First Deaf Pakistani-American, Muslim Lawyer: Nida Din
Deaf woman Nida Din was recently sworn in to become the first Deaf Pakistani-American, Muslim female attorney.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Now, you have just been sworn in as the very first Deaf, Pakistani-American Muslim female attorney in the United States. I’d say that’s a major achievement!
NIDA D.:
Yes, I’m just so blessed. I feel truly honored and I’m in shock also. I’m emotional too, the past few days have been very emotional for me. This is very surreal to me and I’m so blessed. The best part for me occurred this past Friday which was the first day of Ramadan! Some people might sign “Ramadan” as they would “fasting” though this is the sign I will be using. So, it made the moment even better for me considering the fact it happened on the first day of Ramadan. That was a very meaningful moment for me.
We don’t have enough people of color (POCs). Even though we do have deaf lawyers, we do not have enough POC deaf lawyers who use ASL. We need them because some of the issues we face in our field are multilayered. We have issues that concern both deaf people and their race. We can’t just separate these issues so we must have someone who has that understanding of how, using Pakistani culture as an example, how that affects Deaf culture. I do have this understanding because I’ve had those experiences myself as a POC, as a person who is Pakistani.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Din graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in May 2019. Prior to that she received her BA from the University of Texas. She said she had to fight to get both CART and ASL interpreting services for her law studies. She took the Texas bar exam in the end of February and found out she passed on Friday. I asked her what her reaction was when she found out she passed.
DIN:
They emailed me at 8:51 in the morning, as I recall.
THE DAILY MOTH:
In the morning.
NIDA D.:
Yes, in the morning, and the email had informed me to go to a website to open the letter. Okay, fine, I’ll open the letter in there then! The very first word that I saw was, “Congratulations!”
I immediately started bawling!
THE DAILY MOTH:
Done.
NIDA D.:
While I’m sobbing, I tried to text my family but I couldn’t see through my tear-filled, cloudy eyes! I was just trying to tell them the good news.
THE DAILY MOTH:
That’s just incredibly cool.
NIDA D.:
You know, I was just so emotional that I cried all day! I was very, very emotional.
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THE DAILY MOTH:
Din was sworn in on Monday in a ceremony that was conducted via Zoom with a judge. Normally this ceremony would be conducted in-person, but due to COVID-19, it was done remotely. Here is a clip.
[Clip of judge swearing in Din]
DIN:
That moment is what makes you a lawyer. Even though you might have a JD (Juris Doctor) degree, you cannot practice law. If you pass your bar exam, you can practice law, but you’re not exactly a lawyer yet! Taking the oath is what makes you an actual lawyer, becoming a non-lawyer to a lawyer in a matter of 15 minutes! It was just a crazy moment for me!
THE DAILY MOTH:
Din was born in California to parents who immigrated to the United States from Pakistan. When she was six, she moved to South Dakota and was in a mainstream program. She said that her first encouragement of being a lawyer came from her interpreter, Vicki, and a deaf mentor, Mark, who came from Communication Service for the Deaf, which at the time had its headquarters in Sioux Falls.
DIN:
It’s interesting because Mark, and my interpreter Vicki, are the ones who actually told me that I should become a lawyer! They, that was actually the first time I’d heard of that word. I’d never heard of the term and what it really meant until middle school.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Nida later moved to Austin, Texas when she was 14 and went to a mainstream high school program. She said that when she told others that she wanted to be a lawyer, she was told that she “couldn’t” because she signed in ASL and also because she has a learning disability. She said she had to overcome those naysayers.
DIN:
It was in high school that was when I started telling people that I had a goal to become a lawyer.
“Experts”, or people who work with deaf people, would keep telling me that “I can’t”. I cannot become a lawyer because I use ASL. Audiologists, Vocational Rehabilitation counselors, psychologists have told me I cannot… I have a learning disability too. So, that’s why I see a psychologist so I can receive evaluations on my learning abilities. So, all these people kept telling me that I can’t succeed by getting into law school because of concerns with my communication method with ASL. Yet I believed them…since they’re the “experts”.
I’m telling you; it happens even in law school! Before I got into law school, I was required to see an audiologist for VR services. And that audiologist was simply awful, just awful and so oppressive. I tried to tell them that I’d already gotten into law school and I already just started taking classes. Yet they dared to tell me that I cannot succeed because I use ASL. It’s just like, wait a minute, I’ve already been admitted into law school!
THE DAILY MOTH:
Now Din has proved all of her doubters wrong. I asked her what she hopes to specialize in as a lawyer.
DIN:
I would love and hope to specialize in either one of the two fields including immigration. (shows different ways to sign ‘immigration’)
It’s because my parents are immigrants themselves. They moved to America, the land of opportunities. It’s because my parents moved here that I have so many opportunities to become whatever I want. I can be anything I want to be. I have the freedom to choose to do these things. I know that I could not do this in Pakistan, so I’m extremely blessed, and I want to provide the opportunities that I had to deaf immigrants and those with children. I want to keep passing forward these opportunities so that’s why I’ve chosen to pursue becoming an immigration lawyer.
That’s one specialization or I could choose to focus more on advocating for deaf and disability civil rights because I’m deaf myself. I have a lot of experience with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). I’ve experienced frustrations with oppression, and I feel that these experiences will be helpful with advocating for deaf people because I understand where they’re coming from! Also, I’m interested in civil rights because I’m also Pakistani and a person of color. I deal with issues of racism and as a woman, I have to deal with issues of sexism. I deal with religion-based issues as I am a Muslim. So, civil rights does concern all kinds of minorities and I feel like I have a strong, core understanding of what it feels like because I’ve experienced all instances myself! I am a representation and cumulation of all minorities within one person.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Thank you for your time, Nida Din, and congratulations on your achievement! We as a Deaf community will benefit greatly by having you as one of our leaders within the legal field.