When Helen Keller was asked which was more difficult for her - deafness or blindness - she replied: "Blindness separates me from things, and deafness separates me from people." 

This sentence strongly depicts the reality that hearing impaired people face every day. It's not just about not being able to hear. It is about the impossibility to communicate, to be part of society, to understand and be understood. 

Bojana Ljubojević is a hearing-impaired girl who, despite numerous life challenges, manages to achieve her dreams. With the support of her friends and understanding in the organization where she works, and her own perseverance, she continues her education, but all the while fighting for equality for people with hearing impairments. However, her path was not the same as that of her peers. Bojana was denied a basic right in the education system – the right to her own language. Instead of learning sign language as a natural means of communication, she was taught to speak. 

Let's imagine the absurdity: that we teach blind people to see, instead of providing them with Braille and assistive technologies. The same thing happens to hearing impaired children - instead of allowing them to develop through sign language, their natural language is suppressed. The consequences are severe and long-term. Children without access to sign language are often delayed in their development, have difficulty acquiring knowledge and feel isolated. They grow up in a system that does not see or hear them. 

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is a law on the use of sign language that clearly stipulates the right of deaf people to use sign language and the right to an interpreter before authorities and institutions. The law guarantees equal inclusion in the living and working environment, and in all forms of social life under equal conditions. However, the existence of a law is not enough if it is not enforced. In practice, many institutions do not provide sign language interpreters. Parents struggle to get their children supported in schools. 

Hearing-impaired people are often left to fend for themselves in health institutions, courts, centers for social work and other institutions. 

One shocking example was recorded when a young hearing-impaired girl experienced violence, but did not have an interpreter provided when she reported it. Her statement was taken without adequate translation, which led to misinterpretation of the facts and further victimization. Instead of protection, she experienced further humiliation. This is not just an administrative oversight – it is a violation of basic human rights. 

The right to sign language is not a privilege. It is a right to identity, a right to dignity, a right to education, a right to work, and a right to justice. 

Helen Keller, with adequate support and adapted communication methods, became a symbol of the strength and potential of people with disabilities. Her life story shows how important it is to ensure appropriate support so that the potential of each individual can be developed. 

Without support, society loses the talents, ideas and strength of its members.

The campaign "Your Rights Are My Rights" reminds us that the rights of people with hearing impairments are not an isolated issue.
These are our common rights. A society that does not provide accessible communication excludes part of its citizens from public life.
It is time for the law to become practice.
It's time for schools to recognize sign language as an equal language.
It is time for institutions to provide interpreters.
It's time to stop teaching hearing impaired children to conform
to a world that doesn't understand them –
and let's start building a world that understands them.

Because their rights are also our rights.