Egyptian Woman Translates Arabic Songs into Sign Language for Middle Eastern Deaf Community

Remember the beautiful song for the Magdi Yacoub Foundation campaign this Ramadan, Draw A Heart? Well, a young woman by the name of Sarrah El'Gohariiy took the initiative of translating the song into sign language, with body language and facial expressions that reflect exactly how inspirational the song was meant to be. El'Gohariiy's Facebook page, with over 57,000 followers, is dedicated to providing sign language translations to the Middle Eastern deaf community. According to Al Bawaba News, El'Gohariiy, though not deaf herself, experienced the hardships and struggles of being deaf as she grew up with a deaf father and mother, and was brought up to understand and speak sign language. The same source tells us that her father died of medical negligence when the healthcare providers failed to understand his sign language that expressed what he was experiencing in his illness.

Luckily, people like El'Gohariiy are working towards breaking that cycle of ableism; the young Egyptian started the first Middle Eastern YouTube channel dedicated to deaf education, entertainment, and communication, under the name of 'Deaf TV'. Social media users all around the Arab world have praised El'Gohariiy's efforts and initiatives devoted to offering the deaf community more inclusion in the region. 

With rehab centres dedicated to helping deaf children recover from hearing loss, as well as the first play for the hearing impaired happening in Egypt this year, providing services for disabled people in general still has a long way to go, as over the years it has resulted in severe social exclusion and lack of basic needs, such as healthcare and education.

For a dose of inspiration and good spirits, visit her YouTube Channel here!