A Bag of Chips

We went went to the market to browse and I bought a bag of pataki (sort of like chips). I lingered on the sidewalk outside the bakery munching my snack while the rest of group shopped. Pretty soon someone gently tugged my sleeve. It was a mother holding her child and begging me for a handout. I gave her my bag of chips and she immediately walked across the street sat down and began to eat them (I noticed she actually dug in herself before giving them to her child..). It was obvious that they were very hungry.

Anand explained to me that she was a Muslim and most likely a divorced woman. There is an unfortunate practice of an old Muslim law that a man is entitled to three wives. When the men divorce one of the wives they may abandon them and any children that they may have. The women too often end up homeless and begging. The practice is illegal but of course difficult to enforce by authorities. Women and children are so often the victims of social injustice.