Interview with Zara Husain

DESCRIPTION
Zara Husain:
My name is Zara Husain. I was born in Pakistan, grew up there, moved to USA as a teenager and lived 4 years. Did high school here, then went back to my home country, did university studies there, married and had lived in VA for 9 years with my husband. Now Iam residing in NY for school.

I am a full time PhD student at Columbia University. Also I am the Director of a school organization, Lahore Speech and Language School, in Lahore, Pakistan that serves deaf children with best quality education.

I want people to know my story because I do feel that it is important that parents of deaf children who are from South Asia need to understand that their deaf children value their parents' decisions about how they should spend their lives, but again, the children's voices need to be heard. There are certain smart deaf children whose independent decision making skills are not appreciated by their families just because they are deaf? They need to be protected? I don't think so. We as deaf children or youth do have a voice and it needs to be nurtured.

Interview, editing, transcription and translation provided by Sarika Mehta

ADDITIONAL METADATA
Date: November 2012
Subject(s): Zara Husain
Language: American Sign Language (ASL)
Creator: Sarika Mehta
Location: Washington, District Of Columbia

PROVENANCE
Donor: Sarika Mehta
Item History: 2013-07-09 (created); 2013-08-13 (modified)

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