Khadeeja: A milk woman

For time being Khadeeja lost hope and withdrew from the world. But then she resolved to take the life head-on and has succeeded so far. She is fighting the daily battles of survival in a dignified manner by selling milk in Bandipore market, writes Mir Tariq
In the markets of Bandipore one comes across a remarkable reality. An old and wrinkled woman can be seen working like a young and agile maid. Khadeeja Begum, a 74-year-old lady carries milk jugs and pots selling milk. Putting up milk for sale in the Bandipore market is a matter of great pride for her as she is the sole bread earner of her family.
Khadeeja Begum, who basically hails from Saderkoot, Bandipore has lost her other-half, her husband when she was just 35. For time being she lost hope and withdrew from the world. But then she resolved to take the life head-on and has succeeded so far. Since then she is fighting the daily battles of survival in a dignified manner by selling milk in Bandipore market. Her struggle spans over almost four decades. It seems that Khadeeja is unaware of her age and that is why at such an old age she is working like a young lady once she was. And she feels proud about her work which she believes is as holy as an act of worship.“No work is big or small provided you have the commitment to do it with honesty and dedication,” she says.Residing with her only daughter in the backward village of Saderkoot Bandipore, Khadeeja’s persona has transformed into a role model and inspiration for the womenfolk of the area that too have begun to follow her path of self-reliance and self-empowerment. “We are learning good things from Khadeeja Begum, she has faced brutal ups and downs in life, but she never lost her sprits and we consider her as our guide and master” said Fazi Begum from same village.Right from stitching clothes, cleaning her house, Khadeeja takes care of her fields, collecting money and keeping record of all transactions. She looks after the entire work at her home. “This work of selling milk in nook and corners of the district has come as a blessing not only to my family but to others also” Khadeeja says. ‘Every morning I collect thirty-fifty Kilo grams of Milk for my customers who are hoteliers and few families in Bandipore from the last thirty or more years”, she adds.Appreciating the honesty and hard work of Khadeeja Begum, Zahoor Ahmed, an hotelier says “Khadeeja is providing us pure milk at proper time; she reaches in time at the market whatever be the situation” “Besides, on hartals or transport strike, Khadeeja comes to Bandipore from Saderkoot, which is a long distance by foot taking due care of her customers” Zahoor Added“Thirty years ago, I lost my husband and responsibility fell on my shoulders. We were almost on the verge of starvation, but since then this job has proved to be a blessing for me,” said Khadeeja.Like Khadeeja, another middle aged woman Fazi Begum, who had also lost her husband a few years ago, opted to sell milk in the other village and towns to earn her livelihood. “What I earn from my hard work is sufficient to feed my entire family. In the absence of any other source of income, I have to look after everything, right from feeding the family to arranging money for educating my younger children,” said Fazi Begum. “I have faced a lot of problems while leaving my house for trade. Army personnel dip dirty sticks in my Milk jugs and pots, but what can I do. After all we are all helpless before them (Army)” said Khadeeja.She faces such problems even now but she still trembles to mention what she calls the Ikhwani terror. “I suffered a lot at the hands of ikhwanis who would take away and drink my whole milk,” she says.“That was a crucial time in my life and they (ikhwanis) terrorized us whenever we denied them anything or went against their dictates” remembers Khadeeja. But now she feels a bit tired also says that she needs some kind of respite and for that she has deposited her application with the department of Social Welfare“I have deposited my photographs and application in the Social welfare office twenty years back and again during last year but department is not helping me, besides approaching higher authorities” said Khadeeja BegumDistrict Social welfare Officer Ghulam Nabi said “If the department has received the application from an applicant, relief should have been provided to her.”“I will personally look in to the matter of Khadeeja Begum and in near future she will receive relief from the department regularly” he added.Having faced all the hardships of life she feels happy for the bright side of life also. “Everyone in the whole district of Bandipore knows me very well and all the people whether poor or rich, leaders or common public; all respect me”, she says proudly.Although life has as many faces as people on this planet, but this one of Khadeeja Begum is certainly not only beautiful but inspiring too.