officer, was felicitated by the Society for Rights of All Women with Disabilities on the eve of Helen Keller’s birthday.
The function, which saw the participation of representatives from Federation of Tamil Nadu Differently-abled Association, was attended by Santa Sheela Nair, former Vice Chairperson
of Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, and Dr Iswarya Rao, advisory committee member of Society for Rights of All Women with Disabilities.
Praising the young woman, Santa Sheela Nair called it Beno’s double-victory. First, a differently-abled person clearing IFS and, second, it being a woman, the number of who, she noted, were few and far between.
Speaking on the need for effective communication for the differently-abled, Beno said, “It is very important that women with disabilities learn to articulate their aspirations in a clear manner. We need to be aware of things happening around us, see where we can make our contributions and communicate effectively to make it possible.”
Ending on a high note, she said that things are looking up for IAS aspirants like herself. “The government is ready to support the disabled. There was a procedur-
al delay in my case, but the government framed special rules to accommodate me. A positive outcome was promised to me by both the Central and State government and they have delivered it.”
Several other differently-abled members of the Society for Rights of All Women with Disabilities took part in the function. They spoke about the difficulties that the visually challenged face in finding a good scribe and stressed on the need for continued government support to get equal opportunities.