Srinagar, June 23 -- Darakshan Hassan Bhat

In religions, cultures, and civilisations, women, especially mothers, have been accorded high respect. In Islam, the mother is the pillar of society and is given the highest status. In many other religions, women are worshipped and raised to an almost divine level, revered as embodiments of compassion, sacrifice and creation. But there is a role beyond all reverence, a role that can be even more potent than that of a mother as the first educator of humanity.We hear so much today about the challenges facing society such as hatred, discrimination, violence, radicalization and social divisions. These divisions could be based on religion, region, caste, creed, race, ethnicity, gender, language or so...