THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Kerala and India as a whole is a challenging space for persons with disabilities. However, what happens if the system and the government agencies that should aid persons with disabilities turn villain? Shamsia Fathima Moideen has been facing such a situation over the years.
It is not as if she is ineligible! “I am a post-graduate degree holder in commerce and also have a Diploma in Computerised Professional Accounting Course (C-PAC),” says Shamsia.
A native of Thodupuzha, Shamsia suffers from brittle bone disease and is a wheelchair user. But the disease hasn’t doused her spirit to fight for her right to live a dignified life.
“I have 70 per cent disability. And the government does provide people with disabilities with job reservations. But if you are to take a survey of the government departments in the state, you won’t find people like me working in any capacity,” says Shamsia.
Shamsia’s bad luck began when she applied for jobs advertised by the government departments. “I would clear the tests and then get the interview call letter. However, at the interview, they would tell me that I was not suitable for the job. The reason? I won’t be able to go around and pick up files!”
Another issue they highlighted was that if they were to appoint her, they would have to create another post — a helper to aid her in daily work. “It would be an additional financial burden on the company or department. Hence, they would reject me,” she adds.
This was not a situation that she faced in a single job interview. “It happened many times and over the years,” says the 38-year-old whose never-say-die spirit has made her forge ahead by overcoming all the hurdles that life threw her way.
She says, “All of my acquaintances knew about my bitter experiences. One day, a friend called me up to inform about a job opportunity he came across on Instagram about a company. And he managed to get connect me to the owner of the firm. He even talked to the owner about me.”
However, at that time work-from-home option was not available, she adds. “The owner promised that if an opportunity arrived, he would consider hiring me. So, my friend sent in my CV. After going through my CV, the CEO and MD of the startup company Jaffar Sadique and Fazalu Rehman, head of Operations (India), called me and offered me the job,” says Shamsia.
She recounts how her parents are her rock. “My father, who retired from the BSNL, used to drop me off at the school and pick me up every day. This continued even during my college days,” she says.
However, she says that the fact that her parents were government employees always backfired.
“I was deemed ineligible for grants and even quota,” she says adding that if this job hadn’t come her way she was planning on launching a venture. Shamsia is now preparing for PSC test to land a government job.