Video: This Woman Is Changing Public Perception of What It Means to Be a Little Person in Egypt

To have any kind of physical challenge can be a life-long burden for the individual in their personal lives, let alone taking on the burden of societal prejudices. Judging other people seems to come naturally to many of us around the world but in Egypt specifically, there seems to be an advanced level of misunderstanding when it comes to people who look or act differently to what is considered the norm.

Mariam Sherif is an Egyptian woman who is a little person. Meaning that she isn’t quite as tall as the average adult – a developmental anomaly perhaps. “One time a kid told me ‘howa enty konty kebera w segherty?’ (Were you big and then became small?),” Sherif tells us lightly; “The couple of centimetres of shortness in my height are not going to stop us from doing anything.”

To show “the world, especially Egypt, that being short is not debilitating in any sort of way,” Sherif and her friends put together a beautiful video that shows her exploring the gems of Cairo, emphasising that her passion to travel and do great things in life is not impeded in any way by her height.

“... we do think, we do eat, we do shopping, we do sports, and we pee just like you!” Sherif laughs. 

Check out the video below.

Photo: Facebook