Iman Samir Ali

Egypt – Sheima Anwar, a young woman from Upper Egypt, was born blind, yet she chose to see through the light of determination and perseverance. She proved that insight is deeper than sight, and that willpower can turn the impossible into reality. Not only did she excel academically, but she also went beyond all challenges to become the first blind woman in Upper Egypt to train sighted individuals.

Sheima Ahmed Anwar: A Journey of Challenge, Determination, and Hope

Sheima Ahmed Anwar, a 33-year-old woman born blind, never allowed her disability to stand in the way of her ambition and determination to succeed. She graduated from the Faculty of Arts, Department of History, and went on to earn both an Educational Diploma and a Professional Diploma.

She explains that she studied at a school for the blind from the first grade until completing high school. Later, she joined the Faculty of Arts, Department of History — a college designed for sighted students — since there were no universities specifically for the blind.

During high school, she took private lessons at home, as her school was a boarding one. She used her weekends, Thursdays and Fridays, to review lessons and take extra tutoring. Through her hard work, she excelled and graduated among the top students in her class.

Sheima recalls one unforgettable moment: her father used to bring teachers to their home for private lessons. One math teacher initially refused to teach her, fearing he wouldn’t be able to explain the subject to a blind student, as mathematics depends heavily on written explanation while she learned orally. Over time, after noticing her quick understanding and remarkable performance, he admitted he had been afraid to teach her at first.

A Life Journey Filled with Challenges and Hope

Her college was more than seventy kilometers away from her home. Every day, her mother accompanied her at five in the morning to ensure she reached her lectures on time before heading to work herself. Seeing her mother’s exhaustion, Sheima decided to commute with some fellow students from her town, who kindly supported her in her studies and daily life.

The exams followed the same system as for sighted students. Since the college lacked Braille exams, the administration provided assistants who wrote down her answers during tests — on the condition that their academic level be lower to prevent cheating. However, this system affected her grades, as she was judged by the assistant’s handwriting rather than her own words. When she complained, professors advised her to add the phrase “Dictated by a blind student” on the answer sheet to indicate her condition, yet she was still graded based on the handwriting.

After completing her higher studies, Sheima entered the professional world, working in various training centers where she trained both sighted and blind individuals in Braille. She also worked in cultural centers and special institutions, delivering training sessions in inclusive schools on computer use. Additionally, she taught sighted people how to train the blind to handle daily activities and personal care independently.

Today, Sheima dreams of receiving a scholarship to travel abroad and learn how blind individuals in other countries adapt to life and overcome obstacles. Her biggest wish is to own what she calls “the glasses of life” — an innovative device designed to help blind people sense their surroundings through special vibrations and an integrated electronic memory.