Srinagar: Gulshan Irfan Shah, 35, a resident of Srinagar's Lal Bazar area, has now become a stranger in her own home following the death of her husband. Amid torture and allegations from in-laws, Gulshan has been running from pillar to post for justice following the death of her husband due to cancer last year.
"My husband died of cancer. I went to Delhi for treatment but to no avail, and in September last year, he said his final goodbye to this world," said Gulshan told ETV Bharat.
She claims that her in-laws never offered a helping hand and it was always her husband's friends who were at the forefront.
"Within a week after my husband's death, my in-laws sent a caveat in my name. Being a housewife I had no idea what it meant. Soon, it proved to be the shock of my life," she said.
While breaking down, she says, "since that day my miseries have never come to end. My in-laws have been levelling all sorts of accusations on me just to harrass me. They have beaten me and my children using steel rods, I am being continuously watched through CCTV cameras. My life has become hell."
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Gulshan, a mother of two, claims that her in-laws don't respect the rights of her children and as such are denying inheritance rights to them.
"My parents and siblings are helping us financially and I don't know how long this all will last."
This January, Gulshan says she was forced to approach the court after exhausting all mediation options.
"The case is the court but there has been no hearing so far. Their lawyer was absent during the first hearing, my lawyer came late during the second and on the third hearing, the judge was on leave. I wish the Women's Commission was still there, then the things would have been different. Now there is no other option. I feel uncomfortable at court but for the sake of my children I have to fight till the end," she says.
Gulshan is one of the several women who are suffering due to the absence of the State Commission for Protection of Women and Child Rights in Jammu and Kashmir. The commission was repealed two months after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution. At present, according to official figures, there are more than 250 women whose cases were pending before the commission.
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The lawyers who were dealing with such cases too are feeling the pain of the victims in the absence of any redressal platform.
"Since the commission was repealed, the plight of the women has increased in Jammu and Kashmir. Whenever they approach us we can only advice them about going to court. It takes time to get justice in courts and women don't feel comfortable. There is hesitation but now there is no other way," Fiza Firdous, a lawyer dealing with women related cases, said.
She feels that the government should have thought about the plight of women before taking such a decision.
"There is a National Commission for Women in Delhi but it is not easy to get there. If a victim had so much money, why would she go to court or commission for these matters? A camp has recently been set up in Srinagar city. Do you think such camps can resolve issues in a day? There can be a hearing but not a verdict," she said.
