Half-widow

Half-widow is a term given to Kashmiri women whose husbands have disappeared and were still missing during the ongoing conflict in Kashmir.^[1] These women are called "half-widows" because they have no idea whether their husbands are dead or alive.^[2]

Thousands of husbands in Kashmir disappeared during the conflict. .^[3]

Most of the half-widows have not remarried due to doubt about their husband's fate and a lack of consensus among Muslim scholars on the issue. In Kashmir, a group of religious scholars issued a fatwa on the 26 of December 2013 saying that half-widows are allowed to remarry after a waiting period of four years.^[4]

References

1. "The other half: For many Kashmir ‘half-widows’, the remarriage ruling means little". The Indian Express. 2 March 2014.
2. "In pictures: Kashmir's 'half-widows'". BBC World News.
3. "The dilemma of Kashmir's half-widows".
4. "Issue of remarrying of kashmari HALF-WIDOWS? -UmmahHelpline". ummahhelpline.com.