Seventeen-year-old Kafi has shown the world that no challenge is too big when one has dreams. Blinded by an acid attack at the age of 3, Kafi has scored an outstanding 95.6% in her CBSE Class 12 exams, the results of which were declared yesterday.
Kafi’s life changed forever when a neighbour, during a family dispute, threw acid at her. Though she lost her sight, her spirit remained strong. After years of treatment, she joined the Institute for the Blind in Chandigarh. Her father, Pawan, works as a peon in the Haryana secretariat, and her mother, Suman, is a homemaker. Neither studied beyond Class 5, but they were determined that their daughter would get every opportunity they didn’t.
“My dream is to become an IAS officer. I study for about 2-3 hours a day,” Kafi said.
“It was difficult at first, but I didn’t give up.”
She had earlier scored 95.2% in Class 10 and skipped directly from Class 2 to Class 6 after recovering from her injuries.
Her journey is not just about academic success — she and her family are also fighting a legal battle for justice.
“I want to become strong enough to fight my own case one day,” said Kafi.
She wasn’t the only one shining at the Institute. Sumant Poddar came second in Class 12 with 94%, while Gursharan Singh scored 93.6%. In Class 10, Sunny Kumar Chauhan topped with 86.2%, followed by Sanskriti Sharma (82.6%) and Nitika (78.6%).
A major challenge for visually impaired students remains access to study material. Braille and audiobooks are limited, so many students rely on YouTube and friends who record study materials for them.
“I studied whenever I felt like. Audio books and YouTube helped a lot,” said Sumant.
“Finding Hindi audiobooks was tough,” added Gursharan, “but the struggle made me stronger.”
The CBSE offers several supports for students with disabilities, including extra time, scribes, and flexibility in subject choices.
