Communal conflicts and hate crimes often punish the innocent, leaving them with irrevocable damage. Khatoon Bano and Sitara’s story is one of the many examples that demonstrate how violence and hatred can rob the poor of their livelihood and their sources of subsistence.
Khatoon Bano and Sitara were famous bangle-sellers in their locality. They were the fifth generations to carry their generational bangle business forward. The two ran their shop from their three-storied dilapidated ancestral building. The brightly hued, glinting bangles attracted a good numbers of customers to their shop.
Both Sitara and Khatoon Bano have been working with utmost dedication for a long time now. Their wrinkled skin and sagging faces hint at the waning of the vitality and zest for life in them. They were deprived of any luxuries in life but the business earned them enough to take care of their families.
On April 2, 2022, when the news of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and the RSS wreaking havoc in the city reached Khatoon Bano and Sitara, they immediately shuttered their shop and took refuge in their homes to save themselves from the attack. However, the violent mob, armed with swords and saffron flags, was determined to harm the economic sources of the Muslims in the region. As the businesses of many Muslims suffered from arson attacks, Khatoon Bano and Sitara’s shop was also set ablaze.
The fire that destroyed their bangles also ravaged their old ramshackled building, where the two women lived with their extended families. The majority of the age-old bangle businesses in the area were typically being run from the residential homes.
To make matters worse, the municipal administration decided to demolish the building where Sitara & Khatoon Bano lived, pointing to the danger it posed to nearby structures.
Struck by the tragedy, Khatoon Bano and Sitara cried their hearts out, staring bleakly at the debris of what once used to be their modest shop, stocked with brightly lit bangles.
When our team went to the violence hit area to assess the extent of damage the violence had put behind, we met Sitara and Khatoon Bano. And after hearing their distressing accounts, Miles2Smile resolved to restore their businesses and help them regain control of their lives. With the help of our kind donors, we could provide Sitara and Khatoon Bano with Rs. 4 lakh to mitigate their sufferings.
After losing all hope of ever reviving the business, their faces lit up with joy upon receiving the aid.
With a newfound ray of hope, Khatoon Bano and Sitara are slowly rebuilding their lives from scratch.
