Srinagar, May 1 -- By Gowher Bhat

The road leading to Shaheena Bashir's parents' home cuts through orchards and paddy fields in South Kashmir, where spring mornings arrive with the smell of damp earth and wood smoke.

Inside the modest house, copper utensils line the kitchen wall in careful order while nun chai simmers gently on an ageing stove. Shaheena moves through the rooms, halting now and then beside the window overlooking the village lane.

Life inside this home feels markedly different from the one she left behind.

"At least here, I can breathe," she said, her voice calm after a long silence.

Shaheena, 35, returned to her parents' house months ago after years spent inside a marriage that demanded relentless physical labour and ...