PESHAWAR, Oct 16: “Mera masla hal hogaya (My problem has been solved),” said 66-year-old Bano with a mixed feeling of joy and grief as she talked to her sister by telephone to let her know that she had reached Halfway House.
He eyes were full of tears as she hung up and handed over her belongings to the in-charge of Halfway House. A woman, who had an old mother, a son and siblings, was in Halfway House to take shelter.
Ms Bano, who once owned a house and a shop left by her husband, was now only left with her painkillers, anti-depressants and Rs600 that she borrowed form her neighbhour in the morning.
A resident of Peshawar City, she is widow of a well-off businessman. She is now left with a ‘disobedient’ son, who according to her has made her life a living hell.
“He has been continuously pestering and abusing me to give him some money and I had no money even to buy food,” said Ms Bano while narrating her story to the in-charge of Halfway House. After fulfilling the admission procedure, she was accepted warmly by the in-charge.
“I could have never thought one day I would end up in a shelter house,” said the elderly woman, who has seen better times and was overwhelmed to see the house welcomed her at such hard times.
The Halfway House, set up in January this year and working under the social welfare department, has been receiving such women of different ages and backgrounds who have been in distress or need a secure place to live.
Tahira Ali, in-charge of the house, said that shelter, food, vocational training, legal aid as well as psychological therapy were provided to the women, who came there.“The house has 12 inmates presently,” she said.
Ms Ali said that the women, who had been victims of domestic violence, abandoned by their families or had disputes of property, marital or other issues, came to Halfway House where they were provided security and other facilities. The staff through psychological therapy and counseling also tries to rehabilitate these women in distress.
“We not only provide them psychological and legal support but if there is any possibility of patch up with the family, we facilitate it,” said Ms Ali.
Sara (not her real name), a mother of six, who was married for almost 28 years, is also among those women whose issue with the family is being resolved by the Halfway House in-charge.
Sara’s husband was in Middle East and she was trapped by a gang from Peshawar through cellular phone to run away from her home.
Halfway House was Sara’s only refuge when she was abandoned by the gang. Her family, especially husband, has been engaged since Sara is repenting for what she has done.
Sara may soon go to her own home but a teenager, who seems mentally retarded, only pronounce her name ‘Baby’ and refuses to speak more. A victim of abuse, Baby refuses to talk and sits on a sofa lost in her thoughts.
One person at the house, who doesn’t stop talking about what has happened to her, is Suraya. A middle aged woman of small stature, she belongs to a well-off family of Peshawar.
A sister of 10 siblings most of whom are living in the US, Ms Suraya has ended up in a shelter home just because she raised voice for her right to inherited property.
Ms Suraya, who seems a little mentally upset due to her situation, said that an NGO initially tried to help her but it backed off because she could not pay for the expenses.She was brought by them to the house.
“Once I had a lot of jewellery and nice house where I was pampered by my parents and today I am wearing rags and living in a shelter home,” she said and burst into tears while narrating how her siblings forgot her.
The Halfway House is a three-year extendable project but it would be needing more staff, especially qualified one, to handle cases of violence and psychological problems, since there seems to be an increasing number of women, who contact this house for help and shelter.