Social Short Story – Defying disability
Photo credit: bjwebbiz from morguefile.com
It is the desire of every individual in this universe to perform some extraordinary task. People try their best to do best things or acts during their life. It is normally said that it is a great conquest for any man to perform extraordinary acts, but this thing becomes more important when this is done in the major disability.
There are various person in the history of mankind who performed extraordinary tasks despite of major disabilities when some one with a disability is able to overcome all the hardships of life then it becomes legend and golden history. We shall overcome born without arms, Riaz Ahmad mastered using his feet to study and became a schoolteacher in his village. In strife-torn Poonch, a valiant teacher whose life is a powerful lesson in itself Born without arms, Riaz Ahmad has taken into his feet, literally, the responsibility of shaping future generations.
Defying innumerable challenges, the 32-year-old teacher imparts valuable life lessons to children in the strife-torn border district of Poonch, nestled in the mighty Pir Panjal range. His family in Narol Sinkhatta village, 15 km from Mendhar tehsil, did not allow Riaz’s birth defect to overshadow his life, despite the struggles of growing up with a severe disability in an area which is not only geographically tough but also ravaged by militancy. He does all his daily life works with feet. Such as: shaving, combing, eating. Moreover he uses his feet while using mobile phone.
” No one was bothered about the development of Jammu & Kashmir state, forget the rights of a disabled person,” says Ahmad’s father.
He put a pen between the child’s toes and motivated him to write. Ahmad practiced hard and began to excel at it. He has not looked back since. He studied up to high school in Narol.
“Not a single school was disabled-friendly. In this hilly region, I had my share of difficulties moving around but no obstacle was bigger than my will to overcome it,” says Ahmad. He was a voracious reader and soon began studying for a degree. He married in 2003 and, with the support and care of his wife Shahida (name changed on request), spent seven years studying to qualify for the post of a government schoolteacher.
“In 2008, his name appeared in the list of permanent teachers. Our prayers were finally answered,” says Shahida, now a mother of two children.
” He has been teaching in these school for eight years… We are very satisfied with his work,” says Mussarat Shah, the school head.
There are 8 lakh physically challenged people in J&K, according to a recent research by Javed Ahmad Tak, the founder of Zeba Aapa Institute for Inclusive Education. There are several State- and Centre-sponsored schemes to promote equal opportunities and rehabilitation of physically disabled people, but real progress is possible only when people with special abilities are accorded their rightful space in life.
” All it requires is a human touch to every welfare scheme launched for physically disabled people,” says Ahmad’s father.
***
Haamid Ali shah
The Law School,University of Jammu
