Jesuit institute studies plight of half-widows in Kashmir

Nearly 93 per cent of the half-widows have found difficulties in bringing up children as in the absence of their spouse.

New Delhi:  The militancy and counter operations in Kashmir valley have made hundreds of women widows and half-widows, who now struggle for everyday existence, states a recent report on the plight of these women.

The report, Waiting women of Kashmir, was prepared by Jesuit Fr. Paul D’Souza of the Indian Social Institute in collaboration with the AMAN trust. It was released on June 5 in New Delhi.

The report states that nearly 93 per cent of the half-widows, a term used to denote women waiting for missing husbands, have found difficulties in bringing up children as in the absence of their spouse they had to face the struggle alone.

“Over the last two decades or more, the women of Kashmir have gone through immense turbulence, torture and trauma. The men who are termed as disappeared and have left behind wives are known as half-widows,” it added.

These ‘half-widows’, are struggling to cope and adjust themselves to their new identity derived from the conflict in the region, the report said.

The study is based on responses from 150 households of half widows geographically spread across nearly 140 villages of Jammu and Kashmir.

The report also finds that nearly 69 per cent of the half-widows falling in the high vulnerability category are housewives, not having any salaried employment outside the household and are mostly illiterate, having very limited scope of alternative employment.

According to the report, 98 per cent of the half-widows have a monthly income of less than 4,000 rupees. The report also shows that 65 per cent of the half-widows live in houses with minimum basic amenities.

The health of the half widows is also a matter of great concern as the report mentions that more than 79 per cent of them have some physical ailment and nearly 62 per cent of them have regular medical treatment.

The launch of the report was followed by a discussion with scholar activist Sehba Hussain and Syeda Hameed, former member of the planning commission; moderated by Urvashi Butalia, founder of the feminist publishing house, Zubaan Books.