| Plight of conflict widows, orphans miserable: Survey | | | Majid Ahmad
Srinagar, Sept 28: A recent research reveals that the plight of most widows and orphans of Kashmir conflict is miserable as they face multi-dimensional problems. Accommodation, educational loss, psychological depression, social disorganisation, insecurity, health deterioration, dependence on others, deviance and delinquency are some of the major issues widows and orphans of conflict face, says "A Sociological Study of Widows and Orphans."
The survey, conducted by noted sociologist of Kashmir, Prof Bashir Ahmad Dabla, says that most important problem for widows and orphans is shelter. "After the death of their husband/father, woman and her children were not taken care of either by their patri-kins or matri-kins. They were so often denied their inheritance rights and forced to arrange their own accommodation," it reveals. The most important loss to orphans has been in education. "The death of father means loss of regular income to the family and they couldn't pay even the meagre amount of school fees. This results in dropouts up to 40 per cent. The number of girls was more than boys in the dropout cases," Prof Dabla said.
He warned that future of these people would be bleak if immediate steps weren't taken by the government and the society. Despite the Jammu and Kashmir government's tall claims to help widows and destitute, sources say, officials at the state's Social Welfare Department have fixed rates for clearing cases under various schemes. Dilshada, a widow from north Kashmir, alleged that she had applied for special fund assistance. "But I was asked to contact a peon of a social welfare officer who in turn demanded a bribe of Rs 2000 to get the case cleared," she alleged.
"The officer's peon is working as his agent and beneficiaries like me are fleeced in broad daylight," she charged. Officially, there are 9000 widows and 25000 orphans, but unofficial figures are as high as 32000 widows and 97000 orphans. According to the data prepared by the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC), not a single young widow has been provided with financial assistance under the scheme of "marriage assistance to young widows and grown up daughters" in Srinagar and Ganderbal leaving a question mark on the government claims of giving first priority to these two districts. A social activist said that the main aim of the SRC was to provide financial assistance to widows and orphans directly or indirectly hit by Kashmir conflict in the form of pension, scholarships and marriage assistance. He said many people are unaware of various schemes. "So it is the responsibility of the SRC to approach the victims. They can also assimilate the locals and NGOs who can disseminate the message and identify the desirable victims." |
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