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July 15, 2005
A Phenomenal Woman
O The Oprah Magazine
August 2005 issue
There is no link available yet for this story, as the magazine’s website doesn’t have the August issue available to view at this time. That said, on with the story.
Sabriye Tenberken has been alive for 34 years and blind for 22 of them. A degenerative retinal disease stole her sight when she was only 12 years old. “Her classmates spurned and taunted her, gave her false directions in order to watch her tumble down a flight of stairs.” Sabriye tried to fit in with the sighted world by denying her blindness, and she was miserable.
When she went to a boarding school for the blind, she learned, among other things, that she was not alone. She read an entire book, in Braille, for the first time in her life. At 26, she went to Tibet, where the blind are considered demonic. Now, she teaches blind Tibetan children about their culture. Their blind culture.
Comments
What a sad story, but I'm glad for the happy ending. It is so sad to hear how mean people are to people with disabilities. They are human beings who deserve respect just like everyone else. Everyone should be treated equally. Think about this...imagine if one of those people who teased her and made her fall down the stairs due to false directions ended up having a child of their own who was blind. I bet they would really regret treating her the way that they did.
Posted by: Dianna at July 17, 2005 10:15 AM
Oprah's use of "phenomenal woman" comes from Maya Angelou's poem of the same name.
Posted by: Clancy at July 19, 2005 5:35 PM