Ethiopia: When Resilience Meets Purpose

She is a sign language linguist, NGO leader, and passionate disability rights activist.

As the first deaf Ethiopian woman to earn a PhD, she has proven that physical limitations do not hold one back from pursuing their dreams. These challenges instead inspired her to excel academically, leading her to earn her bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees, specializing in sign linguistics at Addis Ababa University.

Even though her journey was not free from difficulties, her perseverance, hard work, and resilience led her to reach where she is now- to become the first deaf Ethiopian woman who obtain a PhD degree.

Woinshet Girma (PhD) was born and raised in an area specifically known as ‘Gola Michael,’ Addis Ababa. She attended her primary school education in the nearby area. Woinshet’s early years were normal. However, when she turned 13 and became an eighth grader, an incident that altered the course of her life path occurred. A meningitis epidemic erupted in her village, and she contracted it, shifting the direction of her life forever, resulting in the loss of her hearing.

Obviously, accepting and adjusting to a sudden disability that occurs later in life is an overwhelming transition as it presents significant psychological and physical challenges. This was the reality Woineshet faced. Until she entered grade 7th, her learning was based on listening to her teachers. However, when she unexpectedly became deaf and could no longer hear what was being said, it made everything more challenging for her. Thus, to overcome this, she started learning sign language and lip-reading to cope better with her challenges.

When Woineshet (PhD) began her secondary education at Addis Ketema Secondary School, the situation became more testing. As a deaf student, she faced significant difficulties in both learning and achieving academic success. Being a deaf student and the lack of sign language interpreters made the situation worse. She was compelled to compete academically with her able-bodied peers in the same manner, with no accommodations for her hearing impairment. Yet through determination and perseverance, she was able to compete with her hearing classmates, push forward and achieve her goals by carefully watching their lip movements.

Luckily, breaking every barrier that came in her path, she joined Addis Ababa University, where she graduated with high distinction in Linguistics from the Department of Linguistics, specializing in sign linguistics with great distinction; she also started her first career journey there.

Not satisfied with her accomplishments, she pursued her second degree at the University and graduated with distinction once again. It was there that she met her husband, who is also a person with a hearing impairment, like her.

According to Woinshet (PhD), her mother has played an indispensable role in her life and served as a role model. She has encouraged focusing on the present and the future, facing challenges with strength, and turning obstacles into opportunities; rather than dwelling on the past, what cannot be changed.

Above all, she helped her realize that the future lies in her own hands, and to work for that. Thus, encouraged her to boldly chase her dreams in life, speak up for what she believes in, and never wait passively for opportunities, but to create them herself.

And today, by breaking through the barriers that stood in her way, Woineshet (PhD) has become a role model to many people with disabilities proving that physical limitations cannot stop someone from achieving their dreams.

According to her, accepting and confronting problems is very helpful to move forward. She sets herself as an example for this. She strongly believes that she has become what she wants to be today. Her deafness has never held her back from achieving her goals, and she is confident it will not limit her in the future either. Faced with any problem, she believes she will act quickly to find a solution and work on her own tomorrow. She also advises everyone to do the same.

While talking about the multidimensional encumbrances that women with disabilities face, Woinshet (PhD) said that these women often experience compounded challenges in their daily lives. The long-standing cultural and religious practices tend to place women at a disadvantage. When disability is added to the equation, the situation becomes more complex. Women with disabilities face not only gender-based discrimination but also the stigma and barriers linked to their disabilities.

These double burdens, compared to their non-disabled and male counterparts in both public and private spheres, severely limit their access to education, employment healthcare services; placing them at a clear disadvantage. Due to these biases, several women who could contribute significantly to the country are held back, unable to fulfill their potential. Their underrepresentation in lucrative professions also restricted them from serving as role models to their successors.

Thus, she urged the government and relevant stakeholders to make the challenges faced by disabled women a national priority. Above all, tackling these issues must begin with individual women themselves, and extend to the highest levels, Woinshet (PhD) emphasized.

Woinshet (PhD) believes that all people are inherently good. She feels that the challenges of everyday life, along with negative attitudes and misunderstandings, often cloud this natural goodness and distort the good qualities. According to her, when we take the time to understand the burdens and struggles others face, we not only help reconnect with their better selves; but also open our hearts to love more people. She added that embracing this mindset has also brought about a positive impact on her own life.

Woinshet’s (PhD) self-confidence, endeavors, resilience and strength have helped her to achieve her goals.

Her confidence reflects her inner strength. Going beyond personal interest, she is committed to improving the lives of people with hearing impairments.

For instance, determined to address the challenges she faced during her primary and secondary education due to the absence of sign language interpreters and driven to create a more inclusive platform where everyone can benefit from the new technology, she developed a sign language interpreter application to assist deaf individuals. This groundbreaking tool not only benefits people with hearing disabilities but also bridges communication gaps and fosters connections in communities.