New Delhi: More than two decades of militancy and counter insurgence operations in Kashmir valley have left hundreds of women widows and half-widows, leaving them struggling to make their ends meet, according to a recently launched study in Delhi.
'Waiting women of Kashmir', a report, by Jesuit Fr. Paul D'Souza of the Indian Social Institute in collaboration with the AMAN trust was released on June 5 at Indian Social Institute(ISI) in New Delhi.
93 per cent of the half-widows, a term used to denote women waiting for missing husbands, have found difficulties in nurturing children in the absence of their spouse, according to the report.
According to the report nearly 69 per cent of the half-widows falling in the high vulnerability category are housewives, having no salaried employment outside the household and are mostly illiterate; 98 per cent of the half-widows have a monthly income of less than 4,000 rupees.
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 study is based on responses collected from 150 households of half widows geographically spread across nearly 140 villages of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian Social Institute, founded in 1951, is a Jesuit institute for research, training and action for socio-economic development and human rights in India. Founded by Jerome D'Souza in Pune it was shifted to New Delhi in 1963 where it is located at the Lodi institutional Area.
