At Aliza’s birth, everyone was very excited, eagerly awaiting her arrival. But their happy faces turned sad when they saw her and held her in their arms. She wasn’t like her siblings — it was difficult for them to accept that she was born different. The doctor and her parents were all concerned seeing her.

The doctor informed her parents, “She has Down syndrome, a genetic condition in which an extra chromosome is present. A baby has 46 chromosomes at birth, 23 from the father and 23 from the mother. One of these, chromosome 21, is duplicated in Down syndrome infants. Chromosomes are discrete “packages” of genes in the body. They regulate how a baby’s body develops and functions before and after birth. This extra copy impacts how the baby’s body and brain develop, posing difficulties for the infant’s mental and physical development.”

The doctor then tried to raise the spirits her parents, “According to the World Health Organisation, one in every 700 babies is born with Down syndrome.”

This heartbreaking news was difficult for her parents and family to accept. Her parents requested a cure, but the doctor said it was not a treatable disease. It is something that is from Allah, since human development and birth are miracles of Allah Almighty. Every cell plays an important role in the human body’s abilities, attributes, features and structure.

With this news, it seemed that the family’s joy and excitement vanished and was replaced by sadness and distress. Aliza’s parents did their best to encourage her to speak, play and grow like other children her age. When no doctor was being of any help, they took her to different hakeems and religious scholars, hoping that their intervention and praying to Allah would cure her.

Her mother cried and prayed for her, unaware that Aliza was hurt when she saw her mother crying. With time, Aliza became a more sensitive and keen observer. She sensed people’s reaction to her being different from normal kids.

This was also the time when the neighbours and other family members started intervening in the family matters of the family and often advised her parents to put Aliza in an asylum for better care and to keep her with other children who are like her. However, her parents were adamant; they loved her so much and would never separate her from them. They spent most of their time with her, providing her extra attention and love, and this became Aliza’s strength.

When Aliza was old enough to attend school, her parents enrolled her in a special children’s school. It was a lovely place designed for kids like her; as she walked in, all the kids, teachers and staff smiled and welcomed her warmly, unlike other people who looked at her differently, as if she was a strange human being. This place and its people were unique compared to the rest of the world.

Aliza observed many other children who were similar to her and had Down syndrome, and many other children were unique in their own way. It gave Aliza a lot of confidence and a new lease on life. She was delighted to be there and began her schooling with zeal and enthusiasm. This school became her second home — her teachers were so loving and supportive, her classmates looked out for one another and everyone was friendly.

Aliza worked hard in school and studies, and as a result of her persistence and determination, she rose to become the shining star of her school. Her parents were proud of her because she completed her matriculation with good percentage and was admitted to college. She completed her intermediate also with a good percentage, preserving her parents’ pride, and later applied for university admission.

Coming from a special school and college, Aliza found university life difficult, because it was unlike her previous school or college.

On her first day at the university, she was hesitant to go because she was afraid of being made fun of.

“What if they refuse to accept me?” she wondered.

She was scared at first, but then she shook the fear out of her mind, and thought she would face whatever came in her way. Her fears and doubts vanished when she experienced the same love, care and support from her teachers and classmates. University didn’t seem like a different place to Aliza because everyone accepted her for who she was, and helped and supported her in any way they could.

Time passed, and she was nearing the end of her studies. She once attended an awareness seminar on Digi skills, a government-based online learning platform which is open and free to all and offers online education courses. Aliza enrolled in it and began learning from this platform. She took courses in freelancing and creative writing and initiated her blog and website. She became a freelance content writer and earned a decent living from home. Her extra chromosome did not prevent her from believing in herself and pursuing her dreams. Soon it became her passion and she remained committed to it, eventually becoming a well-known freelancer, author and motivational speaker.

Aliza has set an example for many, and she was invited to her school to inspire other students. In her speech, she quoted Quaid-i-Azam’s wise words, which she read as a child and helped her achieve her goals.

“You will have to make up for your smallness by your courage and selfless devotion to duty, for it is not the life that matters, but the courage, fortitude and determination you bring to it,” she said.

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, which the United Nations has designated as a global awareness day since 2012. The date 21st has chosen to represent the uniqueness of trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 18th, 2023