Dear Media: Stop Describing The Deaf As 'Mute'

VIDEO [CC] Deaf News: The phrase "deaf-mute" is problematic, and it is not an appropriate way to discuss a person.

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 Major news outlets from CNN to CBS to Al Jazeera all decided to utilize the outdated terms "deaf" and "mute" in their stories about the woman.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 More: http://huffingtonpost.com/lydia-l-callis/how-the-media-mutes-deaf-voices.html



Related Post - Deaf Indian Woman Returns Home After 12-Years

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Deaf Christian Woman Gang Raped By Muslims

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf christian woman gang raped by Muslims in Pakistan.

KASUR, PAKISTAN - Three Muslim men broke into the home of a Deaf christian woman in a village in the district of Kasur, Pakistan, and took turns raping her while the men of the family were at work. The incident occurred in the Ganda Singh Wala village in the Kasur district of Punjab, according to the Pakistan Christian Post.



The woman reportedly screamed for mercy while being raped, but no one came to her assistance. Relatives of the woman have retained the services of christian lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill, who runs an advocacy group offering free legal assistance to Pakistani Christians and other minorities who are victims of abuse and religious persecution.

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The lawyer filed the first information report with the police and is trying to reconstruct the facts of the attack, though he admits that it is not easy to get a case like this prosecuted fairly in Pakistan. One suspect, Muhammad Umar, has been arrested while the other two attackers reportedly escaped, and Gill is not optimistic about seeing justice done.



“It’s very difficult to get a punishment for those responsible,” he told the Fides news agency. “Often in these cases the police take no action or, worse, side with the rapists.”



Gill also noted that cases of violence against christians and other religious minorities are far more frequent than is commonly known because of a system that turns a blind eye to religious persecution.



“Christian families or witnesses are pressured to withdraw complaints,” Gill added. “Violence against women and children of religious minorities, the weak and vulnerable, is widespread in Pakistan and is often carried out in silence. The cases and the stories do not come to light and when victims talk about it they are intimidated,” he said.



Islam is the official state religion in Pakistan, which has some of the most severe blasphemy laws in the world. Freedom of speech is greatly restricted and “defiling the Prophet Muhammad” carries a death sentence, while damaging the Qur’an is punishable by life imprisonment. “Insulting another’s religious feelings” can result in jail sentences up to ten years, but is applied only to those disparaging Islam... Read More: http://breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/26/deaf-christian-woman-gang-raped-muslims-pakistan/



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Deaf Indian Woman Returns Home After 12-Years

VIDEO: Deaf Indian woman Geeta 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' to return home nearly after being stranded in Pakistan for 12 years.

NEW DELHI - Several families had come forward to claim the Deaf and mute Indian girl is their daughter. The Punjab Rangers brought her to the Edhi Foundation nearly 14 years ago, said Faisal Edhi of the social welfare group.



She was barely 11 years old when she accidentally crossed the border and landed in Pakistan. Now in her early 20s, Geeta - who is Deaf and mute - is set to return to her homeland as her family has been traced in India.



The Centre said on Thursday that Geeta will be reunited with her family.

“Geeta will be back in India soon. We have located her family. She will be handed over to the family only after the DNA test,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.



Geeta was being looked after by Edhi Foundation, a charitable organisation, in Karachi. The 23-year-old has identified her family through a photograph and they reportedly live in Bihar. Pakistani authorities said they have completed all formalities to repatriate Geeta to India.



“We have completed all formalities on our part for repatriation of Geeta. The Indian side has already been informed accordingly. We, therefore, are waiting for response from the Indian High Commission regarding the mode of her return,” Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.



Geeta’s case came to light after Bollywood star Salman Khan’s film Bajrangi Bhaijaan was released earlier this year. ... Read More: HERE

Deaf Girl Brutal Raped By Trafficker

Deaf girl brutally raped by trafficker. A couple who trafficked a 10-year-old girl to the UK who was repeatedly raped and kept as a domestic servant for nearly a decade have been convicted.



MANCHESTER, UK - BBC News: Ilyas and Tallat Ashar brought the girl, who is deaf, from Pakistan and kept her at their home in Eccles, Salford, where she slept in the cellar.



Ilyas Ashar, 84, was also found guilty of 13 counts of raping the girl, now in her 20s, who was found in 2009. The couple will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on 23 October.



Tallat Ashar, 68, was found guilty of trafficking and benefit fraud at an earlier trial, as was her husband. This can now be reported after the lifting of reporting restrictions, following Ilyas Ashar's conviction for rape at a retrial.



The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was only found after trading standards officials visited their Cromwell Road home investigating allegations of illegal activity.



Deaf girl was found in the cellar, which was described as "sparse, cold and damp". Police said the girl cleaned and cooked at the house, and was taken to other houses belonging to the family to carry out domestic chores.



Details of the victim's ordeal only emerged after she was taught sign language, enabling her to be interviewed by police.



Thousands of pounds in benefits were claimed in the victim's name and a number of bank accounts were set up using her details, police said.



The couple's daughter, Faaiza Ashar, 46, was also found guilty of benefit fraud at an earlier trial.



Judge Peter Lakin warned Ilyas Ashar to expect a "substantial prison sentence". Ch Supt May Doyle, from Greater Manchester Police, described Ilyas Ashar as "pure evil". ... Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-24549955