Flying Hands

In the middle of the Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan, Aniqa Bano gives birth to a deaf girl, Narjis. Until then, she was unaware not only of the rejection and stigma attached to people with such disabilities, but also of their very existence, as they remained hidden, without an identity or a name, due to the shame of their families. Sixteen years later, Narjis reads her mother’s diaries, where she narrates the personal and social obstacles she has had to overcome to defend the dignity and rights of a group that had been condemned for centuries to not be able to have a full life as human beings. Mother and daughter take us on a journey through the Baltistan region, where Aniqa has built both a school and a home for deaf people. Thanks to these spaces, local deaf children not only have the chance to receive an education, but also discover a world of possibilities and rights to which they can aspire to. This story tells us of a commitment, of how integration and equal opportunities for everyone are a direct benefit to the coexistence of society. Aniqa has not only fought for the rights of her own daughter, but for the rights of those undergoing the same struggles within her community. Narjis changed the life of her mother, and Aniqa changed the life her daughter was doomed to have.