Deaf woman makes history in India

 Deaf woman makes history in India

The deaf woman who made history in India is Sarah Sunni.

Sarah made history last week by becoming the first deaf Indian lawyer to argue in the Supreme Court of India.

Sarah, a 27-year-old woman, appeared before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud in February for the first time.

Sarah was allowed to have a sign language interpreter during her legal proceedings.

On October 6, 2023, the court assigned Sarah Sunni a sign interpreter. This is the first time in the history of the court.

It means that the person who interprets the signs for Sarah will help her understand the court speech.

Witnesses said Sarah's appearance in the country's highest court would make the Indian legal system more inclusive and accessible to the deaf.

Veteran Indian lawyer Menaka Guruswamy said the incident was "historic and very important"

Sanchita Ayin is a lawyer who works with Sarah.

Sanchita told the BBC that Sarah's business is of great benefit to her in the future.

“Sarah broke many things that others said she couldn't do, which encourages other deaf students to study law and makes the legal system more inclusive of the deaf,” she said.

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Sarah, who lives in a city in South Bangalore, studied law for two years.

In the lower courts of India, however, she was not allowed to have a sign interpreter.

She would be required to present her written arguments.

The man who now translates language into signs for Sarah is Sahuray Rochowduri, who did not study law.

However, he was an interpreter for lawyers and law students.

The man appeared in the Delhi High Court and translated two chargesheets for lawyers.

However, language-to-sign language translators are not trained in legal vocabulary.

Sarah told the BBC she was proud of the long journey.

“I wanted to show deaf people that I could do this,” she said.

Her twin sister is also deaf.

Not only her, her brother Piratik Kuruvilla is also deaf.

Kuruvilla is a software engineer in the United States who teaches deaf students in Texas.

Sarah's sister Marian is an accountant.

Their families did not specifically send their children to a school for deaf students. It was difficult to find a school that would accommodate the three deaf brothers.

In the process, however, they found a school that welcomed them.

Sarah observed the teacher's activities in the classroom and learned the support of her peers.

“Other people make fun of me, but I always fight them,” she said.

Sarah said it was her family that helped her gain confidence on the court.PHOTO SOURCE, SARAH SUNNY

Sarah studied law at St. Joseph’s College in Bengaluru. Her mother, who helped her attend school, had not studied law as she had. Friends and siblings have been supportive, Sarah said.

In 2021, she took the exam and registered as a lawyer.

She said she was thankful that her parents treated all three children equally and “put us through education in a mainstream school because they believe in equality.

"That's what gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams," she said.

Experts say deaf people in the country are often unable to study law because they are oppressed and do not have access to interpreters in court.