Marry us, we are wife materials, deaf women cry out

Marry us, we are wife materials, deaf women cry out

Women in Niger with hearing impairments have urged men looking for life partners to seek their hands in marriage, claiming that the affliction will not impede them from raising a healthy family.

The women talked through their leader, Salamatu Hammed, during this year’s World Hearing Day celebrations on Sunday in Minna.

Mrs Hammed urged men not to neglect deaf women, saying “we are marriage materials like any other woman.”

She, therefore, called on all eligible men to feel free to approach any deaf woman for marriage, adding, “we are like any other woman who gives birth to normal children.”

She called on all tiers of government to employ interpreters at all public health institutions in the state to enable people with hearing problems have access to quality health care.

According to Mrs Hammed, “I was not born as a deaf child, but I started having problem after an operation during delivery which affected my voice. I can hear but lost my voice as a result of the operation carried out on me to bring out my baby.”

She said that none of her children have the hearing problem, confirming that those women with hearing impairment can still give birth to normal children.

In his presentation, an expert on Audiology, Dr. Sidi Maku, Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, in the state Ministry of Health and Hospital Services, lamented the neglect of persons with hearing challenges in the country.

Mr Maku said people with hearing impairment are few but neglected, praying God to grant succour to those with the problem.

“You may not appreciate until you see someone who cannot hear, so that is why we are here to celebrate it. The deaf may not know anything happening around them,” he said.