Blind student bags 14 distinctions, graduating cum laude at UKZN
A blind student from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Azraa Ebrahim, has clinched a Bachelor of Social Science degree – majoring in religious studies and industrial psychology, earning 14 distinctions.
Born with a condition called congenital bilateral optic nerve atrophy, which means her optic nerves are damaged, Ebrahim told Daily Maverick that she can only see shapes, shadows and colours.
Her academic journey at UKZN kicked off in 2020 during Covid-19, and she struggled to navigate the online system.
'We were online, and getting used to the platforms the university was using was difficult because I had to learn how to navigate them so that I don't get behind on my school work. […] Now I prefer in-person lectures as opposed to online,' she said.
Ebrahim praised UKZN's disability unit for helping her on her journey to become a cum laude graduate. The unit acted as the middle man between her and her faculty. 'I am grateful, because not every university has a proactive disability unit. Sometimes [people] go to university and end up not doing well because they do not have the support,' Ebrahim said.
Academic journey
Ebrahim said she had dreamt of becoming a veterinary nurse and had pursued the relevant subjects at school, but she discovered in Grade 11 that her condition would prevent her from studying further in that field. 'When I entered into university, I started with legal studies and industrial psychology, and in my first year I chose religion as an elective because I did it in high school. I chose it because I wanted something that I was comfortable with, and I enjoyed it. This led to studying religion studies and industrial psychology after leaving the law, which was an interest not a passion,' Ebrahim said.
She had to start preparing a month before exams to ensure that she grasped all the information in her different modules, something that exhausted her. 'I had about four modules a semester and I would dedicate different times for them during the day. This helped in ensuring that I had everything I needed before the week of the exams. The difficulty was when my exams were in the same week. […] It came with a lot of loss of sleep and a lot of dedication to achieve what I have,' she said.
Achievements
As part of her journey, Ebrahim not only picked up a number of accolades but also became a motivational speaker for people with disabilities. She made her first public speech in June 2024, when her lecturer invited her to an organisation called Taking Islam to the People. 'I spoke about my experiences with discrimination within the community as I grew up with a disability,' Ebrahim said.
She then participated in an Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa conference, after encouragement from her lecturers, who had loved one of her assignments. 'I was the only undergraduate student among 40 PhD and master's student participants. 'I was unanimously chosen as the best student presentation, which is quite a shock for me, I was just a little undergraduate among all of the experts,' Ebrahim said.
She also co-presented a paper with her lecturers at the university's Academic Monitoring and Support Colloquium 2024, which won Best Paper in their session.
Ebrahim said it is still surreal to think that she achieved 14 distinctions. 'It's still a bit surreal for me to believe like all of the stuff has happened. […] It's quite an enchanting feeling. It's really wonderful seeing all of the different expressions from all the people around me being so happy and excited that somebody like me with a disability was able to do all of this,' she said.
Where to from here?
Ebrahim's end goal is to achieve a PhD, and she is pursuing her honours degree focusing on women-led khutbahs in Islam, rooted in activism and disability inclusion. She hopes to become more involved in researching disability within religion. She said people with disabilities can achieve what they want; it is just a matter of the mindset.
'You have to change your mindset and you have to view your disability, not as a challenge, but use your disability as a weapon against all of the different societal challenges. I'm trying to really make a difference and bring more light and more positivity so that people look at people with disabilities, not with sadness or sympathy, but rather with a sense of admiration,' Ebrahim said. DM
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