On this day when the world is talking , let’s introduce you to a community of lesser known people who exist in every nook and corner of Kashmir valley -the community of Half Widows..

Half-widow is a term given to Kashmiri women whose husbands have disappeared and were still missing during the ongoing conflict in Kashmir. The word was never there in English usage and was coined and later accepted specifically for these women are called "half-widows" because they have no idea whether their husbands are dead or alive.

As per estimates nearly 1500 half widows are there in Kashmir.

These women who for decades have been yearning for peace. So when we talk peace, no matter how calm there external environment is there peace will come only when they get a closure, there is resolution.

There peace of mind and soul.. which has been into pieces since decades.. Who can bring them the peace, not only for them but for their kids, many of whom were born after the incidents of disappearance..

Peace has to be defined as opposite to war. Peace cannot be just bit for the larger community if individual peace is not taken into account.

To give a context to the above lines, read the below.

There are reportedly over 8,000 cases of enforced disappearances in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. These disappearances began in the 1990s even before the enactment and implementation of The Jammu & Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in September 1990, which provides impunity for India’s armed forces.

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, Kashmir (APDP) was co-founded in 1994 by Parveena Ahangar with the support of legal professionals and activists as well as the victim families of enforced disappearances. Parvez Imroz, who now heads the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), was part of this co-founding process. APDP is the oldest human rights movement and organisation in Kashmir.