Quetta: As Dr. Mehwish Sharif enters the tuberculosis ward at Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital in south-west Pakistan, she reaches for her ears to make sure her hearing aids are in place.
It is a routine checkup for Sharif, Balochistan’s first doctor with a hearing impairment, who took years to finish medical school and be appointed as a doctor at Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital, the only health facility in the provincial capital Quetta. Removed prejudice. , for the treatment of respiratory and viral diseases.
The 29-year-old doctor hails from a remote village in the central Balochistan district of Kachi and dreamed of becoming a doctor as a child even after she lost her hearing at the age of 4 due to damage to the eardrum.
“When I was a little kid, I used to act like a doctor while playing with my brothers,” Sharif told Arab News in his office, smiling. “The white coat and stethoscope worn by doctors always inspired me.”
But although his family supported him, Sharif’s graduation from Bolan Medical College in 2021 came after years of discriminatory and insensitive remarks, including from faculty members.
“I found that my teachers often complained about my hearing loss,” she said. “Even in my previous medical exams, they didn’t allow me to use hearing aids because they thought they were headphones.”
He recalled another instance of discrimination when he was required to submit a letter of permission to use a hearing aid for an examination at the University of Balochistan.
“I got the letter and when I went to the professor, who was also the head of the surgery department, he saw me and asked for my name,” she said. “I told him my name and he said ‘You can hear, you submitted a fake letter’.”
Sharif said, ‘Even after asking me all the questions, he failed me in the final.
Sharif’s experiences are not uncommon in a country where people with disabilities live with prejudice and a lack of opportunities. In the absence of reliable statistics, the number of people with disabilities in Pakistan is estimated to be between 3.3 million and 27 million, according to Human Rights Watch.
In January 2020, Pakistan passed the Disability Rights Act to provide a comprehensive legal framework to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities.
In July of the same year, Pakistan’s Supreme Court directed the federal and provincial governments to implement new legislation that requires 2 percent of people employed by an establishment to be persons with disabilities.
But despite the passage of the law and the backing of the top court, people with disabilities remain underrepresented in higher education and the workforce in Pakistan.
The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr. Sadiq Baloch, said Sharif had worked “very hard” to remove all obstacles, adding that he had never received any complaints about the doctor from his patients or his attendants.
“Mahwish has become a role model for our society, where persons with disabilities are marginalized even by their own family members,” he told Arab News. “He has set a new example that even people with disabilities can fulfill their dreams.”
Haji Basit, who brought his mother to the hospital from Harnai district for treatment of TB, said that he did not face any problem of communication with Sharif. “She is very caring and loving with her patients and my mother feels more comfortable with Dr. Mahvish than any other doctor,” he said.
Sharif is an inspiration to Dr. Noor Qazi, Director General of the Provincial Health Department of Balochistan.
He said, “While we have allocated a specific quota for persons with disabilities in the medical profession, Dr. Mahvish has fulfilled their dream of getting this job on merit basis and has set a new example for others. “
She now plans to work to achieve equality for people with disabilities and wants more parents to allow their children to face “the challenges of the outside world.”
“Parents should allow them to develop other skills to lead an independent life rather than a life of dependence,” she said. “I am handicapped myself and I want to send a message to all disabled people that they don’t lose hope but accept the challenge. Society will not let us move forward unless we try for ourselves.”