Beauty Beyond Speech Short Story Competition
Introduction
Deaf girls are at the centre of whatever marginalization and stigmatization the deaf population suffer in Africa – Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation! In our research-based outreaches in deaf communities across Nigeria, we have seen and heard unbelievable stories of personal experiences of deaf girls and women. For instance, in 2015, over 71% of girls in a deaf school in Imo State Nigeria were diagnosed with Sexually Transmitted Diseases by our team of medical practitioners, and over 70% had been sexually abused either by close relatives or at school, unknown by their parents. The height of it was that parents of these girls were ignorant of these.
Earlier this year, we launched our “Stop the Abuse of Deaf Girls” Campaign as a way of standing with the deaf girls in Africa to resist all that they go through, and standing with their families to advocate for the safety of their deaf girls as part of our contribution to the world’s ongoing campaign against Violence Against Women (VAW).
To further our actions and contributions against this menace, we have launched a short story competition dedicated to the deaf girl child in Africa, titled “Beauty Beyond Speech”. We want to collect the most beautiful stories – the most positive, touchy, and skilled stories dedicated to the deaf girl child in Africa.
We are S-DELI, Save the Deaf and Endangered Languages Initiative; we advocate for the deaf children and adults in Africa. We are currently collecting deaf demographic data, and documenting Nigerian Sign Language.
Below is the guideline for the short story competition.
Story Guideline
- Title: “Beauty Beyond Speech”
- Theme: “Stop the Abuse of Deaf Girl!”
- Genre: Prose (story)
- Language: English or Pidgin
- Content: 2000 words maximum
Eligibility
- Must be between age 18 and 29.
- Must be a citizen or lives in Nigeria.
- Must be hearing (the story is dedicated to the Deaf).
Competition Timeline
14th February 2018: Submission Deadline.
February/March: Stories reviewed by the Panel
15th March: Winners notified
Prize and Selection Process
Three finalists will be selected by a team of professionals. The best story will be awarded the sum of N25,000 (Twenty-five thousand Naira) and consolation prizes awarded to second and third stories. Selected top three stories shall be published on the S-D Scope Deaf Affairs widely read Magazine for 2018 edition. Selected top three writers shall join other S-DELI Youth Voices to lead the Stop the Abuse of Deaf Girl Campaign in 2018.