Three visually-impaired sisters dream of getting education

They spend the day helping their parents in household chores

RAWALPINDI: Though born without the ability of sight, daughters of a Rawalpindi tailor can see the opportunities that education brings and are full of zeal to educate themselves.

The 15-year-old Saadia, 10-year-old Mishal and eight-year-old Maryam aspire to get an education.

But, as they told The Express Tribune, owing to the meagre income of their father, they cannot afford it.

“I had to drop-out from school in the fifth grade because we did not have enough resources," recants Saadia, the eldest. "But I never gave up hope of getting an education, though.” She added that even though she cannot see, she does not want to be a burden on anyone. The sisters aim to become social activists to help neglected segments of society, specifically others like them.

However, financial conditions have become a hindrance in the fulfilment of their dreams which they can see even from their blind eyes, they said. The sisters, spend the day helping their parents in household chores. But it has not let their ambition to escape dependency.

Apart from lacking sight, the sisters sometimes have to spend their entire nights in agony as their eyes generate pus. Living in a rented house, the family, have appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to come forward to pull them out of impoverishment.

Their father, Haider Zaman told The Express Tribune that he works as a tailor on a daily wage of Rs1,000. "It is hard to meet expenses with this meagre sum," he said.

To pay the house rent and other utility expenses with such low earning also proves to be an impediment in the treatment of the three girls, he added.

“My wife is also a patient of Hepatitis C,” he said and lamented that he is unable to even seek treatment for his life partner. Syeda Haider, his wife, says that while they may be poor, they have never spread their hands for alms before anyone. She, however, urged the government to take responsibility to bear the educational expenses of her daughters so that they can achieve their dreams of doing something for society. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2019.