Enduring uncertainty

The social and legal vulnerabilities of women in ambiguous marital situations

Bibliographic Data

ID18973584
AuthorsW Hamid (0000-0002-6950-4050), Tanver Ahmad Khan
Year2021
Volume62
Issue4
Pages88-105
Publication date2021-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRace & Class (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0306-3968 • E-ISSN: 1741-3125
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0306396821989199
OpenAlexW3132414492
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited15

The long-standing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has resulted in the enforced disappearance of thousands of married men, which has left their wives with a new fractured identity as a ‘half-widow’. Uncertain whether their husbands are dead or alive; their status is in limbo, leading to pervasive economic, social, legal and psychological problems. This article builds upon interviews with fourteen half-widows, aiming to gain an in-depth understanding of their lived experiences and the social trauma they face, including economic hardship, social stigmatisation and psychological trauma produced by their unresolved grief – which fluctuates between anguish over the possibility of death, and hope that their loved one will return

Anguish · Art · Criminology · Grief · Psychiatry · Social science · Sociology · Psychology · Social Psychology · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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