”Some women appear weaker than men. Some women appear equal to men. Some women are worth hundreds of men and the Kong Posh Lady is one of them.” She is a mother. She is a wife. She is a daughter-in-law. She is a kind friend. She is a sympathetic relative. Most importantly, she is a modern day Messiah for the people of her area. When the poor women expecting babies needed to see doctors, the Kong Posh Lady was seen calling the ambulance for them. In fact, she recently donated a few ambulances to a few villages so that the poor and needy people when required to visit hospitals for treatment could do so without any delay. She was seen accompanying the Mohalla committees to the PHE departments to get their due needs fulfilled. She was also seen leading the village committees to the PDD to obtain Electrical Power Transformers, electric wires, utility poles, street lights etc so that the homes of villagers will stay perpetually lit up like the rest of the homes in the country. She was spotted frequently visiting the PWD with the purpose of getting the streets, the roads, the culverts , the footfridges, the public stairs etc either renovated or constructed anew in her area. She helped many a poor family get houses and washrooms. The list of her public and philanthropic works is very long. Whenever any person in her area falls badly ill, she immediately shows up for assistance. When anyone departs from this mortal mundane abode to the heavenly home , she drops in to offer her sincere condolences. The most interesting thing is that she assists her two sons to pursue their cherished careers and gives her husband a hand to run the family business. Lord Byron has said that ‘ truth is stranger than fiction ‘ and the expression unquestionably applies to the Kong Posh Lady. You won’t believe all what was couched in simple language above until you meet her in person. The Kong Posh Lady officially known as ‘Meema Ji” was born in the Khan Mohalla at Lethapora Pulwama. Meema Ji is addressed by her fans and favourites as ‘ The Kong Posh Lady because she grew up in the Karewa lands of Lethapora, where the world famous ‘Kong Posh Saffron’ has been growing since centuries and she has dedicated her life to uplift the saffron cultivators in particular and work for the development and prosperity of all the people of her area in general. (The Kong posh is the purple coloured flower that has a fascinating fragrance, pleasant flavour and an eye-catching hue.) However, she was not fortunate enough to complete her schooling and was, according to the prevailing tradition , married at a young age to a fellow villager, Zahoor Ahmad sofi. The couple is blessed with two sons. She was an Accredited Social Health Activist for a couple of years and her hubby runs an emporium on the NH1. The doors of their home as well as their hearts are customarily open for all the needy and distressed people of their area. In addition, it needs to be mentioned here that the success of a person is judged by the number of enemies he/she has. Although it is a fact that the Kong Posh Lady is a philanthrope and well-wisher of the people of her area, yet the number of her haters, critics and foes is huge. They do become pet cats in her presence but don’t stop defaming her at her back.
Actually, the people of Kashmir, in general, have a bad habit of discouraging those who want to do something constructive for themselves or for the public. They also believe that women were created to sit inside the four walls. But, the Kong Posh Lady did not like to be suppressed by anyone and she went on bringing laurels to herself and to her gender. She believed in herself. She knew that she could do something for her people when the men of her area could only sit idle and talk. Consequently, she succeeded in winning the largest number of hearts faster than many men who pretend to be the Messiahs of people but are not so in the least bit. She changed the lives of countless people for good. She achieved in less than a decade what her male rivals could not achieve in decades. The secret of her success is that she uses the weapons of love, honesty and kindness, whereas, her rivals fill their own stomachs with the public money. She lends her ear to everyone. She was heard reiterating on many occasions that her sole mission is to improve the lives of the people of her area and help them with all the means at her disposal. Lately, almost all educated and men of some authority in her area have begun to acknowledge the good work that she does regularly and have incepted to come under her umbrella. But, a huge number of people still distance themselves from her for no apparent reason. She does not mind them. She knows that talking ill of others is much easier than doing something good for others. She looks forward to receiving the reward of all her social and humanitarian work from her creator, Allah Subhanahu-Watala . She wants people to support her in her good work and boost up her morale with their worthy cooperation . She is an exemplary lady. She is a good example of woman power, woman upliftment and woman empowerment. She is a divine gift to her area. One wishes that there were more such ladies in every nook and corner of the valley so that the valley would prosper by leaps and bounds! The Kong Posh Lady deserves to be celebrated for her extraordinary contributions to society, remarkable triumphs, amazing achievements and unmatched fearlessness. Despite gender inequalities across all sectors, she continues to thrive and beat the odds. She deserves a pleasant salute by all chauvinists.
(The author lives at Lethpora Pulwama. His books are available on Amazon and Flipkart. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are author’s own and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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