Project Description: Left Stranded in India

Project Date: 2018

Left Stranded in India is an ongoing project which I started in 2018, highlighting the plight of over 350 Pakistani brides living in Indian-administered Kashmir. These women, married to former rebels who had sought arms training in Pakistan, are now trapped without citizenship rights or travel documents, making it impossible for them to visit their families across the border.

According to police data, 377 former rebels who crossed into Pakistan returned to Indian-administered Kashmir under the 2010 rehabilitation policy, bringing with them 864 family members. Most of these women, along with their husbands, entered India via Nepal, using Pakistani passports but lacking proper visas.

Many of these women face severe mental health challenges due to their circumstances, and tragically, over a dozen have died, including one who took her own life in 2014.