Let This 33-Inch-Tall 18-Year-Old Inspire You to Fight All Odds

The girl in Punjab.

(Photo: AP screengrab)

An Indian girl, who was born the size of a 'mouse', stands just 33 inches tall at the age of 18.

Mandeep Batwal is a famous name in her nondescript village in Punjab, where people either adore her or see her as a curse because of her strange features and tiny frame. Mandeep is the shortest person the villagers have ever seen.

Her palm and feet measure 2.5 cm and four cm respectively. Because of her tiny body and weak organs, walking and playing is a task for the teenager. She has to be carried on shoulders like a toddler.

While her younger siblings, sister Sudha, 10, and brother Sukhdev, 9, are growing up as normal kids, her parents – mother Raj Rani, 36, and father Desh Raj, 38, – say that she behaves like a four year old.

"We are always worried for her. She is 18 but acts like a four year old. We send her to a nearby government- run school once a week where she sits with nursery kids but learns nothing," said Raj Rani.

Mandeep was a premature baby. She was born in 28 weeks naturally at home. In the absence of money and awareness, Raj Rani and Desh Raj, a daily wage labour, went for an ultrasound only once during pregnancy.

"We were not aware of her condition. In the seventh month of the pregnancy, I got severe labour pains and gave natural birth to her at home. She was like a mouse. Her face had not fully formed and she was extremely tiny and weak. We were scared to see her. We had to feed her with children's kitchen spoon.The whole village had gathered when the news spread because no one had seen a baby like her before,” Raj Rani said.

Mandeep's features have earned her the name 'Mouse Girl' in the village. Aunt Meenakshi Batwal, 28, says people do not say anything to her face, but behind her back they call Mandeep with rude names.

While Mandeep is said to act like a toddler, her body is changing internally like a woman. Raj Rani said Mandeep gets periods once in four months and that's the worst time for the mother to deal with her child.

The desperate parents are now looking for a miracle that would treat their first child's condition and prolong her life.

We do not know why she is born like this. Some say she is the result of our past sins but we want our daughter to live happily and healthy as long as she survives. She is different but she is our most favourite. We would want to consult doctors to find out the reason but we have no money to pay the expensive medical bills. We are only hoping for a miracle that would find a cure to treat her and prolong her life.

Raj Rani, mother 

(With inputs from AP)

Video Producer: Hera Khan
Video Editor: Vishal Kumar