In 1989, an armed movement for secession from the Indian state took shape in Kashmir—and with it came a heavy presence of the Indian military. Kashmiris’ lives were thrown into a vortex of conflict, killings and disappearances. In the decade that followed, some 8,000 men disappeared in Kashmir. While many families accused Indian security forces of taking away innocent civilians, the government claimed that most of the men who went missing went away voluntarily, to join militant groups. Left behind are the “half-widows”—women whose husbands were arrested and "disappeared" for years and likely killed, but since there is no death certificate, these women and their children are stuck in a legal limbo with regard to inheritance and remarriage. Journalist Safina Nabi’s story looks into the lives of these women and their children.
