Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh): After a struggle of over 30 years, Rana Mukhtar and Shehla, who were born in Pakistan's Karachi and have been living in India since 1987 after their marriage to Indian men, were finally granted Indian citizenship on June 24, 2019.
The two women living in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly expressed their happiness and said that their three-decades-long struggle has finally borne fruit.
Rana Mukhtar, a mother of two, said, "It took 31 years for me to get this citizenship, I struggled a lot. The first time I applied for Indian citizenship was in March 1987, immediately after my marriage."
Remembering her husband with tearful eyes, whom she lost a few years ago, Mukhtar further said, "My husband would have been very happy if he were alive today. I don't know how to express my happiness, it's beyond words. I am speechless."
Narrating her ordeal of living in a country without being recognised as it's citizen, Mukhtar added, "I didn't have any rights, I couldn't even open a bank account on my name. I had to depend on my husband for everything. I feel at ease that I am a legal citizen now."
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Shehla, the other Pakistani women to have been granted Indian citizenship, narrated a similar story, "I used to live in Karachi. I came to India after getting married some 32 years ago and now I finally obtained the citizenship. I am elated. I have struggled a lot, I was all alone because my husband never accompanied me."
