Geeta is back in India. The speech- and hearing-impaired woman who had been stranded in Pakistan for 15 years after accidentally straying across as a child returned to Delhi on Monday. But Geeta's story isn't over just yet: She was unable to recognise the family from Bihar that has claimed her, which means the government aims to carry out a DNA test to establish paternity.
"We had decided that even if her parents are not traced, we will still get her back to India," said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at a press conference, according to Dainik Jagran. "Even if we find Geeta's parents, then too we will request them to let her stay at an Indore institution for 2 years so that her sign language improves."
That means for now, Geeta gets to stay at the Mook Badhir Sangathan, the Indore Deaf Bilingual Academy. According to ETV-Madhya Pradesh, the academy is run by Monica Punjabi, who has also been the president of the Indian Sign Language Interpreters Association.
The academy offers higher secondary education as well as vocational training for the deaf, with everything from craft and clay work to computer classes to dance. It also frequently puts videos together to showcase just how much its students can do, like the one above featuring the national anthem, or this one celebrating World Deaf Day. Occasionally, at least going by its Youtube channel, it even hosts fashion shows and deaf magic competitions.
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