Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR:

Dr Sharmeen Mushtaq Nizami, a J&K-based philanthropist and adventure trekker, feels that a girl can do big things in life when her parents support her; she has set up a charity trust that helps cancer patients, widows and orphans.

Whatever life throws at Dr Sharmeen Mushtaq Nizami, she takes it as a challenge, overcomes it and moves on. She believes one’s life should be an inspiration for others.

Dr Nizami, in her early 40s, works at a Srinagar hospital and runs a trust for cancer patients besides pursuing her hobby of being an extreme mountain trail motor-sport traveller. Since childhood, she has pursued her passion whether it was studying medicine in the 1990s when militancy was at its peak in Jammu and Kashmir or her love for jeeps.

Her biggest challenge in life came when her husband was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2007 within six years of their marriage, leaving her to bring up their two children, a three-year-old son and a year-old daughter.

“It was a traumatic phase. I struggled but my parents supported me. Initially, being a single parent appeared tough but gradually I came to terms with reality,” she says.

As time went by, she decided not to remarry and moved back to her ancestral home in Srinagar from her husband’s house in Jammu.

Dr Nizami, who is now the medical officer in-charge at a Srinagar hospital and on Covid duties, says that her experience during her husband’s illness pushed her towards helping patients and the needy.

“Though we were relatively well off, we had to go outside for treatment as he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. We realised that the treatment is expensive and drains most families’ savings,” she says.

Even before her husband’s death, she would collect money from attendants using charity boxes outside OPDs. Later, friends and colleagues asked her to setup a trust with a separate account where people could donate money. “We get a lot of donations during Ramazan, which are primarily used to help cancer patients and those needing a kidney transplant. The trust also helps widows and orphans who have no source of income,” she says.

Nizami, the eldest of four siblings, says that her parents Mushtaq Nizami, a military contractor, and Shahida Parveen, a homemaker, have been her strength. “Any girl can do big things in life when her parents support her,” she says.

Ask her what got her interested in jeeps, and she says, “I have imbibed my father’s passion for driving jeeps. In 2018, I came upon some videos of the Kashmir off-road club which organises competitive events and overland expeditions, and decided to participate in a snow-race event (Frozen Rush) at Gulmarg.”

Nizami, who always wears a hijab, was the only woman to participate in the adventure sport and created quite a buzz on social media. “I hadn’t realised that I was breaking stereotypes , until I saw people’s reactions,” says Nizami, who has since participated in dangerous events like mud race and river crossing.

“Some people tried to dissuade me saying it was risky, but I remained unafraid,” says Nizami, adding that she gets a lot of messages from young girls who admire her.

She says her faith in the Almighty has never wavered despite the many challenges in her life. “Not just driving, but life in general throws a lot of challenges at us. We have to accept the challenges and move forward,” she says.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Others / by Ashiq Hussain, Srinagar / September 16th, 2021