People with partial or total hearing loss have been living a difficult life since the dawn of time. The difficulty of not being able to pick up auditory cues has made the basic task of communication a challenge. Most of them have to use sign language to communicate, which comes with their own set of difficulties, as the receiver of the message might not have the knowledge of sign language.
To celebrate deaf culture and raise awareness about their issues, World Federation of Deaf celebrates the last week of September as ‘International Week of Deaf’. Promotion of sign language and human rights of deaf people, empowering the community of auditorily impaired, and easy accessibility to public services and spaces for deaf people are some of the issues discussed during this week.
One example of empowering the deaf community is the Mumbai-based restaurant Mirchi and Mime in Maharashtra. Mirchi and Mime is a high-end restaurant, comprised of speech and hearing-impaired service staff. The restaurant bursts the stereotype that people with speech and hearing impairments are not capable of living a dignified life.
To celebrate the deaf community, we are going to look at four notable deaf people, who serve as an inspiration to everyone living with any kind of auditory impairment.
- Jafreen Shaik
- Apoorv Om
- Malvika Iyer
- Nishtha Dudeja
Jafreen Shaik is a deaf Indian tennis player, who honed her craft at Sania Mirza Training Academy. She first represented India at the 2013 Summer Deaflympics. But, she failed to win any medals. However, five years later, Jafreen would turn the tide, winning the bronze medal in the mixed doubles at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics, along with fellow deaf tennis player, Prithvi Sekhar. This was a historic victory, as this was India’s first Deaflympic medal.
Apoorv Om is an artist and advocate for the creation of an inclusive society for the deaf. He also presented a portrait of Shri N V Ramna to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India in Supreme Court Bar Association function 2021. Besides his artistic endeavours, Apoorv also teaches art to children for free. He talks about the importance of using digital technologies, such as voice-to-text apps, to help the disabled populace.
When Malvika was 13 years old, she lost her hands and suffered hearing loss after picking up a diffused grenade that exploded in her hands. However, she did not let that deter her and has become a motivational speaker and a disabled rights activist. She was even invited to speak at TedxYouth@Chennai in 2013. Through various platforms, she has raised awareness about the need for universal design, accessible public spaces and participation of disabled youth in promoting inclusive elections.
Nishtha Dudeja was born with a hearing impairment, which her parents realized when she turned three. She started using hearing aids and attended speech therapy. She went on to represent India in AIDACS Miss and Mister Deaf India pageant where she stood first, becoming the first Indian to win any title at Miss and Mister Deaf World pageant.
Child Help Foundation realizes the trials and tribulations of people with hearing loss. Child Help Foundation’s crowdfunding platform, Filaantro, raises money for the treatment of people suffering from hearing loss.
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