[rajnish manga]

HELEN KELLER OF PAKISTAN

Due to a genetic disease (Retinitis Pigmentosa), Saima lost her sight in her teenage. Here, where millions of people with special abilities are treated as social outcastes, face all forms of discrimination, are denied fundamental human rights, including, among others, right to education and employment, this ambassador of hope decided to turn every stumbling-block into a stepping- stone. Negative social attitudes, lack of resources, never changing rules and policies and many such obstacles could not match Saima’s unflinching resolve to do something extraordinary in life and change the perception of our society regarding persons with special abilities.

Saima rose like a phoenix. She was the most outstanding student of her school. Due to her academic excellence, she was given a gold medal in Bachelors and Master by Kinnaird College University for Women. For the first time in Pakistan, all her exams were conducted in Braille because she fought for her rights and refused to appear in exams with the help of a writer who could mar her future due to negligence and lack of capacity. After her Masters, she decided to appear in the CSS exams with the resolve to become the first blind Civil Servant of Pakistan.

At first, FPSC refused to conduct her exam because she requested for a computer-based exam which had never been conducted in Pakistan. Through a divine intervention and her relentless pursuits, her wish was granted and President of Pakistan ordered FPSC to conduct a computer-based exam. It is pertinent to mention that she uses Screen-Reader software (JAWS) for working independently on the computer and software for scanning the books and other material for reading.