Most Kashmir 'half-widows' are vulnerable: Report
New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) Kashmir's 'half-widows" -- whose husbands have disappeared -- are exposed to various gender and economic vulnerabilities, a report launched here on Friday said.
The report, "Vulnerabilities of half-widows of Jammu and Kashmir and the role of Judiciary, Civil Society and Community", has been compiled by members of an NGO, Aman Trust.
The report presented the multiple dimensions of gender and economic vulnerabilities faced by the women whose husbands have disappeared without it being clear if they were alive or dead.
The blame for the missing men has been laid on both the state and non-state actors.
Sampled on 150 "half-widows" from 140 villages of Jammu and Kashmir, the report said those women also suffer social, cultural and health vulnerabilities.
It said militancy and militarization of Kashmir had produced some 1,500 "half-widows" in the Kashmir Valley.
Syeda Hameed, a former member of the Planning Commission, said: "The report is painful and these women are looking for justice. The report should have been deeper and bolder."