I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and I come from a Lebanese-Muslim background.
I also have a hearing impairment.
Growing up, I faced many challenges due to both my culture/religion and hearing loss.
Until one day I realized, I do not need to fit anywhere. My identity is just that: an Australian, Lebanese-Muslim woman with a hearing loss.
My journey of self- discovery and passion to understand the world around me, led me to pursue a career as a Social Researcher and become an advocate for Deaf and hard of hearing Muslims living in Sydney, Australia.
I graduated in 2016 from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) with a degree in Social Research and Policy (Hons). My Honours thesis was about Australian, Lebanese-Muslim women in Sydney with Hearing Impairment.
Since then, I have worked as a social researcher on many projects about disability, including research about the National Disabilty Insurance Scheme and people from CALD communities.
I am currently doing my PhD at UNSW on Muslim Women with Disability/ Deafness. (https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/our-people/ayah-wehbe-0).
I first created the Silent Signs Facebook page on December 2014 to try and share my experiences as someone with hearing loss and my journey of getting the cochlear implant. I shared some of my stories, thoughts and the silent signs I’ve experienced.
Over the years my page has progressed and now I also share some of my research and PhD journey, and community events I am involved in.
I also have Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
My aim is to raise awareness about hearing loss in the Australian and Muslim community, as well as experiences of d/Deaf people coming from different cultural and religious backgrounds.
My friends and I have been working hard to raise awareness, create social events and community inclusion for Deaf Muslims in Sydney Australia. We are working towards building a Deaf Muslim Community in Sydney.
For more information, inquires, presentation and bookings please message or email me at silentsignsonline@gmail.com