They Speak, We Don’t Listen

What does it mean to have a language that the world does not always understand? What does it feel like to have thoughts, dreams, emotions and opinions, yet repeatedly find yourself outside the conversation? Over the years, my work in special needs and rehabilitation has brought me close to Deaf children, young people and adults and taught me a profound lesson: the greatest barrier is often not deafness, but a society that refuses to listen differently. I have witnessed hands that speak with extraordinary beauty, eyes that communicate what words cannot, and faces that express an entire world of emotions. Yet I have also witnessed how quickly a person can become socially invisible not because they lack a voice, but because the world around them has failed to learn how to hear it.

Every September, the world observes the International Week of Deaf People and Sign Languages from 21–27 September, culminating in the International Day of Sign Languages on 23 September. The 2026 theme is “Declaring Deaf People’s Human Rights.” This year carries special significance as it marks the 75th anniversary of the World Federation of the Deaf and 20 years since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The UN emphasizes that recognition and access through national sign languages are essential to making Deaf people’s human rights a reality.This should therefore be more than a day of ceremonies, posters and social-media messages. It should be a week of celebration, understanding, acceptance and reflection. It should invite us to celebrate Deaf identity and culture while asking whether our schools, universities, workplaces, hospitals, media and communities genuinely include Deaf people.

The numbers are enormous. The World Health Organization reports that more than 1.5 billion people globally live with some degree of hearing loss, including around 430 million with disabling hearing loss requiring rehabilitation. By 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss, with more than 700 million potentially requiring hearing rehabilitation. The World Federation of the Deaf estimates that more than 70 million Deaf people belong to signing Deaf communities worldwide. Importantly, there is no single universal sign language; national sign languages have their own structures, cultures and identities. UNICEF has highlighted another deeply concerning reality: fewer than 2% of the world’s approximately 34 million deaf children gain access to a signed language in early childhood. Early access to a natural sign language is crucial for language, cognitive and socio-emotional development. These are not merely statistics. Behind every number is a child waiting to communicate, a student seeking education, a young person looking for employment, a parent wanting to connect with a child and an adult seeking dignity and participation.

Pakistan’s 2023 Census recorded approximately 4.78 million people, 1.99% of the population with a hearing functional limitation. This category should not automatically be equated with Deaf people or sign-language users because people experience and communicate their hearing differences in different ways. Nevertheless, the figure reminds us of the scale of the communication-access challenge.The real question is not simply how many people have hearing difficulties. The question is: how many can fully participate in education, employment, healthcare, justice and community life? This is where international commitments become important. The UNCRPD, particularly Articles 21 and 24, recognizes the right to accessible communication, promotes the use of sign languages and requires inclusive education, including opportunities to learn sign language and education in appropriate languages and modes of communication. Article 24 also explicitly covers access to tertiary education on an equal basis with others. WHO similarly emphasizes that hearing loss can affect communication, education, employment, mental health and relationships, while appropriate rehabilitation, technology and communication support can enable people to reach their potential.

The psychsocial dimension is often overlooked. Imagine a child sitting in a classroom where everyone is speaking but the lesson is not accessible. Imagine a patient unable to explain pain to a doctor. Imagine a young person entering a job interview where communication differences are mistaken for lack of competence. Imagine attending a family gathering where everyone is talking, laughing and sharing stories while you remain outside the conversation. Repeated exclusion can affect confidence, belonging, identity and emotional wellbeing. A Deaf person does not lack a language. The problem may be that society has not learned their language. Socialization is a human need. Deaf people form friendships, fall in love, marry, raise families, build careers and participate in communities. Yet stigma, misconceptions and communication barriers can restrict these ordinary human experiences. We need to stop viewing Deaf people primarily through what they cannot hear and start recognizing what they can contribute.

Education is perhaps the most critical pathway to independence, but access does not end with admission. My own research with colleagues has examined the barriers faced by students with hearing impairment in accessing higher education in Pakistan. Our research has highlighted the very low participation of students with hearing impairment at tertiary level in Pakistan, the legacy of segregated education, limited communication support and misconceptions about their academic potential. The barriers are practical as well as attitudinal: shortage of sign-language-proficient teachers and interpreters, inaccessible teaching materials, limited captioning, communication difficulties during examinations and presentations, inadequate assistive technologies, and social isolation within mainstream institutions. Pakistan’s HEC Policy for Students with Disabilities at Higher Education Institutions, issued in 2021, provides an important framework. It states that no one should be denied access to higher education because of disability and calls upon universities to remove physical, academic, organizational and social barriers and facilitate participation in academic and extracurricular life. The question is no longer whether we have policies. The question is whether students can feel those policies in their everyday university experience.

There are encouraging examples within Pakistan. At the University of Education, Lahore, the Department of Special Education has continued to promote awareness and capacity building around hearing impairment and sign language. Under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Aqif Anwar Chaudhry, the university’s broader vision emphasizes inclusion, stakeholder engagement and social service. Within the Department, Dr. Asma Kanwal, a specialist in hearing impairment and sign language, has conducted sign-language workshops and served as a resource person and master trainer. Her professional work includes sign-language interpretation and training related to hearing impairment and assistive technologies. Through such courses, workshops and academic engagement, students, teachers and families are introduced to sign language not merely as a skill, but as a bridge toward inclusion. This is the kind of institutional commitment that can gradually transform attitudes beyond the university itself.

Technology can become another powerful bridge. Artificial intelligence can support real-time captioning, speech-to-text conversion, accessible digital learning materials, video subtitles and communication tools. AI-assisted systems may increasingly help translate between spoken language and sign language. But technology must remain a tool, not a replacement for Deaf people, sign-language teachers or qualified interpreters. AI systems can make errors, particularly with different signing styles, facial expressions, regional variations and cultural context. The future should therefore be human-centred and technology-enabled, not technology-centred and human-excluded.

This week should move us from celebration to commitment from displaying inclusion to making it real in classrooms, universities, workplaces, hospitals and public services. Deaf people do not need sympathy; they need access, dignity, communication and equal opportunity. Sign language is not a lesser form of communication; it is language, identity, culture and connection. Let us learn to listen differently, involve Deaf people in decisions, use technology wisely, and remove the barriers that silence participation. Because inclusion begins when we stop asking how Deaf people can fit into our world and start asking what we can change so everyone belongs.