Uzma is a Mom of 3 beautiful children. At the age of 5, she lost her eyesight due to taking the wrong medication in Karachi, Pakistan. She spent quite some time in the United States hoping to get her vision back. She underwent 13 eye surgeries, none of them went successful. Struggles of her brother brought her to Canada. Although she hasn’t got her eyesight back until now, she carries a meaningful vision for life and things happening around her. 

At the age of 15, she started writing poetry. Her first book the “Tale of Roses “ was published in 2013. As her life got busier with her kids, she stopped writing until her family encouraged her to bring back the writer within her. One of her family members took an initiative to post her write-ups and poems for MuslimMoms.Ca:

People often ask me why did I name my first book “Tale of Roses”. I ponder on the creations Allah created around me that I could touch, listen, feel, taste, observe but couldn’t see. And I concluded that life is not the tale of roses but is a great combination of difficulties, struggles, hope and ease. The life of every individual is unique in its way. It depends on the nature of one`s life how it should be tackled or how much effort it requires to become better. Obstacles in one’s path some times weaken the ability of an individual but at the same time, it can provide a plenitude of energy which enlightens one’s way instead of giving indecisive results. Life is always changing and the struggles won’t last forever. The ease will eventually come. It will come like the droplets of rain. The rain will wash away the dust that enveloped you for years. Then the years of pain and hardship won’t hurt you anymore. The harsh memories will fade away as time goes by.

I would relate it to my life in particular. I am an individual with visual impairment. The incident occurred in my childhood where Allah chose me for one of his biggest trials of life. Due to severe sickness and ignorance of schools that dealt with blind children, I couldn’t attend school until grade 6. The same year my mother passed away leaving me with my father and brothers. I was fond of studies and in grade 9, I held the third position in my middle school in the USA.  

At the age of 22, I was married and took charge of a whole new life. In 5 years I became a mom of 3 kids. It wasn’t an easy job for a mother with visual impairment. When I look back I can see what a hard time I had been through. The time of lactation, the diaper changing part or when the baby threw up and needed to be clean after, it was interesting but hard at the same time. It was the default for me to understand the need of my baby when she/he could not speak. I also remember when my kids were infants and we used to go outside, my husband or my family members had to carry the car seat as well as holding my hand and taking care of my toddlers. It created a sense of guilt in me. But all those times are over. I wanted it to be over at once. 

I also cannot forget when my son was born and had gone through severe eczema. He scratched himself so badly that his body started to bleed and as he did so it felt like he was peeling away my soul. For some, it might not be a thing even to be mentioned but for a mother with a visual disability was an important issue but those moments are also gone. It’s finally over. If I will be given a chance to go back in those years when my kids were small, I will certainly refuse to go. When I see myself today I am quite settled in my life. My children are 10, 8 & 5. They are quite independent on their own now. But I still receive calls from the hungry stomach or from the toilet but that isn’t bad at all. I have been through much more than that. I am happy that my kids have genuine love, respect and care for me. My daughters try to help me in the house chores in the best possible way. My advice for new mothers is to never lose hope, be attentive to your kids and increase the bond of love between you and your children. So when your children grow up they will remember you for what you did for them.

Image by schneeknirschen from Pixabay