Another side of Kashmir tragedy: Destitute women battling hardship

By Nusrat Sidiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - Ulfat Rahim, 26, moves early in the chilling cold through her home in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, to find households who need help.

She usually moves at around 8.30 a.m. local time (0300GMT) and comes back home by 4.00 p.m. (1030GMT) in the afternoon while earning 100-200 Indian rupees ($1.4-$2.8) a day to support herself and her aged mother.

Rahim and her mother Maala Begum are the only companions for each other despite, having eight siblings including four brothers and three sisters who are married and live separately now.

"There is nobody for us, my brothers have their own families now. They are least concerned about the hardships that me and my mother are facing since my father died on July 15," Rahim told Anadolu Agency.

Her father Abdul Rahim Dar waged a long battle against renal diseases and was on constant dialysis for three months before causing his death.

"It was the hardest time of my life when my father died, and it was even harder for my mother as nobody lends her a shoulder to cry on. She was devastated," Rahim said.

Before his death, Dar had arranged for Rahim's marriage, in a union likely to take place in April 2020, but his untimely demise shattered the dreams of his daughter.

"It is very tough for a girl to get married when her father is not around, and this gets more difficult when you belong to a poor family," she added.

"My mother went to a few places to seek help after my father passed, but nobody helped but only gave excuses."

- 'Many times we had no food to eat'

Facing financial hardship, Rahim decided to work as domestic help, but soon was forced to sit at home when situation in Kashmir turned hostile after the Indian government scrapped Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution, stripping the region of its autonomy.

The Indian government scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on Aug. 5 and imposed severe communication blockade in the region. Though the government lift restriction on vehicle movement, internet and postpaid phone services are still closed across the valley.

It has been more than 19 weeks since the internet was suspended in Jammu Kashmir, putting the lives of people in the region under the shadow of uncertainty and chaos.

"When the situation turned bad after Aug. 5, I was stuck at home and there were no financial resources for us except a cow. It was the milk which helped us survive," she went on to say.

Though Rahim and her mother survived the three-month clampdown, the period ushered in harder times for their lives.

"Many times we had no food to eat, it was emotionally and mentally very hard," she said.

It was late October when Maala Begum came to know about the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust, an NGO helping orphans and the destitute in the Kashmir Valley.

In November she filed an application with the trust seeking help for the marriage of her daughter.

- Charity group faces hardship to collect donations

Rahim is among the 116 destitute women who have sought help from the NGO this year.

The trust provides a marriage kit to women after verification of the facts in the application within two months.

Zahoor Tak, chairman of the trust, told Anadolu Agency that they are trying to provide help to orphans and destitute in the region whatever way they can, but said after the Aug. 5 clampdown, the trust has not received any donations.

Already in 2016, the government of India suspended the trust's foreign account only to say they would renew it.

“For the last four years, the Indian government has said that they are going to renew it but not much has been done, putting the future of thousands of orphans in limbo," Tak said.

There are 13 orphanage schools and centers run by the trust, besides dietary help provided for many families across Kashmir.

"It is a hard time, we are managing but don't know how long we will," Zahoor Tak said.

For now Rahim seeks to do work but is not sure how things will work out in the future.

“As it stands, no one knows when the situation will settle but what we know is that the needy desperately need help and require support,” she said.