PAKISTAN: Mothers Forgotten

LAHORE, Pakistan (Daily Times), May 11, 2008: Mother’s Day is being celebrated across the country today to pay homage to mothers, yet there are number of mothers who are not likely to receive affectionate messages from their children. Akbari Begum is one such mother whose children will not meet her despite being in the country. She is from a remote village of the Punjab and lives at an old age home, Darul Kafalah. She is one of several women who have been forced to live at an old age home by her family. Begum does not know the significance of Mother’s Day, but she wanted to see her children and when told about the day, she wished her children knew about the day visited her. “I don’t know about the day, but I know that mothers should be given special respect, especially when they become old,” she said. She grieved that she was away from her family, but avoided to tell much about them. “The modern age damaged several things, Mother’s Day is a good gift of modern times,” she said. There are 10 women living at Darul Kafalah, but none of them is likely to meet or receive a message from her children on Mother’s Day. Some of them did not talk about their children and others lamented their attitude. “Mothers do a great deal of work for their children, forgive them for whatever they do, and in the end demand only some respect and care at old age,” they said. Darul Kafalah Manager Mian Muhammad Ahmad said that no visitor had yet come to see any of them in connection with Mother’s Day. Copyright Daily Times