\u00d4\u00c7\u00a3A<\/strong>\u252c\u00e1<\/strong>person with dwarfism is akin to being a person with disabilities\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3The worst thing about being short is that there is nothing we can do about it. Overweight\u252c\u00e1people\u252c\u00e1can follow a diet and exercise, and skinny people can eat and lift weight,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Ahmad complains as we chat inside a cafe located on the bank of river Jhelum near his office in Srinagar \u00d4\u00c7\u00f4 the summer capital of the strife-torn state.<\/p>\n Ahmad lives with his three sisters and three brothers who all are of average height; during their childhood, they too used to poke fun at him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3It was one of the most difficult phases of my life. I always wished to die,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 he recalls with a sigh and says family support is very important for little people.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n According to Ahmad, people with dwarfism are treated like children at work places and are hardly taken seriously. During his early academic years, television caught Ahmad\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s attention; he wanted to join the entertainment industry to make money and to also give a befitting reply to those who believed he was of no good. \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3After passing Grade 10, I successfully managed to enter the industry but due to my short height, I ended up editing video tapes,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 he shares, lamenting that little people are never judged on the basis of their skill and talent.For little people like Ahmad, it\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s also difficult to find life partners as he says women often dream of tall and handsome men.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3Friends, relatives and acquaintance usually come forward to find a perfect life partner for everyone but in our case, they act as a mute spectator. With no matchmakers to help us, we have to find someone on our own,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Ahmad says.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the summer of 2013, Ahmad married Hafiza Begum who lived in his neighbourhood; his sister acted as a matchmaker. A few years later, the couple was blessed with a baby boy, Adnan and since that day, Ahmad has focused all his energies to prove he is a good father.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3I want to be a good parent and hopefully height won\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t be criteria for being one,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Ahmad says with a tinge of bitter sarcasm.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Dwarfism, however, sometimes does act as a hurdle in Ahmad\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s fatherhood. He recalls how patients and doctors alike at a government hospital refused to help him when Adnan was suffering from pneumonia.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3Instead of helping a disabled person, people at the hospital rebuked and insulted us for trying to enter the doctor\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s chamber before our turn. I too have sentiments, I too get angry but I am helpless; I can never stand up for my family because of my height,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Ahmad says.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Double whammy<\/strong><\/p>\n Less than four kilometres away from the city center Lal Chowk lives 4.1 feet tall Abdul Hameed Sheikh. Now a 50-year-old man, Sheikh has been working as a peon at a government school for more than 30 years. Before this, he was working with a local tailor to learn the tricks of the trade; however, a wrongly-stitched trouser landed him in trouble with his master.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3My teacher hit me in the back of my neck with a ruler; I collapsed and fell into a drain,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Sheikh remember<\/strong><\/em>s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Sheikh was rescued by Jalali Sahab, then principal of the government school he works at, who took him to the school building. \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3Once I regained my senses, I was not able to stand up and Jalali Sahab took care of me like a child. After the incident, I was a person with dwarfism and a person with a physical disability; taking pity on my condition, Jalali Sahab offered me a job,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 he narrates sitting on an old unpolished wooden table-chair near the school gate.<\/p>\n Unlike Ahmad, Sheikh was lucky to have supportive siblings. After the death of his parents, his five brothers took care of him. Two years ago, when Shiekh was hospitalised for 15 days to undergo surgeries for urinary bladder suspension and removal of gallstones, his brothers stayed by his bed the entire time.<\/p>\n Sheikh\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s sister-in-law shares how her husband has maintained an organised record of his medical reports and how he doesn\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t tolerate anything against him.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3Once I called Sheikh by a funny nickname and my husband did not speak to me for three days,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 she shares.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n For Sheikh, kindness is not limited to just his family members. Two years ago when his special red bicycle stopped working, he found a few teenagers to push his bicycle like a pushcart to wherever he needs to go.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3I purchased the second-hand vehicle for $170 with my savings from another person with disabilities and dwarfism; I approached the Social Welfare Department for help but to no use. I chose not to visit them again and continue to use the defected one,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Sheikh says<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If real life mockery was not enough, Sheikh says media has also not been nice to little people. \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3I believe they are making fun of us; aren\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t they?\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 he asks innocently.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3I understand what we see on the screen is fiction but producers and directors portray people with dwarfism as clowns; we are not clowns, we are people with different abilities and needs. Whenever I see such shows, my heart aches,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 he shares<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Lifetime of misery<\/strong><\/p>\n While little people struggle with their lives, their loved ones also share the pain and sufferings. Haleema*, mother of children with dwarfism, finds it difficult to put in words what her family has been through.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3From our relatives, friends to neighbors, no one ever misses a chance to ridicule us,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 she shares as we sit in their drawing room.<\/b><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3My daughters, Simran* and Hoorain*, always wanted to attend\u252c\u00e1firresaal\u252c\u00e1<\/em>and\u252c\u00e1satiumsaal<\/em>\u252c\u00e1\u00d4\u00c7\u00f4 local wedding events \u00d4\u00c7\u00f4 but were never invited. Once, I just sent Hoorain but\u252c\u00e1she was told to leave because it was embarrassing for our relatives to take her along. She came back home in tears,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Haleema shares, who herself is of average height.<\/p>\n When looking for a groom for Hoorain, Haleema says everyone acted as a barrier with even matchmakers making fun of her. The effect was such that Hoorain fell into depression and started taking medicines to grow taller without consulting a doctor.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3The pills didn\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t change her height but her health deteriorated day by day,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Haleema says.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now married to a person of average height, Haleema says Hoorain is happy though their financial condition is not good.<\/p>\n Hoorain\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s sister Simran also joined the conversation after several requests. \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3She is a bit arrogant,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 her mother warns. The words that come out of her mouth only confirm the statement. \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3Why do you want to talk to me? Sorry, I don\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t want to talk. I don\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t face any hardship; can\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t you see I am happy? You can leave if you have some self-respect,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Simran blurts and walks out of the room leaving Haleema embarrassed.<\/p>\n Her close friend Iqra Bhatt* attributes her short temper to what she went through at school and college.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3We have to put our belongings on high shelves and as Simran couldn\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t reach them, she felt sad. She stayed alone and slowly, slowly began to lose her cool. The final outcome is in front of you,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 she explains.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Simran also suffered from a heartbreak which left a lasting effect. As Bhatt narrates, she fell for a boy named Shahzad* via Facebook chats.<\/p>\n \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3She avoided meeting him so that he doesn\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t find out about her height but showed him her face through a window once. When they did meet finally, Shahzad broke up with her because of her dwarfism; Simran\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6s first love turned out to be her last,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 Bhatt says.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n “This story was earlier published in Express Tribune.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Tanveer](\"https:\/\/directory.illaaj.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/1323713-d-1486809436-124-640x480-300x225.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Abdul](\"https:\/\/directory.illaaj.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/dw-1486809377-300x167.jpg\")
The people with dwarfism who do manage to find a life partner, Ahmad says they become internet celebrities for all the wrong reasons. \u00d4\u00c7\u00a3Our pictures are shared on social networking sites and I don\u00d4\u00c7\u00d6t need to tell you what happens later,\u00d4\u00c7\u00d8 he says.<\/p>\n