Another Side Of Kashmir Tragedy: Destitute Women Battling Hardship

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.

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