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The armed conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has left many families devastated. Though the government has failed to give a healing touch to all victims, some NGOs have been making efforts in their own way. Save the Children, an NGO, has been easing the anguish of militancy-affected and disowned "half widows" by helping them to raise their children with dignity.
There are many families in the border district of Poonch which would have got irrevocably affected in the absence of timely help by the organisation. These families maintain that their lives have taken a beautiful turn with the efforts of the NGO. As per the government policy, relief is extended to next of kin of the deceased only after a death certificate of the person killed in militancy-related violence is produced before the competent authority. The absence of state protection has left many victims, especially women and children, traumatised. Gender-based violence is reportedly the main problem in such families. Wives of the disappeared persons and their children are disowned by in-laws and they have to live like half widows. They cannot inherit anything or go for second marriage for social reasons. After her husband went missing in 2008, her in-laws disowned Rashida Bi (39) along with her three school- going children. Claiming that her husband, Mohammad Farooq, was an Army source, she believes that he was killed my militants as he was facing threat from them.
"Ex-gratia relief is given in only those cases where next of kin produces a death certificate of the deceased. But I did not get the body of my husband and, therefore, no relief," says, Rashida, who lives in Saral village in tehsil Haveli. "We heard that she was living separately and had stopped sending her children to school due to financial reasons. We gave her a cow," says Nazam Din, a volunteer of the NGO, adding, "there is no dearth of fodder; so dairy is always profitable in rural areas." Another victim, Begum Jaan of Jhulas Salotri, was also abandoned by her in-laws after the disappearance of her husband some years ago. "Had they not given me a cow, we would have starved," says Jaan, a mother of three school-going children, adding, "now, our neighbours buy surplus milk from us and I can easily earn anything between Rs 3000 to Rs 4000." She lives in a kutcha house, which is without a wall and a portion of roof. "Now my children do not sleep on empty stomach at least," she says. "We make them self-dependent. It is also ensured that the children of the widow are school going and there is no income in the family," Nizam says, adding, "besides cows, in certain cases we have also distributed goats and sewing machines." With major focus on child protection and education, the NGO has institutionalised itself in the eight conflict-ridden districts. It claims to have 128 child protection committees (CPCs) in the state under the ambit of which 2,560 children, besides 128 families of vulnerable children, are the direct beneficiaries. In addition, it claims to have children’s groups for development in 64 villages to work closely with CPCs. Since July 2007, Save the Children has been actively improving protection mechanisms for militancy-affected children, says a spokesperson of the NGO, Ananthapriya Subramanian. "Twenty years of civil unrest has led to the killings and disappearances of thousands of civilians, leaving behind tens of thousands of orphaned and other vulnerable children," she says. "Estimated at over 100,000, orphans face a plethora of problems, including the absence of institutional means of rehabilitation. Consequently, many orphaned children are engaged in hazardous work and are in serious need of protection. In addition, many other children are similarly vulnerable as a consequence of being exposed to high levels of violence," she adds. The NGO has also been providing caretakers to many private and government-run orphanages. She says: "The CPCs identify the beneficiaries for vocational training and livelihood support on the basis of their vulnerability and needs." "Nevertheless, CPCs and CGs need to be linked with government departments working on child protection in a better way. The active participation of women in CPCs continues to be a challenge, especially in Kashmir," she adds.
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