Huffington Post by Lydia Callis - An unusual tale about a young Indian woman named Geeta has been making its way around the internet after a Bollywood film helped spark interest in her story. As a child, Geeta accidentally crossed the border into Pakistan all alone. She lived there in the care of a social welfare group for more than ten years years until last month, when she finally returned to India.
Geeta is Deaf and uses sign language to communicate, and the way the mainstream media has chosen to portray her is quite revealing. Major news outlets from CNN to CBS to Al Jazeera all decided to utilize the outdated terms "deaf" and "mute" in their stories about the woman.
For centuries, people with different abilities, intellectual skills or physical features were forced to live on the fringes of society. They were labeled "defective" or "freaks" by the mainstream, and their families were shamed by their existence.
These labels kept people isolated, and they opened the door for abuse and neglect. People who were Deaf were never even given the opportunity to learn or socialize. They were denied humanity just because they were a little bit different... Read The Full Story.
Related: Deaf Indian Woman Returns Home After 12-Years
Dear Media: Stop Describing The Deaf As 'Mute'
Related Posts: #DeafIndians
