Indian Matrimonial and Employment Site for Disabled

Author: Ian C. Langtree - View Credentials
Published: 22 May 2011 - Updated: 28 Mar 2022

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Overview - Related Content

Synopsis

A new online Indian matrimonial dating and disability employment network website dedicated to disabled people in India.

Overview

Jeyem Foundation, a Delhi based charitable trust has launched a new web-portal for the differently abled in India. The portal has three components:

• 1) matrimonial
• 2) employment
• 3) social networking

The completed portal would be dedicated to the public on the occasion of the World Disability Day which is observed in December.

According to the Census 2001, there are 2.19 crore, (Editor : A crore is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to ten million (10,000,000), or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan), persons with disabilities in India who constitute 2.13 percent of the total population. This includes persons with visual, hearing, speech, loco motor and mental disabilities. Seventy five percent of persons with disabilities live in rural areas, 49 percent of disabled population is literate and only 34 percent are employed. The earlier emphasis on medical rehabilitation has now been replaced by an emphasis on social rehabilitation. There has been an increasing recognition of abilities of persons with disabilities and emphasis on mainstreaming them in the society based on their capabilities.

Choices are limited for the physically disabled wanting to get married. A recent survey shows that 59% women and 48% men refuse to marry anyone with a physical disability. About 34% women and 37% men said it depended on the situation and extent of the disability. Only 7% women and 15% men and said that they would marry someone with physical disability. (Time of India, May11, 2011).

Jeyem Foundation has initiated the project, which has the following objectives:

• Drawing public attention to the issues of differently abled and building civil society pressure on resolving them.
• Creating employment opportunities and developing employability skills, and making these information accessible to all.
• Engage in constructive dialog and proactive support for the matrimonial and family life needs of the people with disabilities
• Towards the achievement of these objectives, the following programs are planned for implementation during the year.
• Providing a single window platform that meets the connectivity requirements of the service needs and service offers that would better the lives of the differently abled.

Proposed Activities:

• Social networking
• Matrimonial matchmaking
• Online and offline counseling
• Job posting, job searching and career tips
• Information repository of relevant schemes and resources
• Do a research and document the international best practices in place on the welfare and mainstreaming of the cause of people with different abilities and skills.
• Take up accessibility and discrimination issues affecting the differently abled population in Delhi. As a starting point, Jeyem Foundation would be undertaking an accessibility audit of major roads in Delhi. These would be documented and published in all the leading news papers and would trigger wide discussions in the civil society which would in the course of time become a system changing force.

Author Credentials: Ian C. Langtree is a writer, editor, and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, which he established in 2004 as one of the longest-running independent resources for disability news and information. Over more than two decades, he has written and edited thousands of articles on disability rights, health, accessibility, and assistive technology. Drawing on a global perspective shaped by extensive travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed advocate of the Social Model of Disability, the framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that focuses on removing societal barriers rather than on individual impairments. His writing is grounded in that framework and in a lasting commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.