In a heart-warming story of determination and perseverance, Shabnam Sadik, a young girl from the nomadic Bakerwal community in Khatwada Tral, has secured an impressive 463 marks in the JK BOSE examinations—all while studying under a tarpaulin tent in the upper reaches of the area which falls in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.
Shabnam, daughter of Mohammad Sadik Bokda, belongs to a financially struggling family that lives in a tarpaulin-covered tent house. Despite lacking basic facilities and having no access to private coaching, she studied at Government Higher Secondary School Tral and achieved the feat in the 12th Standard through sheer hard work and dedication.
Her father, who works as a laborer, expressed pride in his daughter's achievement. “She studied without any tuition, just at home and in the government school. We are very poor, but she kept working hard,” he said with his voice filled with both joy and concern.
He also made an earnest appeal to the administration to provide the family with proper housing. “We live in a tarpaulin tent house. My daughter has done something remarkable despite our poverty. I request the authorities to help us with a house,” he said.
Shabnam's story has inspired many across the region, becoming a symbol of hope for underprivileged students striving for a better future against all odds.