Rising KashmirRising KashmirRising Kashmir
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • Kashmir
    • City
    • Jammu
    • Politics
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Search

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022

Categories

  • Anchor
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • City
  • Developing Story
  • Editorial
  • Education
  • Features
  • Health
  • Interview
  • Jammu
  • Jammu and Kashmir News
  • Kashmir
  • Kashmir Tourism
  • Kath Bath
  • National
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • Trending
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Viewpoint
  • World
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Nighat Pandith on mission to educate, empower women
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Rising KashmirRising Kashmir
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Search
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • Kashmir
    • City
    • Jammu
    • Politics
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Follow US
© 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Rising Kashmir > Blog > Features > Nighat Pandith on mission to educate, empower women
Features

Nighat Pandith on mission to educate, empower women

Irfan Yattoo
Last updated: March 7, 2023 11:56 pm
Irfan Yattoo
Published: March 7, 2023
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

For the past three decades, Nighat Shafi Pandith from Srinagar has been on a mission to empower Kashmiri women. She is making efforts to educate, empower and bring back the lost smile of women.
Born and brought up in Gogji Bagh area of Srinagar, after completing her studies, the 71-year-old moved to New Delhi along with her husband who was a government officer.
She came back to Srinagar in 1997 after her mother passed away. Seeing trauma and distress among people in Kashmir she was compelled to stay in valley. In the same year, she started working for people. “It was the most challenging decade in Kashmir history,” Nighat said.
“I stepped out of a comfortable home and started visiting inmates at Srinagar’s lone Psychiatric Hospital where I met with inmates,” she said.
Nighat recalls that there was distress and trauma everywhere. In the same year, she started the Jammu and Kashmir Help Foundation (JKHF) to work on education, women empowerment etc.
“We started setting up a small school in Habak Sanpora, Srinagar. Then, there was no concrete house in the area. After searches, we found one house and requested the owner to provide two rooms on rent for the school,” she said.
Nighat said they started with educating the children. “While we were engaging with the children we became closer to their mothers and families. We learned that women needed help in many ways,” she said.
“After interacting with women, we thought there is a need for initiatives to boost their morale and confidence. After proper counseling and care, they were trained in their interest domains,” Nighat said, adding that her mission was to make them independent.
She said the vocational training center focuses on making women self-reliant, especially those who are victims of violence and have lost the breadwinners of their families.
“From women empowerment programs, education to health care, we started reaching out to people in rural and urban areas,” she said.
Nighat said over the past several years, they have provided the right sets of skills and training to women. “We have established Kashmir art embroidery training centers across the valley and now they are self-employed,” she said.
“We also started the Shehjar skill development and livelihood program in which 150 women were trained and later they generated employment through their skills,” she said.
Nighat said in training and production alone, special training was provided to adolescent girls, and underprivileged ladies in fine artwork, tailoring, sozni, and other handmade works.
“After Srinagar, our focus was Kupwara which was most affected due to the prevailing situation in the 1990s. In early 2000, we set up Shah Anwar Memorial Secondary School in Khumeriyal and HELP Foundation Model School Mawar, in Handwara in 2006,” she said.
Nighat has been supporting children who lost their parents during turmoil across the valley. “There are hundreds of children unable to continue their education due to financial and family constraints. We provided them a helping hand and they too succeeded,” she said.
“Over the past two decades, the foundation has given financial assistance to over 500 orphan girls with no extended family, or destitute young women with no income, for their marriage,” she said.
Nighat said to make women self-sufficient, the foundation also gives out low-interest micro-finance loans to women in the valley.
“After Srinagar, Kupwara districts, we started our operations in Kashmir. Our main focus is education, health, and empowerment of women,” she said.
Nighat was honored with the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in the category of Development and Welfare of Women and Children in 2012. She is appreciated for her work on various platforms.
Nighat said they also started a mental health clinic. “Initially, we organized medical camps to identify those who needed mental health support for widows and young ladies.”
“Setting up Batul Meeras’ in Downtown in 2021 was my dream. It was aimed to provide a space for women and children so that they could sit and discuss various ideas,” she said.
“Our children are not aware of their culture; they live in the virtual world. Due to lack of interest, they have forgotten their heritage and cultural legacy,” she said.
Nighat says Bait-ul-Meeras is an effort to retrieve the artifacts and other items of the bygone era that have faded away from the cultural landscape.
“Over the past year, we have got an overwhelming response from the visitors. They were satisfied for having been able to preserve and protect history,” she said.
Regarding present plans, Nighat said they are still collecting rare objects across the Valley. “Whatever history we find in any part of the Valley, we add to the collection,” she said.

Unraveling the achievements Post art 370 ;  A milestone for peace: India-Pak ceasefire elicits relief & happiness
At India’s Frontier: How Education Blooms in Kashmir’s Zero Line Schools
Local youth strives hard to bring Pulwama’s Sangerwani on tourism map
Shoaib Shawl’s glorious Journey in Film-making
Understanding Polycystic Ovarian Disorder

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Copy Link Print
Previous Article Genome sequencing of Coronavirus: Dr Sabia Qureshi’s path-breaking research
Next Article International Women’s Day: Decade on, saviour woman Bilqees Ara continues to donate blood
Leave a Comment Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

1MFollowersLike
262kFollowersFollow
InstagramFollow
234kSubscribersSubscribe
Google NewsFollow

Latest News

Dy CM visits Gurudwara Chatti Padshahi in Rainawari; pays obeisance, assesses issues of DGPC
Breaking
May 25, 2025
Aided by Govt schemes for women in J&K, entrepreneur opens skin laser clinic in Poonch
Breaking
May 25, 2025
Drug peddler arrested in Baramulla: Police 
Breaking
May 25, 2025
LG Sinha warns Pakistan, urges unity against divisive forces at Jat Sabha in Jammu
Developing Story Jammu Jammu and Kashmir News
May 25, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Dy CM visits Gurudwara Chatti Padshahi in Rainawari; pays obeisance, assesses issues of DGPC
  • Aided by Govt schemes for women in J&K, entrepreneur opens skin laser clinic in Poonch
  • Drug peddler arrested in Baramulla: Police 
  • LG Sinha warns Pakistan, urges unity against divisive forces at Jat Sabha in Jammu
  • Eid al-Adha expected on 6th June in most Islamic countries: International Astronomical Centre

Recent Comments

  1. SavePlus on AI and Behavioural Analytics in Gaming: Making the World of Gaming Better
  2. Parul on Govt acknowledges faulty streetlights on Narbal-Tangmarg road
  3. dr gora on Women Veterinarians and the Goal of Viksit Bharat
  4. jalwa game login on National Education Policy 2020: Transforming India’s Educational System
  5. Virender Bhat on Pahalgam Attack: A War on Humanity, Peace, and Kashmiriyat

Contact Us

Flat No 7,Press Enclave, Srinagar, 190001
0194 2477887
9971795706
[email protected]
[email protected]

Quick Link

  • E-Paper
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Top Categories

Stay Connected

1.06MLike
262.5kFollow
InstagramFollow
234.3kSubscribe
WhatsAppFollow
Rising KashmirRising Kashmir
Follow US
© 2025. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?