Worlds Smallest Woman – Jyoti Amge

Jyoti Amge is a truly unique woman. Born in 1993, she is coming up to her twenty first birthday, and is hoping to celebrate it in Nagpur, India, where she lives. However, she will probably end up spending it a little differently to everyone else that passes this rite of passage. Instead of going out and getting wildly drunk, Jyoti will have to be very careful about the amount of alcohol that she drinks. Some would call her a lightweight, but others would point out that she is only 62.8cm tall. That’s 2ft. 0.6 inches.Jyoti was born with a medical growth anomaly called achondroplasia. It is a type of dwarfism, but it is not very common. Typically, both parents need to be carrying the faulty genes for there to even be a chance that a child will be born with it – although there are a few cases that have been documented where the condition has happened randomly due to gene mutation. This is what happened to Jyoti. Both of her parents are a completely normal height, and it was a surprise to everyone when she didn’t grow like other children. Her siblings do not have the same condition as her.

At her present height, Jyoti has been declared to be the smallest woman in the world, but in many ways, she has it easy. Many people who have achondroplasia have problems with their spines, back pain, and oversized skulls which put a lot of pressure on their necks. Jyoti, on the other hand, is perfectly proportioned, meaning that she looks quite literally like a typical person in miniature. Jyoti does not shy away from the media, like many people may do with her condition: instead, she had frequently taken to the stage to raise awareness of her condition, and the fact that she is a totally normal human being in many ways. In 2009, she agreed to take part in the filming of a television documentary called Body Shock: Two Foot Teen. This show followed her around, and saw how she lived her life whilst taking in the challenges of being around a third the height of the average adult man. She also took up the chance offered to her in 2012 by Bigg Boss, which is the Indian version of the television show Big Brother. Entering the house for five days, her appearance was heralded as a brilliant choice by the producers.

An incredible photo opportunity was created the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012, when they brought together Jyoti and Chandra Bahadur Dangi, the world’s shortest man. It is very rare for Guinness World Record Holders in similar categories to meet each other, but this was a chance that neither of them could refuse. Chandra is a seventy two year old man from Nepal, and is only 21.5 inches tall. It must have been great fun for the two of them to finally be able to converse with someone on their own level, and from the photographs that were released, it looks like they had an amazing time.

Despite her height, Jyoti has big plans. She is very interested in politics, and keeps a close eye on the changes going on on the world’s stage. She supported Maharashtra Navniram Sena in the last Indian elections, and encouraged everyone to vote. There is no knowing how long Jyoti will live, but so far she has been able to live perfectly happily, so it is hoped that we will have her around for many years to come.