Miss Wheelchair India faces sponsorship, public awareness problem

“We have always been referred to as behenji or mataji. This contest will send out the message that differently-abled women are confident and beautiful, and can be glamorous too,” says Ummul Kher, a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi who currently holds the second position in the online poll for the Miss Wheelchair India beauty pageant.

A first-time occurrence in India, the two-category contest is scheduled to be held in November in Mumbai. Of a total of 53 contestants, 15 are from Delhi. One category consists of bachelors using wheelchairs, and the other is for girls with other disabilities. Married woman, too, have been encouraged to showcase their beauty, but it will not be a part of the main pageant.

The brainchild of Sounak Banerjee, who himself is confined to a wheelchair, the pageant has the guidance of an advisory board and some NGOs but very few sponsors. Lack of sufficient sponsors means a lower prize money and lesser visibility for the pageant.

“We have no capital for professional marketing. Since most of us are differently-abled, we are unable to go out. So, the few sponsors we got were only through phone calls and emails,” said Banerjee.

The organisers hope the pageant will open the doors for differently abled women in the fields of modelling, films, and television media.