Intervention

ARTICLES
Year
: 2015  |  Volume : 13  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 156--170

A widow, a victim, a mother: rethinking resilience and wellbeing within the complexities of women’s lives in Kashmir


Shweta Verma 
 social work professional with experience of issues related to mental health and human rights in India. Currently she is a PhD scholar (Department of Social Work, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dehli) working on themes of resilience, gender and conflict in Kashmir

Correspondence Address:

Using a case study, this paper describes initial results from qualitative research with women widowed as a result of conflict in Kashmir. Recognising resilience as a process that contributes to a sense of wellbeing, this paper highlights how this process also often involves experiencing and exercising overlapping identities of being a ‘victim’, ‘widow, and a ‘mother’ for women within conflict contexts. Further, the paper questions simplistic readings of resilience and wellbeing that classify people as resilient or not resilient, and classify relationships, identities, and feelings in terms of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ by reflecting on questions such as: ‘is belief or portrayal of oneself as a victim unhelpful or negative? Or, is worrying bad?' The case study included here is one of the fifty qualitative interviews conducted as part of PhD research on resilience among women widowed due to conflict in Kashmir.


How to cite this article:
Verma S. A widow, a victim, a mother: rethinking resilience and wellbeing within the complexities of women’s lives in Kashmir.Intervention 2015;13:156-170


How to cite this URL:
Verma S. A widow, a victim, a mother: rethinking resilience and wellbeing within the complexities of women’s lives in Kashmir. Intervention [serial online] 2015 [cited 2023 May 30 ];13:156-170
Available from: http://www.interventionjournal.org//article.asp?issn=1571-8883;year=2015;volume=13;issue=2;spage=156;epage=170;aulast=Verma;type=0