About The Founder

Zehrunissa Abdul

Abdul’s mother and the true head of the Husain family. Zehrunisa wishes that she could fulfill the role of wife and mother that is expected of Muslim women, but she has been forced to work and take part in the family business due to the ill health of her husband, Karam. Yet despite Zehrunisa’s misgivings, she clearly enjoys some of the freedoms she receives living in the modern-leaning slum of Annawadi. Zehrunisa feels some kinship with the other residents of Annawadi, especially Fatima (who is the only other Muslim woman near her), but she also wants to do better than the poor families who live in the slum. Zehrunisa is shattered by the destruction of her family’s future after Karam, Kehkashan, and Abdul are accused of pushing Fatima to burn herself. Show More

Summary

India has been grappling with the issue of street, homeless children and the ones living in slums since ages. Often, these children are deprived of fundamental rights and are vulnerable as well.

In 1994, 111 million children were living on the streets in India, according to a statement by UNICEF. The document gauged that Delhi alone had 100,000 street children. It further stated that approximately 314,700 children were living on the streets in other urban cities, such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kanpur and Hyderabad.

The Census data of India (2011) shows 1.77 million homeless people. These constitute 41.7% of the total homeless children population in India and 12% of the total urban homeless children.

Awards & Recognition

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